Mogadishu - The growls from the caged
hyena reverberate through the room as Mohamed Sheikh Yakub
slumps silently in a chair nearby, hoping the animal will
frighten away the evil spirits he says have troubled him since
his divorce.
The traditional treatment - rooted in the belief that hyenas
can devour the 'jinns' or spirits widely blamed in the region
for depression and mental illness - takes place in a sweltering
shack in Somalia's capital Mogadishu.
The Horn of Africa nation, which has suffered decades of
civil war, only has three trained psychiatrists, the World
Health Organization says.
In the absence of conventional therapies, many people are
turning to traditional healers including Yakub's exorcist - a
spry 70-year-old called Aden Igaal who goes by the name of Dr.
Hyena.
Medics at the capital's Turkish-funded Erdogan Hospital say
there is no scientific basis for the treatment. "I don't think
it can help," said neurosurgeon Dr. Nur Abdullahi Karshe.
Psychiatric nurse Abdirahman Ali Awale, known as 'Dr.
Habeeb', says he always encourages people to get clinical rather
than traditional treatment. "I am trying to educate them to not
go to the hyenas," he said.
Amid a lack of trained psychiatrists in Somalia, some are turning to traditional healers including hyenas for treatment https://t.co/3ec8PJmaHb pic.twitter.com/E2Ufh59z9I
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 2, 2020
But patients at Dr. Hyena's shack and their families say
they have little choice given the shortage of alternatives.
Fatuma Ahmed says she took her 13-year-old daughter to Dr
Hyena after giving up on other avenues.
"I took her to every hospital in Mogadishu but wasted my
money. I was hopeless," Ahmed tells Reuters. She says the
treatment worked. "Thank God, she is OK."
In the past, other healers often locked patients into rooms
with unrestrained animals, Dr. Hyena says. His use of a cage
means there haven't been any injuries since he started his
practice four years ago, he tells Reuters.
A hyena named Ali, believed to exorcise evil spirits that cause mental illness, is seen caged inside a treatment room in Hodan district of Mogadishu. Picture: Feisal Omar/Reuters
Patients have red thread tied around their little fingers to
stop the spirits from slipping away temporarily before the hyena
can deal with them properly, he says.
He got into the business after his sister was treated by
traditional healer. "This inspired me to look for a hyena to
heal the people."
He found a hyena pup for sale for $1,200, nicknamed it Ali
and set up shop, charging people $10 a session - still pricey in
a city where a soldier receives $100 per month.
Mohamed Sheikh Yakub, a patient suffering with mental illness, is assisted outside the treatment room where a hyena believed to exorcise evil spirits that cause mental illness is secured in Hodan district of Mogadishu. Pictue: Feisal Omar/Reuters
Back in the treatment shack, the hyena swings its head
around and snuffles against the cage's narrow bars. But Mohamed
Sheikh Yakub shows no sign of improvement and remains listless
and withdrawn.
Dr Hyena stops the session after few minutes, saying his
animal has not managed to detect any sprits. Some conditions are
not caused by jinns, he says. But Yakub should come back three
more times, just to make sure.
Yakub's brother, who was with him throughout the treatment,
occasionally holding him up to the cage, leads him outside.
A hyena named Ali, believed to exorcise evil spirits that cause mental illness, is seen caged inside a treatment room in Hodan district of Mogadishu. Picture: Feisal Omar/Reuters