Jan de Boer2026-09-032026-09-032026http://hdl.handle.net/11070/4290This research was conducted within a collaborative framework between the University of Namibia and Utrecht University (as part of the UNITWIN programme). In Namibia, I was affiliated with the Social Science Division (SSD) of the university. I conducted my research in Caprivi, the district in the far north-east of Namibia. Caprivi has traditionally been divided into West Caprivi – the area west of the Kwando River – and East Caprivi, the part to the east of that river. My research took place in the eastern section.1 The report is structured as follows: In Chapter One, I describe the framework within which I conducted my research. I outline the background of the study, set out the research questions, sketch the research setting, and introduce the reader to Nelson Mushaukwa Mutonga. In Chapter Two, I examine in depth the indigenous conceptions of illness. I explain how these conceptions are formed and describe the principal categories of illness causation. In Chapter Three, I discuss the practice of Nelson Mushaukwa Mutonga. I examine how he became a healer and discuss – partly through the description of a number of illness cases – how he diagnoses and treats the sick. In this chapter, the role of the supernatural in his work will become evident. Chapter Four, finally, offers concluding reflections on his practice, in which I address, among other things, his attitude towards biomedical healthcare.This research focus on the folk sector: the indigenous healthcare system rooted in local culture. This study describes the illness conceptions and practices of a local healer and the users of his care. However, the folk sector does not exist in isolation from the professional sector. Despite the considerable differences between the folk and professional sectors on the comparative dimensions outlined above, sick individuals draw upon both sectors, moving back and forth between them in their search for recovery. As we shall see, indigenous illness conceptions provide the legitimating framework for this movement. The professional and folk sectors come into contact through their shared users. This research, therefore attended to the question of how this indirect relationship manifests itself in the practice of ñakaenIndigenous healthcare systemÑaka local medicineEastern CapriviNamibiaLanguages and linguisticsHealingCare seekersKnowledge of home remediesSocial sciencesTechnical Report