The popularity of faith-healing in sub-Saharan Africa has been widely acknowledged in research, but mostly treated as a phenomenon apart, instead of being viewed in relation to other modes of healing. In this article I focus on the reasons why believers choose faith-healing in a medically pluralistic situation and how they see other healing options available in a locally founded Charismatic church community, the Gospel Miracle Church for All People (GMCL), in the Southern Tanzanian city of Mbeya. I propose that, in order to see the medically pluralistic context in Tanzania through the journeys of health-seeking nomads, the focus must lie on two intertwined aspects of faith-healing: first, it is inevitably based on the need to be healed and speaks of a failure of biomedicine to explain illness and provide healing; and second, the long journeys that are made in search of healing mean traversing boundaries and switching between parallel healing systems: biomedicine, traditional healing, and faith-healing. While health seeking nomads are in many ways in a vulnerable position, I suggest that their ability to move from one healing option to another speaks of agency: not in the sense of full control over their life situations but, rather, as a way of coming to terms with their illness. (Less)

中文翻译：

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坦桑尼亚姆贝亚医疗多元化背景下的寻求健康的游牧民和信仰治疗

撒哈拉以南非洲地区信仰疗愈的流行已在研究中得到广泛认可，但大多被视为一种现象，而不是与其他疗愈模式相关联。在这篇文章中，我重点讨论了信徒在医学多元化的情况下选择信仰治疗的原因，以及他们如何看待在当地建立的灵恩教会社区，即位于坦桑尼亚南部的全民福音奇迹教会 (GMCL) 中可用的其他治疗选择姆贝亚市。我建议，为了通过寻求健康的游牧民族的旅程了解坦桑尼亚的医学多元化背景，重点必须放在信仰治愈的两个相互交织的方面：首先，它不可避免地基于被治愈和说话的需要生物医学未能解释疾病并提供治疗；其次，寻求治愈的漫长旅程意味着跨越边界并在平行的治愈系统之间切换：生物医学、传统治愈和信仰治愈。虽然寻求健康的游牧民在许多方面处于弱势地位，但我认为他们从一种治疗选择转向另一种治疗的能力是一种能动性：不是完全控制他们的生活状况，而是作为一种到来的方式以适应他们的疾病。（较少的）相反，作为一种与他们的疾病达成协议的方式。（较少的）相反，作为与他们的疾病达成协议的一种方式。（较少的）