Introduction -- PART I: A history of population and disease in the Lower Congo -- Population decline and rise -- Postcolonial population and disease trends -- Part II: The social reproduction of health -- Health in household, family, and clan -- Public health and health care institutions, reconfigured -- Rejoicing in our bodies: popular meanings of health -- Part II: The legitimation of power and knowledge -- Dumuna: creating authority from below -- Science, sorcery, and spirit -- Legitimation and disease control -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index