Traditional healers

Biodiversity refers to the numbers, variety and variability of living organisms and ecosystem. India is one of the world’s top 12 mega diversity countries with 10 biogeographic regions. India alone includes two among the world’s eight biodiversity hotspots. The medicinal plants are used by various tribal’s and local people to cure different ailments ranging from simple Foot & mouth disease, Fever, Nose bleeding, bone Fractures, Worms, Snake bite, Eye problems, Skin disease, Dysentery etc. The Medicinal plants occupy a vital sector of health care system in India and represent a major national resource. A survey for documentation of ethnoveterinary medicinal plants used by the folk traditional healers in Khanapur Taluka Gandigwad area of Belgaum District in Karnataka , India has been conducted during June 2014 to November 2014. Ethnoveterinary information was gathered through individual interviews and observations among the Gandigwad area tribals. A total of 25 species of ethnoveterinary medicinal plants belongs to 20 families and 25 genera and 14 ailments were recorded in the study with the help of five ethnoveterinary traditional healers. Among the plant parts used by the Gandigwad area tribals for their domestic animals, leaves are most commonly used for the preparation of medicine. Of the plants recorded Vitex nigunda, Bacopa monnieri, Aegle marmeolus, Tridax procumbus, Tinospora cardifolia, Aloe vera, Ficus caraca papaver somniferum, Cassia fistula, Gymnema sylvestre, precatorius & Andrographis paniculata are recognized as very commonly used ethnoveterinary medicinal plants. Hence, Our study suggested that, there is a need for conservation of diversity of medicinal plants wealth for the present and fore coming generations, by adapting the suitable strategy with most appropriate method of conservation.

Although venerated throughout the Christian West, St Roch has nevertheless remained a mysterious personage.  Beginning in the second half of the fifteenth century the cult of the holy pilgrim, protector against the plague, spread from Lombardy to Venice and from Venice German merchants took it to Nuremberg and southern Germany, from where it swiftly spread to the rest of Europe.  But who was in fact St Roch and what were the causes which led to his cult becoming so deeply rooted with such speed so that traces of it can be seen everywhere including representations of him in works of art ?
It was to answer these questions that Belgian, French, Italian and German scholars met at Padua in February 2004.  Their exchange of views led to the abandonment of opinions previously considered certainties.  The joint examination of hagiographic, literary, iconographic and documentary sources as well as the discovery of new texts all gave rise to the problematical image of a new saint who appeared in the wake of a new illness – the plague.  It was the result of a process of hagiographic elaboration but not as such a product of pure imagination.  It was the invention of printing which led to the rapid progression of the cult by the laity of this lay saint, both at its origins and in its elaboration.

Pagan beliefs and practices in 19th century Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Hungary, Wisewomen, healers, and seers. Culture loss under repression and displacement from the land. Festival enactments of "Burning the Witch." Rites of witch-detection. Demonization and stubborn retention of pagan elements. Book draft from Vol XIII of Secret History of the Witches.

This study deals with the exploration, systematisation and analysis of existing discourses in relation to the articulation of traditional medicine in the official healthcare system in Peru. The focus is on the identification of fundamental thematic guidelines and socio-cultural and anthropological factors on the topic with particular importance for anthropological theory construction and policy making. The work is inspired by
approaches of medical anthropology and ethnomedicine, as well as post-colonial and alternative development studies. The starting point is based on empirical data collection on the basis of theme-centred interviews, ethnographies and participant observation with traditional healers, scholars and research experts on traditional medicine, academic and health authorities, physicians and health workers, alternative health practitioners and social activists in the regions of Lima, La Libertad, Ica, and Lambayeque. The collected data was complemented with document research, the achievement,
systematisation and analysis of policy documents; scientific literature and archive search; according to the strategies of the grounded theory and other methods of qualitative research, in particular the content analysis. The investigation reveals a
number of anthropological factors that are relevant in terms of the feasibility of an official formulation of traditional medicine in Peru. The analysis and systematisation of these results leads to the identification of five models that provide important theoretical positions for the healthcare system’s integration: 1. the harmonisation or standardisation model, 2. the intercultural approach revisited, or the “intercambio de saberes”, 3. the community-based approach, 4. the educational approach, and 5. the cultural heritage approach. The differences in the concepts underlying these five models reflect the different views and content deemed essential related to the integration of indigenous medicines in official care systems. They describe processes and structures that are of outstanding importance for understanding the development and representation of cultural and historical identities in Peru.

Based on a long process of direct observation and interviews, this article states that the main barrier to the unfruitful attempts of dialog between biomedicine and "traditional healers", in Mozambique, is the ignorance and/or undervaluation of the local notions about illness, the social aspects of its aetiology, and their implications for the notion and process of cure. Therefore, together with the characterization of the tinyanga (healers putatively possessed by spirits) and their therapies, the article presents the locally dominant system of misfortune interpretation, in which the material causes (how it happened) are combined with social and spiritual factors (why it happened to that person). As a consequence, the cure is not only the healing of the illness; it includes and demands as well the resolution of the social problem that caused it - and this second aspect of the cure is one of the tinyanga's expertises. For that reason, consulting such healers seldom results from the absence of health care alternatives, and they cannot accept the idea of being limited to their herbalist expertise, in order to be integrated into the official health care system. However, the debate and negotiation about their space, role and status in future general health care systems should not be made through sympathetic "cultural translators". The tinyanga have the abilities to do it with their own voice, as far as they have available interlocutors.

The present paper deals with an extensive study of
aromatic plants in twelve sites of Thoubal district of Manipur.
Aromatic plants of the district were available in varying forms
ranging from thickest bush to food plants with medicinal value.
Altogether 80 aromatic plant species under 35 families were
collected. Allium ascalonicum,  A. hookeri,  A. sativum Linn, A.
tuberosum,  Coriandrum sativum, Curcuma aromatic, Elshotiza
blanda, Eryngium foetidum,  Foeniculum vulgare,  Hedychium
flavum, Houttuynia cordata, Mentha arvensis, Meriandra
benghalensis,  Ocimum canum, Polygonum posumba, Sesbania
sesban  and Zingiber officinale  were mainly used as vegetables
as well as medicine. For cultural and offered to God, the species
of Aegle marmelos, Artabotrys hexapetalous,  Eupatorium
birmanicum,  Gardenia jasminoides,  Nyctanthes arbor-tristi,
Pandanus foetidus, Plectranthus ternifolius  and Plumeria rubra
were used.  Artemisia nilagarica, Citrus aurantifolia,
Dicrocephala latifolia and Gynura cusimba were employed
mainly for hair lotion. Amongst collected plant species Aquilaria
malaccenesis was found critically endangered.  Artabotrys
hexapetalous,  Curcuma caesia, Elshotiza blanda, Ocimum
basilicum and Plectranthus ternifolius were thinly distributed.

This study aimed to document the traditional knowledge of traditional healers of Laguna, Philippines on the use of medicinal plants in treating different diseases. Thirty two respondents were identified following a snowball sampling technique and were interviewed on their traditional knowledge and practice of using different medicinal plants. The gathered data were identified with the help of literature from different published articles and websites. A total of 50 plant species, grouped into 29 families were recorded. The families most represented were Lamiaceae with eight species, Euphorbiaceae with five species and Asteraceae with three species. Out of 27 medicinal uses, the eight most common were urinary tract infection, wound infection, stomachache, cough, diabetes, headache, cold and hypertension. The commonness preparations were done by boiling the leaves with water (decoction) and taken internally.

Context: The knowledge of traditional uses of medicinal plants in the management of diabetes mellitus in Zaria is still intact with the traditional medicine practitioners. Aims: To collect, identify and document medicinal plants used traditionally for the management of diabetes mellitus in Zaria city. Methods: Open-ended informal interviews and general conversation were administered to twenty-two (22) traditional medicine practitioners (TMPs) and herb sellers. The data collected included the local names of plants, parts used, method of preparations and mode of administration. Results: Twenty-six (26) species of plants belonging to eighteen (18) families were identified. Herbal remedies were mostly prepared from freshly collected plants, while decoction was the main method of preparation. Leaves and stem bark formed the major parts of plants for herbal preparations. Conclusions: The study has documented different traditional practices used for the management of diabetes mellitus in the study area. Further studies should be conducted to evaluate the antidiabetic activity of plant species that have not yet been studied and to identify the bioactive compounds responsible for the antidiabetic activity as claimed by the traditional healers.

Although traditional healers have been consulted by a large proportion of the South African population for many years, they enjoyed no official recognition until very recently. However, the situation is changing. The Traditional Health Practitioners Act 35 of 2004 was placed on the statute-book in 2004, but before its effect could be tested, the Constitutional Court found the Act invalid in Doctors for Life International v Speaker of the National Assembly 2006 6 SA 416 (CC), on 17 August 2006, because sufficient participation was lacking during the consideration of the Act. The government was thus obliged to publish the Traditional Health Practitioners Bill (B20/2007). The content of this draft bill is virtually in agreement with the provisions of its predecessor. In this article an exposition is given of the events preceding the commencement and the contents of the Traditional Health Practitioners Act. Following this, the decision of the Constitutional Court in Doctors for Life Int...

Traditional medicine is widespread in Ghana, with 80% of Ghanaians relying on its methods for primary health care. This paper argues that integrating traditional and biomedical health systems expands the reach and improves outcomes of community health care. Moving beyond literature, it stresses the importance of trust-relationships between healers and biomedical staff. Insights are based on qualitative research conducted in Ghana’s Northern Region (2013–2014). Five challenges to integration emerged out of the data: a lack of understanding of traditional medicine, discrimination, high turnover of biomedical staff, declining interest in healing as a profession, and equipment scarcity. Besides challenges, opportunities for integration exist, including the extensive infrastructure of traditional medicine, openness to collaboration, and grassroots initiatives. Contemplating challenges and opportunities this paper provides recommendations for integration, including: identify/select healers, promote best practices, institute appropriate forms of appreciation/recognition of healers, provide aid and equipment, use communication campaigns to promote integration and steer attitudinal change towards healers among biomedical staff. Most crucial, we argue successful implementation of these recommendations depends on a concerted investment in relationships between healers and biomedical staff.

Ethnopharmacology is an information exchange and understanding about people's use of plants, fungi, animals, microorganisms and minerals to discover a
a wealth of helpful therapeutic agents and explore their toxic potential passed On by oral tradition or in written documented form Materia medica. This study area provides a scientific backbone for developing active therapeutics based on the traditional medicine of various ethnic groups. It is the interdisciplinary scientific exploration of biologically active agents traditionally employed or observed by man. The broad spectrum Of this domain covers social (anthropology), chemical (chemistry), biological (botany, biochemistry, microbiology) and pharmaceutical sciences (pharmacognosy, pharmacology and clinical therapeutics). Many valuable drugs of today (e.g., atropine, ephedrine, tubocurarine, digoxin and reserpine) have been used by studying indigenous remedies. Chemists continue to use plant-derived drugs (e.g., morphine, taxol, physostigmine. quinidine and emetine) as prototypes in their attempts to develop more effective and less toxic medicines. Currently, USP and BP contain many active ingredients/excipients from natural sources. Its objectives include the preservation of indigenous medical knowledge to understand the pharmacological basis Of herbal medicine; scientific study of indigenous drugs to contribute in the long run to promote or improve primary health care in regions of study; search for pharmacologically unique principles from existing indigenous remedies; finding a valid reason to guard the rainforests or to engage in conservation; establish gene banks and libraries of plant extracts for future biological evaluation: well-established germplasm banks for essential crops. Ethnopharmacology can be an innovative and powerful discovery engine for newer, safer, and more affordable medicines from the treasure house (traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples) of ancient wisdom.

This study aimed to document the traditional knowledge of traditional healers of Laguna, Philippines on the use of medicinal plants in treating different diseases. Thirty two respondents were identified following a snowball sampling technique and were interviewed on their traditional knowledge and practice of using different medicinal plants. The gathered data were identified with the help of literature from different published articles and websites. A total of 50 plant species, grouped into 29 families were recorded. The families most represented were Lamiaceae with eight species, Euphorbiaceae with five species and Asteraceae with three species. Out of 27 medicinal uses, the eight most common were urinary tract infection, wound infection, stomachache, cough, diabetes, headache, cold and hypertension. The commonness preparations were done by boiling the leaves with water (decoction) and taken internally.

In the United States, the bio-medical model has become the dominant perspective on psychological disorders, and psychological problems are commonly interpreted as brain chemical imbalances, and treatment often includes medication. There has been a tendency to neglect the religious dimension and existential components of health care. Nonetheless, many doctors across the world have embraced the bio-medical model of mental disorder and have tended to devalue the art of medicine, the wisdom of the experienced clinician, as well as the therapeutic value of a professional relationship. However, several studies concerning illness beliefs in other cultures highlight the importance of social and religious beliefs in the perceptions of both the causes and the treatments of mental illness  and there is evidence of a beneficial effect of spirituality and religion on mental health. Since religious beliefs and spiritual practice are both concerned with core beliefs, values and sense of self, an understanding of these dimensions is important to the practice of much clinical psychiatry.
The important role that religious beliefs may have on perceptions of mental illness cannot be ignored. Many religions endorse witchcraft and spirit possession, which are thought to influence the behaviour of a person much as would a mental illness. Religion and spirituality contribute to shaping representations of disease and attitudes to medical treatment in patients with mental disorders. This dimension should be on the agenda of psychiatrists working with patients with mental disorders. The predominant Western view of the aetiology and understanding of mental illness needs to acknowledge the various culturally inclined taxonomies of mental illness so as to better understand and aid clients.
The use of traditional healers is common worldwide, especially in developing countries. Few studies, though, have focused on the use of traditional healers by people with mental disorders. This Book made an attempt to understand the practice of traditional healers in relation to mental health and psychiatric services. The book was framed to understand: (a) the socio-demographic characteristics of people with mental disorders who seek treatment in the traditional healer centres; (b) the clinical presentations, diagnoses and outcomes of people with psychotic disorders attending traditional healers, as well as the healing methods and interventions used; (c) the traditional healers’ profiles – their knowledge, belief, attitudes and practice in relation to people with mental disorders.

Ethno-botanical survey of the plants used in the management of cancer was carried out in Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India. Herbalists, herb sellers and traditionalists living within the study area were interviewed by the administration of questionnaires. This article considers 20 medicinal plants belong to 16 families, and their different parts (root, stem, bark, bulb, leaf, fruit and seed) or the whole plants/herbs are used. The extracts or decoctions of these are generally used in the anticancer recipes. A need for further scientific research based on the findings of this survey is indeed very necessary and recommended so that adequate records of indigenous methods for the management of cancer can be kept for posterity especially in the study area. A need for analytical work on the plants identified as useful for the management of cancer is also necessary in order to determine the actual dosage applicable so that the medicinal value of these plants could be made available to h...

ABSTRACT: This presentation is based on ethnographic work conducted between 2003-2007 in Mpumalanga and Johannesburg, but primarily around the town of Barberton in Umjindi Municipality in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.  I examine the diversity and nature of traditional healer’s engagement with HIV/AIDS.  I explain that there is a large diversity of healing epistemologies, therapeutic strategies and diagnostic methods used by traditional healers, and that there is no clearly defined hierarchy of resort amongst patients.  This is largely due to the fact that there is no clear hierarchy of legitimacy or value attached to any of the diagnostic or therapeutic strategies, including the biomedical.  Knowledge can be characterised as a kind of network, rather than a hierarchy of categories (more to less inclusive, for instance, or more to less effecatious, valued, risky, etc.) as would be expected for a more scientific or formal knowledge system.  Pathways taken in the search for healing, then, vary according to many contin1gent factors.