 |  Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural, 6/e Arthur Lehmann,
California State University -- Chico
Pamela Moro,
Willamette University
James Myers,
California State University -- Chico
Ethnomedicine: Religion and Healing
Chapter Outline
Introduction
Culturally Inflected Healing Systems
-culture, etiology, and treatment of illness
-medical anthropology
-causation: supernatural or natural
-medicine and religion
Why Study Non-Western Medical Systems?
-worldwide health care
-old and new approaches
-issues with inter-cultural 'contact'
-native point of view
-insights of traditional systems
Mental Illness In and Out of the 'Civilized' World
-incidence myth
-highly effective 'primitive' treatments
-generally more accepted in developing areas
Supernaturally Caused Illnesses
-five basic types
Integration of Healing and Belief Systems
-no hierarchy of method/ knowledge
-advantages of the psychosocial approach
-articles included
Article: Eyes of the Ngangas: Ethnomedicine and Power in the Central African Republic by Arthur C. Lehmann
Ethnomedicine
-definition
-pluralistic health care systems
-in developing nations/ sub-Saharan Africa
-among the Aka and Ngando
The Aka and the Ngando
-background information
-'voluntary mutual dependence'
-ngangas
Eyes of the Ngangas
-natural and supernatural duties
-acquiring power/ apprenticeship
-firm faith in and of the practitioners
-"vaccinations"
-the divinatory act
Therapy Choices and Therapy Managers
-wide variety of choices in Bagandu
-factors in treatment selection
-family involvement/ "brokerage function"
Explanations of Illness
-etiology, severity, and causation
-natural and supernatural illnesses
-dual model of disease
-effectiveness of treatment?
Illnesses of God and Illnesses of Man
-somewhat ambiguous: minor, ordinary, unknowns, etc.
-witchcraft, curses, spells, and spirits
-dual character of ngangas
-nganga areas of expertise
Powers of the Ngangas
-Aka ngangas reduction of Aka-Ngando tensions
-the Aka and the villager point of view
-visible and hidden sources of Aka power
-potential for integration with Western biomedicine
-mental illness
-recognized, trusted, and readily available
The Role of Ethnomedicine
-well adapted to cultural realities
-not quantifiable
-WHO findings
-Lehmann's fieldwork conclusions
-an integrated approach to primary health care: a counterpart system
Article: A School for Medicine Men by Robert Bergman
Project Introduction
-Navajo medical school
-involvement of a non-Indian psychiatrist
-ceremonies work
Background
-types of Navajo healers
-"singers" in particular
-Navajo etiology
-elaborate ceremonies
-non-Navajo point of view
-talking in symbols: the Navajo approach
The Rituals
-attitudes towards
-case appropriate
-singer and psychiatrists: a converse approach to ritual
-intricate family interaction
-Thomas Largewhiskers
-aging singers and growing demand
-economic limitations of apprenticeship
The School
-Rough Rock Demonstration School
-recognized need for Navajo medical school
-creating the program
Obtaining Funds
-the proposal process
-non-Navajo involvement
-making the case
The Training Program
-began in 1969
-singers and trainees
-non-Navajo medical instruction and fieldtrips
-approaching psychiatry
-mutual benefits
Article: Mothering and the Practice of "Balm" in Jamaica by William Wedenoja
Illness in Jamaican Peasant Society
-spiritual causes
-treatment choices and decisions
--doctors versus Balm healers
The Practice of Balm
-Jamaican tradition
-Christian faith/ syncretic Afro-Christian religion
-spiritual intermediation
-Revivalist ceremonies and practices
Healing in Balm Yards and Revival Cults
-cultural distinction between sacred/ profane
-"the spiritual work" and "the spiritual science"
-the "calling"
-a healing service
-common problems/complaints
-spiritual affliction specialists
Portrait of a Balm Healer
-meeting Reverend Martha (Mother) Jones
--personal history
-total devotion to church and healing
-respected community figure
-relations patterned on mother-child bond
-her approach to illness and healing
A Healer's Personality
-personality needs met by role as healer/leader
-healing as a defense mechanism
-always on 'stage'
-meeting healer/patient psychological needs
-Scheff: emotional arousal and psychotherapeutic treatment
Women and Balm
-cultural association of women with healing
-sexual division of labor
Mothering and Balm
-ritualized mother-child relationship
-Jamaican family patterning
-effect on the patient
-emic and etic perspectives
Illness and Emotional Needs
-psychological anthropology
-Jamaicans and "love"
-Balm and Revivalism
Women and Healing
-a comparative approach
-Rogers: personal qualities of a healer
-'feminine powers', mothering, and healing
-power, prestige, and gendered healing roles
-androgynous personal qualities
-healing relationships patterned on cultural parenting style
Article: Swallowing Frogs: Anger and Illness in Northeast Brazil by L.A. Rebhun
Emotion in Latin American Folk Medicine
-potential cause of sickness
-gendered emotion in Northeast Brazil
-"swallowing frogs" and emotion-based ailments
-socio-moral discourse
-embodiment of distress
-tactics in social manipulation
Emotion and Folk Illness
-culture and emotion are interwoven
-folk medical vocabularies
-culturally mediated syndromes
Field Site and Methods
-research and context
-Caruaru, Pernambuco
-the luta of the poor
-demographic data
Power, Interpretation, and Vocabulary in Emotional Folk Ailments
-Foucault's concept of power
-power and diagnostic interpretation
-gender and the religious veneration of suffering
Swallowing Frogs: The Cultural Context of Anger
-distrust of certain strong emotions
-suppression versus expression: a gendered approach
-associated scenarios and moral idioms
The Heat of Anger: Blood-Boiling Bruises
-a physical presence/force
-symptoms
-silence, fear, and aversion to conflict
-'Rejanne's' story
-the threat of anger
The Rezadeira
-folk Catholic healers
-an integrated practice
-variation within syndrome and symptom
"Nerves": Daily Anxiety
-background
-Northeast Brazil folk medical concept
-the nervoso state
-gender differences
Open Chest: Sickness and Emotional Vulnerability
-anger entering an 'unclosed' body
-peito aberto
-diagnosis method and treatment
-"weight" as a metaphor
Evil Eye: The Sickness of Others' Anger
-the threat of the gaze
-averting the evil eye: Northeast Brazilian customs
-associated symptoms/ complaints
-Nezinha: A Case of Evil Eye
Susto: Fear and Violence
-theoretical interpretations/explanations
-Brazilian implications of mistreatment: three kinds of shock
-the death of a child
Folk Ailment and the Suppression of Anger
-emotion as a social phenomenon
-personal, social, and moral
-combined discourse on anger and resulting traumas
Article: Should Academic Medical Centers Conduct Clinical Trials of the Efficacy of Intercessory Prayer? by Edward C. Halperin, M.D.
An Intriguing Trial
-the efficacy of prayer by strangers
-applicability of such trials and other related questions
-intercessory prayer
-goals and methods of the article
Clinical Studies of Intercessory Prayer
-a review of existing literature
-range of results
-study designs
Arguments in Favor of and Against
-in favor
-not in favor
Weighing the Arguments About Faith and Healing
-Sir William Osler
-human desire to fill a void
-scientific alienation
-need not be conflict
-integration/ complementary methods
-Halperin's thoughts and lingering questions
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2005 McGraw-Hill Higher Education