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Tales of the Body: An Ethnographic Study of Illness Narratives among Patients with Diabetes in Eswatini
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2026.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2026
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| _version_ | 1867613756016558080 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Maleka, Skhanyiso Lesedi |
| author2 | Tayob, Shaheed |
| author_browse | Maleka, Skhanyiso Lesedi Tayob, Shaheed |
| author_facet | Tayob, Shaheed Maleka, Skhanyiso Lesedi |
| author_sort | Maleka, Skhanyiso Lesedi |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/136265 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:41:10.692Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/136265 Tales of the Body: An Ethnographic Study of Illness Narratives among Patients with Diabetes in Eswatini Maleka, Skhanyiso Lesedi Tayob, Shaheed Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology. Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. Maleka, S. L. 2026. Tales of the Body: An Ethnographic Study of Illness Narratives among Patients with Diabetes in Eswatini. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/10d265c3-7037-48b2-accd-a8ca30cbcf30 This thesis presents an ethnographic study on how individuals living with diabetes in Eswatini narrate and make sense of their illness, and how, through these narratives, they negotiate, resist, or reconfigure different forms of medical and moral authority in the care of the self. The research was conducted in both urban and rural areas of Mbabane, where I spent time engaging with patients, healthcare practitioners, and traditional healers through in-depth interviews and participant observation. These encounters revealed that there is no single story of illness or healing. Instead, people’s experiences of diabetes are entangled with moral, spiritual, and social meanings that move beyond biomedical explanations. Patients often navigate between clinics and traditional healing spaces, not as an act of confusion or indecision, but as an ethical and practical effort to make sense of their illness. These shifting therapeutic journeys reflect how individuals combine different forms of knowledge to care for themselves and others in contexts of uncertainty. The study highlights that healing in Eswatini is not confined to the clinic; it is a moral and relational process shaped by dialogue, reflection, and agency. Patient stories emerge as vital sources of knowledge—expressions of resilience and discernment that can inform more inclusive and culturally grounded approaches to healthcare in Eswatini and beyond, where multiple worlds of medicine coexist. Masters 2026-04-30T08:30:28Z 2026-04-30T08:30:28Z 2026-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/136265 en Stellenbosch University 86 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Maleka, Skhanyiso Lesedi Tales of the Body: An Ethnographic Study of Illness Narratives among Patients with Diabetes in Eswatini |
| title | Tales of the Body: An Ethnographic Study of Illness Narratives among Patients with Diabetes in Eswatini |
| title_full | Tales of the Body: An Ethnographic Study of Illness Narratives among Patients with Diabetes in Eswatini |
| title_fullStr | Tales of the Body: An Ethnographic Study of Illness Narratives among Patients with Diabetes in Eswatini |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tales of the Body: An Ethnographic Study of Illness Narratives among Patients with Diabetes in Eswatini |
| title_short | Tales of the Body: An Ethnographic Study of Illness Narratives among Patients with Diabetes in Eswatini |
| title_sort | tales of the body an ethnographic study of illness narratives among patients with diabetes in eswatini |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/136265 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT malekaskhanyisolesedi talesofthebodyanethnographicstudyofillnessnarrativesamongpatientswithdiabetesineswatini |