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Contents vii
Preface
T
oday’s society is changing rapidly, thanks in part to ever-evolving technology
that allows our community to stretch all across the globe. This evolution,
combined patients’ ever-changing healthcare needs, can create a bewildering
environment for nurses preparing themselves to be leaders in the healthcare arena.
In the face of these challenges, the DNP-prepared nurse is proving to be valuable in a
variety of new settings, and in reflection of that, the third edition of this book includes
a discussion of the role of the DNP-educated nurse in academia.
For the nurse who has been dedicated to bedside practice and now is conscien-
tious enough to seek a DNP degree, the capstone project can be a source of anxiety.
It is my hope that this text will serve as a guidebook for the nurse who is navigating
through that process—a compass that will assist in avoiding obstacles, developing
realistic timelines, and setting achievable goals.
The third edition of this book continues to focus on the capstone project. To assist
in the process of developing the project, new information is included describing the
selection of a theoretical framework. To optimize the implementation of the project,
new information is provided on recent updates to the Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
It is my hope that this text will assist the DNP student who wants to serve as a
catalyst for change in the healthcare community. May it serve as a companion for the
nurse who is walking the journey of the DNP capstone project.
—Allison J. Terry
viii
UNIT I
Preparing for Your
Capstone Project
CHAPTER 1 The Importance of Research in the Doctor
of Nursing Practice Degree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
CHAPTER 2 Developing the Researchable Problem. . . . . 21
CHAPTER 3 Conducting a Literature Review. . . . . . . . . . . 37
CHAPTER 4 Ethics in Clinical Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
© Sunny/DigitalVision/Getty
1
CHAPTER 1
The Importance of
Research in the Doctor of
Nursing Practice Degree
OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this chapter, the reader should be prepared to:
1. Describe the fundamental differences between a practice-oriented doctorate
and the traditional research-focused doctorate.
2. Discuss the seven primary areas of content that the American Association of
Colleges of Nursing has recommended be included in all doctor of nursing
practice (DNP) programs.
3. Review the timeline that led to the development of the DNP degree.
4. Discuss the concerns that have arisen regarding implementation of the DNP
degree.
5. Review the primary areas of content of any DNP program.
6. Describe how the DNP graduate should be prepared to function as an agent for
quality improvement.
7. Describe how the DNP graduate should be prepared to act as an advocate for
health care through use of healthcare policy.
8. Describe how the DNP graduate should be prepared to function as an advanced
practice nurse in a specialty.
9. Describe how the DNP graduate should be prepared to utilize information
systems and technology.
10. Describe how the DNP graduate functions while assuming an aggregate focus.
11. Discuss the relationship of the DNP graduate’s clinical scholarship to
evidence-based practice.
12. Differentiate between a systematic review and the development of clinical
practice guidelines.
13. Describe the process of evidence-based decision making.
14. Be familiar with websites that can provide additional information related to
evidence-based practice.
3
4 Chapter 1 The Importance of Research in the Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree
TOOLBOX
Begin considering various topics that would be of interest to you as a focus for your
capstone project. You’ll want to begin this process by initially addressing some basic
questions:
■■ Is there a clear need for an area to be changed or improved in your current work
environment?
■■ Are there individuals in your current facility who would be supportive of a project
in this area?
■■ Are there resources that could be made available to assist you, such as personnel or
funding?
■■ Is this idea manageable and realistic? (Determine this by mapping a timeline.)
■■ Can you verbalize what you would be attempting to achieve by implementing the
project?
If you can answer these questions, you are well on the way to developing
the topic for your project. If you cannot answer the questions, don’t be concerned;
you have initiated the important process of determining your project focus. The
development of the capstone project will be addressed in further detail later in the text.
These practice areas can be incorporated into DNP programs to prepare the
new generation of clinicians.
TOOLBOX
A quality improvement project is a great way to implement your capstone project.
Because it frequently is something that a facility such as a hospital would be
implementing as part of its overall quality initiative, it may be easy to obtain institutional
support for the project. Typically, the more that a project is institutionally driven, the
easier it is to move smoothly through the institutional review board process. Can you
think of a quality improvement initiative that would benefit your facility and also form a
basis for a capstone project?
TOOLBOX
Do you serve on any interprofessional committees in your facility or in your local
healthcare community? If not, check on the availability of areas in which you can
serve in the role of advocate. Interprofessional collaboration will result and may also
provide you with access to individuals who are ready to assist you as you implement
the capstone project. Is the level of interprofessional collaboration in your own
facility strong? If not, what could you do in your new role of DNP to strengthen this
collaboration?
TOOLBOX
What practice trends can you identify in your local, state, and regional healthcare
communities? Do you view these trends as being beneficial and generating positive
patient care outcomes, and do you see them as potentially harmful to consumers? Give
the rationale for your answer.
TOOLBOX
The public is more technologically adept today than ever before. Does the area
where you practice maintain a list of websites that will provide patients with accurate
information that they can access once they are discharged? If not, develop this and
provide it to patients upon discharge. This will ensure they absorb more accurate
information during discharge teaching and also act as follow-up to answer questions
that may arise. Are you familiar with the process typically used in your area of practice
for discharge teaching? Would you change it if you could, and if so how?
interventions at the aggregate level. The DNP graduate who opts to have an aggregate
focus will, out of necessity, be required to be competent in community assessment
techniques so that aggregate health or system needs can be identified (AACN, 2006).
TOOLBOX
Envision yourself functioning at the aggregate level and addressing public policy. Are
there healthcare policies in your state or at the national level that you would like to
address? If so, what are they, and how would you like to change them? How would
these changes affect consumers of health care within the next 5 years?
explanations, and predictions; ethical knowing was thought to pertain to moral ob-
ligations, values, and desired results; personal knowing was defined as the genuine
relationship that develops between each nurse and patient; and aesthetic knowing
referred to the nurse’s perception of the significant areas in the patient’s behavior
as well as the art involved in performing nursing skills. Evidence-based practice is
believed to pertain most closely to empirical knowing, focusing on critical appraisal
and application of available data and research in order to understand the process of
clinical decision making more fully.
Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines developed as a means of influencing
patient outcomes while bringing evidence-based practice into bedside nursing practice.
Clinical practice guidelines are practice recommendations based on analysis of the
evidence available on a specific topic and a specific patient population (Mcilvoy &
Hinkle, 2008). The guidelines are developed with representation from as many stake-
holders as are interested in contributing, should be tested by healthcare professionals
who were not involved in their development, and should be reviewed regularly and
then modified as needed in to incorporate new knowledge that is emerging in the
field (DiCenso et al., 2000).
The concept of evidence-based nursing was consolidated by Flemming (1998)
into five distinct stages:
1. Information needs are identified in current practice and are then trans-
lated into focused questions; the questions should be searchable and still
reflect the focus on a specific patient, clinical situation, or managerial
scenario.
2. Once a focused question has been identified, it is used as a basis for a
literature search so that the relevant evidence from current research can
be identified.
3. The relevant evidence that has been gathered undergoes critical appraisal
to determine if validity is present; the extent of the generalizability of the
research will also be appraised.
4. A plan of care is developed using the best available evidence and clinical
expertise, as well as patient perspective.
5. A process of self-reflection, audit, and peer assessment is used to evaluate
implementation of the designed plan of care.
Unless the focused question is framed correctly, the DNP graduate will have
difficulty implementing evidence-based practice through the translation of evidence.
An accurately framed question should consist of the clinical situation being addressed,
the selected intervention, and the patient care outcome (Flemming, 1998).
TOOLBOX
Think about your current area of practice in your facility. Are there areas that you know
are being implemented daily but are not grounded in evidence-based practice? If so,
why do you think that these areas have continued to be utilized? What could you do as
a DNP to change them? How would you initiate the change process?
16 Chapter 1 The Importance of Research in the Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree
TOOLBOX
The previous toolbox asked you to identify areas in your practice area that you know are
not based on evidence-based practice but have continued to be implemented. Once
the change process has been initiated to ground these practices in current evidence,
how do think the overall change process would be implemented?
areas of the research process into reality-focused, manageable sections that can be
implemented in any practice setting that is the focus of the DNP clinician.
▸▸ Resources
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2006). DNP roadmap task force report. Retrieved
from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/DNP/pdf/Essentials.pdf
Bellini, S., & Cusson, R. (2012). The doctor of nursing practice for entry into advanced practice.
Newborn and Infant Nursing Reviews, 12(1), 12–16.
Lenz, E. (2005). The practice doctorate in nursing: An idea whose time has come. Online Journal of
Issues in Nursing, 10(3). Retrieved from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/514543
Marion, L., O’Sullivan, A., Crabtree, K., Price, M., & Fontana, S. (2003). Curriculum models for the
practice doctorate in nursing. Topics in Advanced Practice Nursing eJournal. Retrieved from http://
www.medscape.com/viewarticle/500742
Mundinger, M. (2005). Who’s who in nursing: Bringing clarity to the doctor of nursing practice.
Nursing Outlook, 53(4), 173–176.
PEW Health Professions Commission. (1995). Reforming health care workforce regulation: Policy
considerations for the 21st century. San Francisco, CA: Pew Health Professions.
Wall, B., Novak, J., & Wilkerson, S. (2005). Doctor of nursing practice program development:
Reengineering health care. Journal of Nursing Education, 44(5), 396–403.
▸▸ References
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2015). The Doctor of Nursing Practice: Current issues
and clarifying recommendations. Retrieved from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/aacn-publications
/white-papers/DNP-Implementation-TF-Report-8-15.pdf.
Auerbach, D., Martsolf, G., Pearson, M., Taylor, E., Zaydman, M., Murchow, A., . . . Dower, C. (2014).
The DNP by 2015: A study of the institutional, political, and professional issues that facilitate or
impede establishing a post-baccalaureate doctor of nursing practice program. Santa Monica, CA:
Rand Health Division, American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2006). The essentials of doctoral education for advanced
nursing practice. Retrieved from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/DNP/pdf/Essentials.pdf
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2013). Leading initiatives. Retrieved from http://www
.aacn.nche.edu/dnp/program-schools
Apold, S. (2008). The doctor of nursing practice: Looking back, moving forward. Journal for Nurse
Practitioners, 4(2), 101–107.
Association of Operating Room Nurses. (2011). Criteria for the evaluation of master’s, practice doctorate,
and post-graduate certificate educational programs. Retrieved from http://www.aorn.org/-/media
/aorn/guidelines/position-statements/posstat-endorsed-criteria-for-post-grad-programs.pdfhttp://
www.aorn.org/Clinical_Practice/Position_Statements/Position_Statements.aspx
Auburn University at Montgomery. (2016) Institutional review board. Retrieved from http://www
.aum.edu/academics/sponsored-programs/institutional-review-board
DiCenso, A., Ciliska, D., Marks, S., McKibbon, A., Cullum, N., & Thompson, C. (2000). Evidence-based
nursing. Retrieved from http://www.cebm.utoronto.ca/syllabi/nur/print/whole.htm
Duffy, M. (2004). Resources for building a research utilization program. Retrieved from http://www
.medscape.com/viewarticle/495915_print
Flemming, K. (1998). Asking answerable questions. Evidence Based Nursing, 1(2), 36–37.
Forward, L. (2002). A practical guide to conducting a systematic review. Nursing Times, 98(2), 36–37.
Hanchett, M. (2005). Infusion nursing’s greatest barrier: The lack of evidence to support evidence-based
practice. Topics in Advanced Practice Nursing. Retrieved from http://www.medscape.com
/viewarticle/507908_print
20 Chapter 1 The Importance of Research in the Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree
Mcilvoy, L., & Hinkle, J. (2008). What is evidence-based neuroscience nursing practice? Journal of
Neuroscience Nursing. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6374/is_6_40
/ai_n31179123
Pipe, T., Wellik, K., Buchda, V., Hansen, C., & Martyn, D. (2005). Implementing evidence-based nursing
practice. MedSurg Nursing. Retrieved from http://ajm.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/22/3/148.pdf
Rosswurm, M., & Larrabee, J. (1999). A model for change to evidence-based practice image. Journal
of Nursing Scholarship, 31(4), 317–322.
Rutgers College of Nursing. (2016). DNP program. Retrieved from http://www.aum.edu/academics
/sponsored-programs/institutional-review
Thompson, C., Cullum, N., McCaughan, D., Sheldon, T., & Raynor, P. (2004). Nurses, information use,
and clinical decision making: The real world potential for evidence-based decisions in nursing.
Evidence Based Nursing, 7(3), 68–72.
Udlis, K., & Mancuso, J. (2015). Perceptions of the role of the Doctor of Nursing Practice-prepared
nurse: Clarity or confusion. Journal of Professional Nursing, 31(4), 274–283.
21
22 Chapter 2 Developing the Researchable Problem
resources while generating nothing more than frustration for the researcher. For the
DNP clinician, the research problem must above all relate to some area of practice.
The germ of the idea can come directly from patients or colleagues or more indirectly
from the auditing process if the clinician functions in quality management or nursing
administration (Fitzpatrick, 2007; Duke University, 2016).
The DNP clinician must select a research problem that will contribute to
evidence-based practice and to the development of either a hypothesis or a
research question. The following sections address the development of hypothe-
ses and their proper usage. According to Stillwell, Fineout-Overhold, Melnyk, and
Williamson (2010), five components will indicate the researcher has developed a
research question rooted in an evidence-based practice problem:
1. The researcher has clearly identified a patient group or condition.
2. An issue or intervention is under investigation, such as a method of patient
care or a specific diagnostic test.
3. A specified manner for baseline measurement and method for comparison.
4. An outcome or result is indicated.
5. There is a time frame required for the intervention to achieve the
outcome.
In order for the researcher to keep these elements in mind while developing the
research question, the acronym PICOT frequently is utilized:
■■ P = the specified patient or target population
■■ I = the issue or intervention being investigated
■■ C = the comparison being made
■■ O = the outcome that may be the result
■■ T = time frame required to achieve the outcome (Stillwell, Fineout-Overhold,
Melnyk, and Williamson, 2010).
An example of an acceptable evidence-based practice question would be:
Does use of a pain scale reduce the patient’s experience of pain postoperatively?
In this case:
■■ P = Patient is undergoing a surgical procedure.
■■ I = Patient is taught how to measure pain using a pain scale.
■■ C = The pain level without using a pain scale is compared to the pain level when
using a pain scale.
■■ O = The patient has verbalized or indicated experience of postoperative pain.
■■ T = The time frame is the postoperative period.
The impetus for a researchable problem frequently may arise from a clini-
cal situation the researcher notes. In addition, the DNP clinician may make an
observation in his or her daily practice and wonder whether the clinical issue is
coincidental or fact based. A researchable problem may arise from reading journal
articles in the DNP graduate’s field of practice. Research articles typically state
areas for further study that have arisen from that particular manuscript. Often
an article will state that a recommendation is made for replication of the original
study with a different population of patients or using a different type of method-
ology (Beyea, 2000). As potential researchable problems arise during the course
of a typical practice-oriented day, the researcher should maintain a pocket-size
Appropriate Use of a Research Question 23
notebook specifically to jot down such thoughts. The researcher records additional
details at the end of the day, and then can use Internet search engines to review
the literature that is readily available on the topic. This will aid in the decision of
whether the problem is manageable for the researcher, practical to implement in
the form of research, and of sufficient interest to the researcher to be the focus of
a lengthy project (Van Cott & Smith, 2009).
The researcher should also consider several practical concerns while formulating
the research question:
■■ Is the research question one readers who are not nurses could easily un-
derstand by? This will help ensure the research report can be formulated
into an article that could be published, because the broader the audience,
the more likely it is publication will occur. Furthermore, the nature of the
practice-oriented doctorate incorporates elements of multiple fields of study,
including management, economics, finance, and psychology, to name only a
few. It is important to strive to appeal to the wide audience of professionals
who practice in these areas.
■■ Is the answer to the research question not immediately obvious? If the answer
is obvious, the problem has no researchable basis.
■■ Does the researcher have sufficient time available to answer the research question?
If answering the question requires an indeterminately long period, it will not be
practical as a researchable problem.
■■ Does the researcher have the financial and personnel resources to answer the
research question? If the question would require more money and personnel
than the researcher has available, it is not practical as a researchable problem
(Learning Domain, 2009). The researcher must be brutally honest regarding his
or her own skills and resources—if the project would require hiring additional
personnel to fill knowledge gaps, and funds for such personnel are lacking, the
researcher must strongly consider either phrasing the research question in a
different manner or selecting a new topic.
TOOLBOX
Think about the current practice situation in your own facility. Can you name three
factors in your own work area that would form the basis of a research question? Now
think beyond your own work area into other departments. Can you name three factors
that would involve collaboration with other departments and would generate research
questions?
findings often generated in qualitative studies can provide the basis for further
research that will utilize hypotheses. As previously mentioned, the sole intention
of exploratory research designs is to make the researcher more familiar with the
phenomena being investigated so additional, more precise research questions as well
as hypotheses can be generated. The researcher can use these studies when working
with a new phenomenon that has not been thoroughly investigated. Compare this
research design to descriptive studies, which are intended to more accurately repre-
sent a phenomenon that may have already undergone some previous investigation
so additional research questions and potentially even hypotheses can be generated
(Manheim, Rich, & Willnat, 2002; Duke University, 2016). Recognizing the need
for a research question for an exploratory research design when the phenomenon
under study has not been thoroughly investigated, an acceptable research question
could be, “Is the incidence of substance abuse greater in hospice nurses who have
experienced cancer in their own families than in hospice nurses who have no
firsthand experience with the disease?” Note that there is no attempt to predict any
relationship that might exist, although the question is specific enough to provide
direction for the study.
TOOLBOX
Put yourself in the position of a researcher who is contemplating a descriptive study.
Think about a previously investigated phenomenon related to your current work
situation that could warrant additional investigation. How would you generate a
research question from this phenomenon?
TOOLBOX
Suppose you are an investigator who is interested in studying the effect of
consumption of a high-fiber diet on nursing students’ performance in the clinical
setting. What would you designate as the independent variable? What would be the
dependent variable?
The hypothesis should directly respond to the research problem proposed at the
beginning of the research report. The variables of the hypothesis should be under-
standable to the reader. A criterion related to testability is the idea of the hypothesis
stated in such a way as to be clearly supported or not supported. The more evidence
provided, the more likely it is for a hypothesis to be accepted; however, hypotheses
are ultimately never proven (LoBiondo-Wood & Haber, 2015).
A researcher can formulate a hypothesis so it is directional or nondirectional. A
directional hypothesis specifies the predicted direction of the relationship between
the independent and dependent variables. Researchers naturally have expectations
about the outcomes of their research and thus potentially biased, as argued by some
proponents of directional hypotheses. An example of a directional hypothesis would
be, “An oncology floor staffed with at least 75 percent registered nurses is positively
related to patients verbalizing a decreased level of pain and nausea.” A hypothesis
that is deductive and derived from a theoretical framework is usually directional.
This means the theory will provide the rationale for proposing a relationship between
variables will have a particular outcome. If there is no theoretical framework to pro-
vide rationale, a nondirectional hypothesis may be more appropriate. Even with a
theoretical framework used as a base for a nondirectional hypothesis, it usually is not
as fully developed as a directional hypothesis would be. A nondirectional hypothesis
indicates the existence of a relationship between variables but does not specify the
predicted direction. An example would be, “There will be a difference in the level of
anxiety reported by nursing faculty who participate in a weekly focus group on current
research.” Researchers who favor the nondirectional hypothesis think this format is
more objective and impartial than the directional hypothesis (LoBiondo-Wood &
Haber, 2015).
Just as a hypothesis can be categorized as directional or nondirectional, it
also can be categorized as a statistical hypothesis or a research hypothesis. A
research hypothesis is also called a scientific hypothesis. The research hypothesis
consists of a statement about the expected relationship among the variables and
indicates what the outcome of the study is expected to be. The hypothesis is sup-
ported if statistically significant findings are obtained for a research hypothesis. The
statistical hypothesis, or null hypothesis, states there is no relationship between
the independent and dependent variables. If a statistically significant relationship
emerges between the variables at a specific level of significance, the null hypothe-
sis is rejected, and consequently the research hypothesis is accepted. An example
of a null hypothesis would be, “There will be no difference in the level of anxiety
reported by nursing faculty who participate in a weekly focus group on current
research and those nursing faculty who do not participate in such a focus group”
(LoBiondo-Wood & Haber, 2015).
LoBiondo-Wood and Haber (2015) have provided specific steps that indicate
whether a research question or a hypothesis should be developed, and if a hypothesis
is most appropriate, the type of hypothesis to formulate:
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.