VEJOH - VERITAS JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES

Cattle diseases have been in existence since the emergence of the Neolithic revolution and stockowners around the world struggled to keep away such diseases using traditional medicines as determined by their surrounding environment. In African pastoral communities, this struggle remained dominant throughout pre-colonial period as in other parts of the world. Studies on African ethno veterinary practices have been written mainly from scientific view point while historians have scantly documented the role of ethno veterinary practices in the management of livestock diseases. The paper used qualitative method in analysing primary and secondary sources. The findings demonstrate that the Sukuma of pre-colonial Kwimba did not lie hopelessly at the mercy of livestock diseases. The Sukuma used their environmental knowledge to invent several ethno veterinary items and medicines to control diseases and maintain livestock health. Ethno veterinary items were crucial in the preparation and administration of medicinal dosages while ethno veterinary medicines were important in the treatment of livestock diseases and challenges. This paper is a historical response to the position taken by Eurocentric scholars who believes that development in Africa began when the continent came into contact with people from outside, particularly Europeans. The paper is not only important in showing African agency before the advent of colonialism, but also in the preservation of ethno veterinary knowledge of the Sukuma people of Kwimba District.

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