The effects of traumatic experiences on the infant–mother relationship in the former war zones of central Mozambique: The case of madzawde in Gorongosa

Abstract This article addresses the ways in which years of war and periods of serious drought have affected the cultural representations of the populations in Gorongosa District, Mozambique. In the wake of these events different cultural and historical representations have been disrupted, leaving the members of these communities with fragmented protective and resilience factors to cope effectively. Emphasis is placed on the disruption of madzawde , a mechanism that regulates the relationship between the child (one to two years of life) and the mother, and the family in general. The war, aggravated by famine, prevented the populations from performing this child‐rearing practice. Nearly a decade after the war ended, the posttraumatic effects of this disruption are still being observed both by traditional healers and health‐care workers at the district hospital. The results suggest that this disruption is affecting and compromising the development of the child and the physical and psychological health of the mother. An in‐depth understanding of this level of trauma and posttraumatic effects is instrumental in making a culturally sensitive diagnosis and in developing effective intervention strategies based on local knowledge that has not been entirely lost but is nonetheless being questioned. ©2003 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.