Docs have no pill for Dumba

PADERU (VISAKHAPATNAM): On a drizzling afternoon last Thursday, the busiest man at the weekly shandy in this tribal town was the medicine man of the local tribe. After completing purchases of essential commodities, the tribal people flock to the old man in feathers to seek his guidance on appeasing the Dumba, the spirit that has been making them ill with frightful chills.
Doctors from the plains call it malaria but tribals in the Agency area of this district are sure someone���s been invoking chillangi or chedupu ���black magic���against them and the most sought-after man to cure it is not the doctor at the primary health centre but the shaman.Whether it is malaria, viral fever, or diarrhoea, the witch doctor diagnoses it as an evil spell cast by someone in the village.
There are eight sub-communities in the tribal group inhabiting the villages of Vizag Agency, tucked away in the inner recesses of the Eastern Ghats or clinging to the inclines: Bagatha, Konda Dora, Valmiki, Kodu, Nookadora, Poraja, Kammara and Gadaba. While influences from the plains have pervaded to the area in a large measure, the belief in witchcraft is strongly held. Last month, news of the death of a couple due to the mystery chills in Kujjali village travelled round the Paderu tribes, mostly by word of mouth and also disseminated by the media. The couple left two children, Tamara Vijaya Lakshmi and Prashanth, orphaned. But their family elder���guruvu���attributed the deaths to the evil effect of Dumba, and had some rituals performed to appease Dumba, a local tribesperson Rajanna Dora said.
The tribals��� belief in supernatural causes of disease is the biggest obstacle to extending medical help, says K Jwalamukhi, a zoology lecturer.