The Americans blame the Europeans, especially the French for bringing gonorrhea to their shores. You see what we used to call endwasi the white man called it ‘the clap’.
Clap from the French word for brothel ‘clapier‘. Some say endwasi was called the clap because of the ‘pain’ – clapping sensation one suddenly felt on urination when infected. Our woman talked less of clap, but more of symptoms related to any infection affecting the genito-urinary system – irritation, change in urinary habits and possibly abdominal or back pains.
Gonorrhea, A Brief (But Hilarious) Medical History
Note that I have been deliberate with my reference to women above. This is because the man thought of endwasi as the disease of females. Bulwale bwe bakhasi is what our grandfathers called it. This is to say that the women called all diseases of the genito-urinary system endwasi; and the men called all diseases of similar nature afflicting them a name that suggested that all such diseases were sexually transmitted.
Though somewhat reeking of bigotry, the sound epidemiological know-how of our ancestors by the standards of the time is evident once again.
Kindly note that the confusion over this disease did persist over several centuries. Evidence of this confusion is found in British history as seen in 1161 when London passed laws to control endwasi. On the other hand, the French, the scapegoats in this whole saga, documented a similar public health intervention with a similar law in 1256. However, it was not until in 1879 that the causative agent for endwasi of the gonorrhea type was identified by Albert Neisser as Nisseria Gonorrhea.
More Culture and Customs from Mulembe
- Agayanzi: The Joyful Baby Girl Name that Embodies Maragoli, Luhya and African Culture
- The one thing a true Luhya home kitchen never lacked
- Thou shall not till! Why in Maragoli culture there was no shamba work following death in the family
- Queen Elizabeth II Dead, Sabeti Lives On…
Treating Endwasi
All sorts of stuff has been thrown at endwasi from injecting mercury via the penile opening to some pepper concoction from Indonesia. These remedies all turned out to be ineffective if not outright torture for the suffering. By the way, this went on until the 1940’s antibiotics, possibly penicillin were discovered.
Too bad it is then for the Europeans they hadn’t tried of some of out traditional medicine. For our Abaluhyia ancestors had not one but several tree roots whose efficacy has been proved by modern science. They were the sinani or lunani trees. The kumufutu or kumufutumwe tree, otherwise known as the muholu tree whose roots spelt death to endwasi.
Subscribe to Mulembe Weekly
Get culture, language, stories and discussions in your inbox every Friday 5 PM East Africa Time
