Ethnohistory and the Dead: Cultures of Colonial Epidemiology

Abstract

What were the dead to colonial epidemiologists? Doctors and colonial scientists involved in the response to epidemics of plague in Madagascar in the first half of the twentieth century speculated about the role of Malagasy mortuary ritual in the spread of plague, and sought to bring Malagasy ritual into line with Pasteurian hygienic norms. I examine confrontations over death and the management of the dead in Madagascar, tracing the textured form of epidemiological knowledge that arose from the confrontation between Malagasy cosmology and Pasteurian counter epidemic technique.

Behaviour adoption approaches during public health emergencies: implications for the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

“…The feasibility and magnitude of success in implementing any behaviour adoption approaches are likely to be influenced by underlying cultural and sociopolitical predispositions that vary across place and time. [60][61][62][63][64] Relatedly, there are ongoing debates regarding the differences in the ability of authoritarian versus democratic governments in implementing top-down mitigation measures in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. [65][66][67] The collective evidence suggests that behavioural interventions aiming to curb infection transmission during health emergencies, including in the COVID-19 pandemic, need to take into account the complex cultural and sociopolitical factors that influence behavioural uptake.…”

Death and Funerary Practices in the Context of Epidemics: Upholding the Rights of Religious Minorities

“…'removed from their symbolic context where they have their own efficacies and affordances' (Poleykett 2018). Malagasy funerals illustrate how people 'do not measure traditions against each other, look for equivalents and strive to resolve differences -they live with them' (Spies 2013).…”

Risk, mourning, politics: Toward a transnational critical conception of grief for COVID-19 deaths in Iran

“…Yet, while these contestations easily grab headlines, it is worth noting that there are many successful cases of negotiation and compromise between the differing conceptions of risk and danger associated with the corpse. Poleykett (2018) illustrates one such case in her study of the interaction between Malagasy funeral rituals and modern medicine during a plague outbreak in Madagascar in the early 20th century. In Iran, the available data are mixed but seem to support Poleykett's (2018) findings regarding compromise.…”

“…Poleykett (2018) illustrates one such case in her study of the interaction between Malagasy funeral rituals and modern medicine during a plague outbreak in Madagascar in the early 20th century. In Iran, the available data are mixed but seem to support Poleykett's (2018) findings regarding compromise. Among majority Muslims in Iran funeral rituals invariably contain several sacrosanct religious steps, involving ritual washing and purification of the body, wrapping the body in white cloth, praying over the body, and the final rites performed at the grave (Bayatrizi and Ghorbani: 2019: 107-108).…”