//Tswi / shu// : « kystes ovariens », et thérapies dans l’arrondissement de bangangté de l’ouest Cameroun une contribution à l’anthropologie médicale

Abstract

Entitled //Tswi// or //Shu//: Ovarian Cysts and Therapies among the Bangangté of Western Cameroon; A Contribution to Medical Anthropology. This study falls within the field of medical anthropology and explores the cultural logics that shape the perception and management of this pathology in a society where traditional beliefs remain deeply rooted. The interest in this topic arose from a striking observation: in Bangangté, ovarian cysts are rarely seen as mere biological anomalies. While biomedicine attributes them to hormonal or genetic causes, local knowledge often interprets them as the result of invisible forces, curses, or disruptions in social or spiritual order. This discrepancy raises a crucial issue: how do affected women make sense of their illness, and what determines their therapeutic choices? To address this, we adopted a qualitative approach grounded in ethnographic fieldwork, using semi- structured interviews, participant observation, and discourse analysis. The theoretical framework draws on medical anthropology, notably concepts such as therapeutic pluralism, the "lived experience" of illness, and social representations of the body. Our findings show that ovarian cysts are perceived far beyond their biomedical definition: they are often seen as a threat to femininity and fertility, causing both physical pain and social stigma. Women navigate between multiple care systems modern medicine, traditional healing, and religious practices following complex logics that are at once economic, symbolic, and relational. These therapeutic itineraries reflect a lived experience of illness at the intersection of the visible and the invisible, the social and the biological. Through this study, we highlight the importance of an intercultural approach to health, one that takes local representations into account to improve care and communication with patients. Looking ahead, it would be valuable to expand this research to other cultural contexts in Cameroon to further explore social dynamics surrounding the body, fertility, and women’s health.