In the late 1940s, colonial government officials reached deep into Fore
territory. The officials strived to help the Fore people by introducing
the importance of hygiene and road construction. The officials stressed
the Fore people to give up their village welfare, sorcery, and
cannibalism. Although these officials did not intend any direct physical
harm, their entrance allowed for more people to enter the Fore
territory. About a decade later in 1951, a police post was set up at
Okapa (then known as Mole) in the North Fore region. Soon, in 1953,
missionaries and traders began to travel to the Fore region. Contact
with these missionaries and traders influenced the Fore culture; soon
enough the Fore people began to trade with outsiders, grow coffee, and
began to use a money-based economical system. All of these sound like
rather positive points, but, they eventually led to the downfall of the
Fore culture as a whole. In addition, the new arrival of traders and
missionaries may have led to the introduction of the Kuru disease in
Fore territory. The Kuru disease began to spread in the Fore area around
1953 to 1959. The disease was characterized by a general sense of
weakness, inability to stand, and uncontrollable laughter. The last
person to die of the Kuru disease in the Fore region passed away in
2005.
By: Atul Rahman
No comments:
Post a Comment