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EBOOK Fundamentals of Occlusion Download Full Chapter PDF Docx Kindle
EBOOK Fundamentals of Occlusion Download Full Chapter PDF Docx Kindle
6.6 TMJ Disorders, Orofacial Pain, and Mental Status Checklist 426
1. Temporomandibular Joint 427
2. Range of Motion 428
3. Parafunction 428
4. Orofacial Pain History 429
Fundamentals of Occlusion 8
Table of Contents
Fundamentals of Occlusion 9
Table of Contents
Fundamentals of Occlusion 10
Dedication
Fundamentals of Occlusion 11
Acknowledgements
Fundamentals of Occlusion 12
Contributors
ACP TASK FORCE ON OCCLUSION Jennifer L. Wiens Priebe, DDS, MS, FACP
EDUCATION Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics
Prosthodontics and Implant Consultants, PC
Donald A. Curtis, DMD, FACP West Bloomfield, Michigan
Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics
Professor Prevent. and Rest. Dental Sciences Rick M. Smith, DDS, MS, FACP
University of California San Francisco Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics
San Francisco, California Associate Professor of Prosthodontics
Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health
David P. Donatelli, DDS Mesa, Arizona
Assistant Professor
Department of Restorative Dentistry Daniel F. Tylka, DMD, MS
Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry Clinical Associate Professor
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Department of Restorative Dentistry
University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry
Bryan D. Dye, DDS, MS, FACP Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics
Assistant Professor Jonathan P. Wiens, DDS, MSD, FACP
Department of Restorative Dentistry Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics
West Virginia University Adjunct Clinical Professor
Morgantown, West Virginia Department of Restorative Dentistry
University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry
John J. Ference, DMD, MDS, FACP Detroit, Michigan
Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics
Assistant Professor of Prosthodontics
University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Med. CONTRIBUTORS
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Peter E. Dawson, DDS
Lisa A. Lang, DDS, MS, MBA, FACP
The Dawson Academy
Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics
St. Petersburg, Florida
Chair, Associate Professor
Department of Comprehensive Care Charles J. Goodacre, DDS, MSD, FACP
Case Western Res. Univ. School Dental Med. Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics
Cleveland, Ohio Distinguished Professor, Advanced Education
Program in Prosthodontics
Damian J. Lee, DDS, MS
Loma Linda University School of Dentistry
Assistant Professor
Loma Linda, California
Restorative Sciences and Prosthodontics
The Ohio State School of Dentistry Niles F. Guichet, DDS, FACP
Columbus, Ohio Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics
Providence Prosthodontics
William W. Nagy, DDS, FACP
Orange, California
Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics
Professor, Department of Restorative Sciences Aldo Leopardi, BDS, DDS, MS
Baylor College of Dentistry, Dallas, Texas 7400 East Crestline Circle
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Ales Obrez, DMD, PhD
Associate Professor Ronald L. Wiens, MA, LSMW, ACSW
Department of Restorative Dentistry Private Consultant
University of Illinois-Chicago College of Dentistry Certified and Licensed Therapist
Chicago, Illinois Allen Park, Michigan
Fundamentals of Occlusion 13
Foreword
To practice intelligently and ethically, every dental graduate must have a sound
understanding of occlusion. Graduates cannot claim a workable understanding of
occlusion if they are not competent in diagnosing and correcting the routine problems
that result from malocclusions. Malocclusion is the condition that exists when the teeth
do not come together properly. The effects of malocclusion are many and varied. They
are the very effects that every dentist sees and must treat on a daily basis and include
excessive wear, sore or sensitive teeth, cracked cusps, and tooth hypermobility. In
addition, the effects of malocclusion on the masticatory musculature and as a common
causative factor in orofacial pain and craniomandibular disorders are all problems
routinely seen in every dental practice. Dentists must assume responsibility for at least
recognizing these problems, because dentists are the only health professionals trained in
masticatory system disorders including occlusion factors.
A literature review reveals why there is so much confusion regarding the role of
malocclusion as a factor in masticatory system pain and dysfunction.1 Investigators found
that in a 25-year period (1969-1994) 75% of the articles published supported the position
that malocclusion was not a factor in the etiology of craniomandibular disorders (CMD).
One study reported that most patients who availed themselves of occlusal equilibration
to correct malocclusion had more symptoms after treatments than before and wished
they had never had the service. In consideration of these reports, plus the added
requirements to teach new techniques, materials, and implant placement and the impact
of digital advancements, interest in occlusion waned, and curriculum time for occlusion
was significantly reduced. Some dental educators were asking “Is occlusion important,
and if it is, what do we teach?”
An analysis of the literature minimizing the importance of occlusion clarifies why the
opinions expressed are varied among the many dentists who support the position that
effective occlusion diagnostic and treatment skills are absolutely necessary for managing
dentally related masticatory system disorders, including problems of orofacial pain and
CMDs. In revisiting the negative admonitions in the literature, it is apparent that not a
single study followed the clinical guidelines that knowledgeable clinicians agree are
essential for successful occlusal treatment.
Fundamentals of Occlusion 14
FOREWORD
This text is the first of a series of advancements planned by the ACP to established
evidence-based standards for occlusion education, diagnosis, treatment, research –
and perhaps in the future – insurance reimbursement for diagnosis and treatment of
occlusion related CMDs as a dentally related medical problem.
The premise that drives the ACP to improve protocols for teaching principles of
occlusion is straightforward. Graduates who have not learned how to recognize and
treat problems of occlusion will not know how to prevent them, causing problematic
disharmonies in the dental treatment they perform on their patients.
Fundamentals of Occlusion 15
Preface
The goal of this text is to develop concepts of occlusion based upon the best
available science combined with a consensus of the best clinical practices by leading
prosthodontic educators and practitioners. This combination provides clarity and
understanding to enable students of occlusion to begin their journey of discovery
with a sound foundation. Drs. Niles Guichet and Pete Dawson, pioneers in occlusal
studies, provided valuable guidance and counsel in the development of this text.
Their contributions to the literature and continuing dental education are noteworthy.
This text consists of ten chapters followed by review questions and answers. The first
chapter begins with a glossary, as learning occlusal terminology will facilitate a better
understanding of the text that follows. Rather than an alphabetical listing, these occlusal
terms have been reorganized under five headings (Parametrics, Articulation, Mandibular
Movements, Occlusal Instruments, and Temporomandibular Joint) for comparison and
contrast. The ACP acknowledges the Academy of Prosthodontics for their willingness to
share the Glossary of Prosthodontic Terms.
The next three chapters include anatomy and physiology, occlusal instruments, occlusal
disorders, and equilibration methodology. These sections are designed to teach
students how to analyze the various skeletal and dental morphologies that impact the
occlusal interface, as well as the dynamics of the range of mandibular motion and the
various instruments used to measure, record, and recreate a stable occlusal interface.
Fundamentals of Occlusion 16
PREFACE
The ACP recognizes the members of the Task Force on Occlusion Education for their
valuable time and effort. Without question this work could never have been published
without the help of the Whip Mix Corporation, which provided graphics and an
unrestricted educational grant to help produce this text.
Fundamentals of Occlusion 17
Chapter 1
Glossary
1.1 Parametrics
1.2 Articulation
1.3 Mandibular Movements
1.4 Occlusal Instruments
1.5 Temporomandibular Joint
1.6 Glossary Review
1.7 References & Illustrations
INTRODUCTION • GLOSSARY
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
The following occlusal terminology was primarily derived from the GPT-8, and was reorganized into
groups. The regrouping of terms is believed to be beneficial for better comprehension and retention.
The reader is encouraged to review the complete Glossary for other prosthodontic terms. In addition, the
Glossary is searchable for other related terms.
SECTION OVERVIEW
1.1
Parametrics
1. Angles
2. Axes
3. Curves
4. Planes
5. Points
1.2. Articulation
1. Articulation
2. Angle Classification
3. Types of Occlusion
4. Guidance, Occlusal Contacts, Equilibration
1.3
Mandibular Movements
1. Mandibular Movements
2. Translation, Records
3. Space and Positions
4. Function, Parafunction and Trauma
1.4
Occlusal Instruments
1. Articulator Classification
2. Types of Articulators and Devices
3. Components of the Articulator
4. Occlusal Recording Instruments
1.5
Temporomandibular Joint
1. Temporomandibular Joint and Displacements
2. Neuromuscular Dysfunction, Osteoarthritis, Orthosis
Fundamentals of Occlusion 19
1.1 PARAMETRICS • GLOSSARY
1.1 Parametrics
1.1.1 ANGLES
ANB angle (ANB): in cephalometric analysis, the angle formed between the nasion point
A line and the nasion point B line.
Balkwill angle: eponym for the angle bounded by lines connecting the mandibular central
incisor’s incisal edge to each condyle and the angle created with the occlusal plane.
(Not in GPT).
Bonwill triangle: eponym for a 4-inch equilateral triangle bounded by lines connecting
the contact points of the mandibular central incisor’s incisal edge (or the mid-line of the
mandibular residual ridge) to each condyle (usually its mid point) and from one condyle to
the other.
Bennett angle: the angle formed between the sagittal plane and the average path of
the advancing condyle as viewed in the horizontal plane during lateral mandibular
movements.
cusp angle: the angle made by the average slope of a cusp with the cusp plane measured
mesiodistal or buccolingually.
Frankfort mandibular plane angle: eponym for the angle formed by the intersection of
the Frankfort horizontal plane with the mandibular plane.
Fischer’s angle: eponym for the angle formed by the intersection of the protrusive and
nonworking side condylar paths as viewed in the sagittal plane.
incisal guide angle: anatomically, the angle formed by the intersection of the plane of
occlusion and a line within the sagittal plane determined by the incisal edges of the
maxillary and mandibular central incisors when the teeth are in maximum intercuspation
on an articulator, that angle formed, in the sagittal plane, between the plane of reference
and the slope of the anterior guide table, as viewed in the sagittal plane.
Fundamentals of Occlusion 20
1.1 PARAMETRICS • GLOSSARY
FIGURE 1.1 A
ANGLES
A. The ANB angle is noted in red, subspinale to nasion to supramentale. The Balkwill angle is noted in blue,
condyle to median incisor midpoint to occlusal plane.
Fundamentals of Occlusion 21
1.1 PARAMETRICS • GLOSSARY
FIGURE 1.1 B
ANGLES
B. The A and B represent the condyles, while the median incisor C represents the third point of Bonwill’s 100
mm equilateral triangle. Point D represents Monson’s proposed Center of Rotation approximately located
in the glabella or crista galli. The Balkwill triangle or angle is represented by the angle created between the
Bonwill Triangle and the Occlusal Plane.66
Fundamentals of Occlusion 22
1.1 PARAMETRICS • GLOSSARY
FIGURE 1.1 C
ANGLES
C. The Bennett angle is represented by the morphological shape of the medial wall of the glenoid fossa
and is numbered above as 1,2,3. In the above illustration the patient’s left condyle will move downward and
forward, which is known as left mediotrusion. Note that angle #1 has more immediate translation (sideways
movement) than #3.
Fundamentals of Occlusion 23
1.1 PARAMETRICS • GLOSSARY
FIGURE 1.1 D
ANGLES
D. The Frankfort mandibular plane angle is formed by the porion-orbitale plane and the menton-gonial plane.
Fundamentals of Occlusion 24
1.1 PARAMETRICS • GLOSSARY
F. Horizontal overlap of the incisors measures 6 mm for this patient. The combined vertical overlap of 7 mm
and horizontal overlap of 6 mm results in an incisal angle of more than 45 degrees.
Fundamentals of Occlusion 25
1.1 PARAMETRICS • GLOSSARY
FIGURE 1.1 G
ANGLES
G. The relative incisal guide angle “A” may be determined by measuring the vertical overlap “B” and
horizontal overlap “C.” The red arrow represents the incisal guidance angle, from Trapozzano VR: Laws of
articulation.67
Fundamentals of Occlusion 26
1.1 PARAMETRICS • GLOSSARY
1.1 Parametrics
1.1.2 AXES
sagittal axis: an imaginary anteroposterior line around which the mandible may rotate
when viewed in the frontal plane.
vertical axis of the mandible: an imaginary line around which the mandible may rotate
through the horizontal plane.
transverse horizontal axis (THA): an imaginary line around which the mandible may rotate
within the sagittal plane.
Fundamentals of Occlusion 27
1.1 PARAMETRICS • GLOSSARY
FIGURE 1.2 A
AXES
A. Note the designations of the three planes: horizontal, sagittal, and frontal planes. Mandibular movement
can occur around all three axes and in all three planes, Craddock MR, Parker MH, Cameron S, et al: Artifacts in
recording immediate mandibular translation: A laboratory investigation. J Prosthet Dent 1997;78:172-178.68
Fundamentals of Occlusion 28
1.1 PARAMETRICS • GLOSSARY
B. The red dot marks the transverse horizontal axis with rotation occurring in the sagittal plane as determined
by the kinematic facebow.
C. Bergstrom Point: The tragus of the ear is outlined in green, the orbitale point in red, and the Bergstrom
point in blue. This represents the mathematical approximate location of the kinematic THA – 10 mm anterior
to tragus and 7 mm inferior to the tragus-orbitale line.
Fundamentals of Occlusion 29
1.1 PARAMETRICS • GLOSSARY
1.1 Parametrics
1.1.3 CURVES
Monson curve: eponym for a proposed ideal curve of occlusion in which each cusp and
incisal edge touches or conforms to a segment of the surface of a sphere 8 inches in
diameter with its center in the region of the glabella.
Spee curve: eponym for ANTEROPOSTERIOR CURVE – the anatomic curve established by
the occlusal alignment of the teeth, as projected onto the median plane, beginning with
the cusp tip of the mandibular canine and following the buccal cusp tips of the premolar
and molar teeth, continuing through the anterior border of the mandibular ramus, ending
with the anterior-most portion of the mandibular condyle.
Wilson curve: 1: eponym for the MEDIOLATERAL CURVE 2: in the theory that occlusion
should be spherical, the curvature of the cusps as projected on the frontal plane
expressed in both arches; the curve in the lower arch being concave and the one in the
upper arch being convex. The curvature in the lower arch is affected by an equal lingual
inclination of the right and left molars so that the tip points of the corresponding cross-
aligned cusps can be placed into the circumferences of a circle. The transverse cuspal
curvature of the upper teeth is affected by the equal buccal inclinations of their long axes.
compensating curve (CC): 1: the anteroposterior curving (in the median plane) and the
mediolateral curving (in the frontal plane) within the alignment of the occluding surfaces
and incisal edges of artificial teeth that is used to develop balanced occlusion. 2: the arc
introduced in the construction of complete removable dental prostheses to compensate
for the opening influences produced by the condylar and incisal guidances during lateral
and protrusive mandibular excursive movements.
Fundamentals of Occlusion 30
1.1 PARAMETRICS • GLOSSARY
FIGURE 1.3 A
CURVES
A. Curve of Monson – a 4-inch (100 mm) radius sphere that determines the occlusal curve “C,” the center of
rotation is in the glabella “A,” from Monson GS: Occlusion as applied to crown and bridge work. 69
Fundamentals of Occlusion 31
1.1 PARAMETRICS • GLOSSARY
Fundamentals of Occlusion 32
1.1 PARAMETRICS • GLOSSARY
1.1 Parametrics
1.1.4 PLANES
ala-tragus plane: a line running from the inferior border of the ala of the nose to some
defined point on the tragus of the ear, usually considered to be the tip of the tragus.
It is frequently used, with a third point on the opposing tragus, for the purpose of
establishing the ala tragus plane. Ideally the ala-tragus plane is considered to be parallel
to the occlusal plane. The occlusal plane is at an angle of approximately 10 degrees
relative to the Frankfort horizontal plane, when viewed in the mid sagittal plane.
axis-orbital plane: the horizontal plane established by the transverse horizontal axis of the
mandible with a point on the inferior border of the right or left bony orbit (orbitale). This
plane can be used as a horizontal reference point.
Frankfort horizontal plane (FHP): eponym for a plane established by the lowest point on
the margin of the right or left bony orbit and the highest point on the margin of the right
or left bony auditory meatus.
frontal plane: any plane parallel with the long axis of the body and at right angles to the
median plane, thus dividing the body into front and back parts. So called because this
plane roughly parallels the frontal suture of the skull.
horizontal plane: any plane passing through the body at right angles to both the median
and frontal planes, thus dividing the body into upper and lower parts; in dentistry, the
plane passing through a tooth at right angles to its long axis.
mandibular plane (MP): in cephalometrics, a plane that passes through the inferior border
of the mandible.
occlusal plane (OP): the average plane established by the incisal and occlusal surfaces
of the teeth. Generally, it is not a plane but represents the planar mean of the curvature of
these surfaces.
sagittal plane: any vertical plane or section parallel to the median plane of the body that
divides a body into right and left portions.
Fundamentals of Occlusion 33
1.1 PARAMETRICS • GLOSSARY
FIGURE 1.4 A
PLANES
A. Sagittal plane.
Fundamentals of Occlusion 34
1.1 PARAMETRICS • GLOSSARY
FIGURE 1.4 B
PLANES
B. The red line represents the Frankfort horizontal plane, the yellow line represents Camper’s plane, and the
blue line represents the mandibular plane – sagittal view.
Fundamentals of Occlusion 35
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DANCE ON STILTS AT THE GIRLS’ UNYAGO, NIUCHI
I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time
back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have
no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human
occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very
slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not
yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid
timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed
forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled
his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process
may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main
road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe—
not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few
steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been
cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more,
between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last
pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a
melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them—
cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also
piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and
son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too
busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites
so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles
of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken
the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their
smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if
they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes,
perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.
This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the
virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already
cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble
of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the
secondary bush.
After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the
hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the
country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact,
receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in
the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains,
where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its
abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have
the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working
for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were
accustomed to rule.
But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no
harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has
been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in
time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe
and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and
lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and
desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by
man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and
even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth
is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible,
impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black
occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and
come back to his starting point.
The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.
According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing
else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been
settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great
stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the
south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence
their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the
Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast,
to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied
African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of
population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth
could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on
the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however,
correct.
The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us
of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the
thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau,
instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks
and springs of the low country.
“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern
side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was
nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never
washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.
He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree
growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the
bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and
was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the
Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a still-
born child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the
valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which
was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of
Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In
course of time, the couple had many more children, and called
themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the
Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their
forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to
bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who
was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also
warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams,
for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to
have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest watering-
place; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”
The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is
somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I
extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by
Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my
results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?
Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the
supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other
people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself
by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short,
woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is
likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is
nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from
various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood,
ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and
representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia,
Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well
done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the
keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and
meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably)
would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the
scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures
were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial
deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded
by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely
be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that
they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably
unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.
The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the
Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru
valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the
travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their
descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with
its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible
at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent
to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie
within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly
the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a
point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive
Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.
Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they
had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health
conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the
African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled
by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil
spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to
assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish
districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.
This knowledge is crystallized in the
ancestral warning against settling in the
valleys and near the great waters, the
dwelling-places of disease and death. At the
same time, for security against the hostile
Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted
that every settlement must be not less than a
certain distance from the southern edge of the
plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the
present day. It is not such a bad one, and
certainly they are both safer and more
comfortable than the Makua, the recent
intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF
good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR
plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of
country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings
anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain,
especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a
Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the
most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly
spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with
the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.
The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during
the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings
or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a
veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts
only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists
merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone
have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening
the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but
ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood
or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in
two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If
the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s
upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely
against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle
of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece
horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.
It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few
inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course
cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the
owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding
out how the back door is fastened.