Culture nutritionnelle et le bien-être des enfants de 0 à 59 mois chez les Moussey de Gounou-Gaya au Tchad : Une contribution à l’anthropologie médicale.

Abstract

This research focuses on : « nutritional culture and well-being of children aged 0 to 59 months among the Moussey of Gounougaya in Chad: A contribution to medical anthropology ». This research is the answer to the question of child nutrition in the Moussey community of Gounougaya in Chad. The problem she is trying to analyze is that of introducing children aged 0 to 59 months to new foods among the Moussey of Gounougaya. To better understand this research problem, a main question was asked: How do the Moussey of Gounougaya feed their children aged 0 to 59 months? This question corresponds to the following main hypothesis: The Moussey of Gounougaya feed their children mainly through an ancestral diet based on local resources and adapted to the specific nutritional needs of children and also the modern diet. These food resources include exclusive breast milk, dairy products, cereal-based porridges, legumes. After this main hypothesis, the main objective is formulated as follows: Explain how the Moussey of Gounougaya feed their children from 0 to 59 months. To better understand and analyze the way the children were fed by the Mousseys, we used the theories of social representations of Moscovici (1961) and Jodelet (1989) and the ethnomethodology of Harold Garfinkel (1968). On the methodological aspect, the qualitative approach was used to collect, analyze and interpret the data. To demonstrate the argumentative approach, a corpus was built from readings and field research, everything is structured by direct observations, documentation and in-depth individual interviews. The data was collected using the interview and observation guide, the tape recorder, the notepad and the camera. The data collected was subjected to content and thematic analysis. This double methodological procedure allowed us to achieve the following results : the sociocultural representations of the diet of children aged 0 to 59 among the Moussey of Gounougaya are located at three levels of health, respect and power. Among the Moussey of Gounougaya, children's food represents health, respect and power. Health: because the Moussey of Gounougaya consider that most male children are born with hernia and this disease must be treated as soon as they are born; Respect: in the Moussey culture, feeding children is a sign of respect towards elders and ancestors. The child is taught when he is eating not to speak and to look directly at his elders and he is also the last to clear the dining table. The food is considered King. The children's feeding system among the Moussey of Gounougaya is dynamic depending on the availability of foods such as : red millet porridge, fonio, vegetable sauces and crushed sesame. There are several varieties of foods consumed by Moussey children from 0 to 59 months for maintenance and well-being, namely philiostigma “barvaga, tcherona” juice, red millet and fonio. There is also the non-compliance with dietary restrictions among children which has a significant impact on their health and this is due to the dynamics of religious beliefs which often provokes anger among the ancestors where the repercussions are enormous or perceptible. This research is limited to the Moussey of Gounougaya and representations of food can only be understood in this community, but comparative research could be carried out to understand this phenomenon in other cultures that have similar practices, values and beliefs.