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Mpesu is an indigenous Venda aphrodisiac, originating in the area of Thohoyandou in South Africa (Limpopo province). Mpesu helps empower penile erection for men, and it is commonly available in informal market stalls around Venda. Surprisingly, women know much more about Mpesu than men, who buy it for use at home and to combat erectile dysfunction during intimacy with their sexual partners. This paper explored women’s views on the use of Mpesu to empower penile erection as they advertise and sell it to both men and women. An analytical theoretical framework was used as the lens to academically investigate the women’s understanding and their perspectives on the use of Mpesu in this explorative study. A purposive sample of four women who sell Mpesu in Tshakuma was observed as they advertised and sold Mpesu at their stalls. Data were collected using observations. In addition to Analytic Theory, thematic analysis was adopted in this study to adequately assess women’s perspectives on the use of Mpesu by men as the indigenous South African aphrodisiac. Additionally, three YouTube videos of interviews about Mpesu were used during the conceptualization of this study. This study adopted the observation method for data collection, and the researchers found that the use of Mpesu is more known and welcomed by women than by men in Venda, South Africa. Additionally, this study contributes empirical evidence to the existing body of literature, providing practical recommendations on the use of indigenous aphrodisiacs in Venda and similar settings globally.

Although the tobacco plant has been employed as a medicinal and sacred herb by Indigenous cultures across the Americas, its usage drastically changed after the 15th-century colonial arrival; its large-scale commodification and global marketing once brought to Europe lead to hedonic and addictive uses harmful to health. As a consequence, tobacco smoking is now one of the largest public health problems worldwide. However, in the Peruvian Amazon, a region of origin of tobacco species, Indigenous healers still know how to use the plant for therapeutic purposes. Due to a general disregard of Indigenous knowledge and stigma, these uses have however not so far been clinically investigated. We hence conducted for the first time a clinical field study assessing a sample of patients treated by a traditional healer specialized in tobacco in the Peruvian Amazon (observational design, pilot study, N = 27). The study was conducted within a transdisciplinary and multi-epistemic medical frame, in close partnership with an Amazonian healer. We used validated self-report scales to quantitatively assess mental health variables before and after the weeklong treatment, and mixed-methods to report experienced effects. Paired-samples t-tests comparing pre- and post-treatment scores revealed significant reductions in anxiety, depression, perceived stress, and general symptom indicators. Experienced effects included initial physical discomfort, followed by psychologically or existentially/spiritually significant insights. Our findings point to a sophisticated therapeutic approach based on Indigenous knowledge of tobacco applications, which should be further investigated. The study also contributes to the burgeoning scientific field on therapeutic uses of contentious psychoactive plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Historia is the property of Historical Association of South Africa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article explores the trajectories of the encounter of Soviet state and its 'modern,' 'scientific' medicine with Islamic tibb in Central Asia, providing an overview of the different facets and manifestations of these pathways throughout the lifespan of the Soviet Union. The survey elucidates how the initial expansion of Soviet medicine followed by a later erosion of the Soviet healthcare system came into play to underline the complex relationships of Soviet health workers and indigenous medical practitioners as well as their rivalry and negotiations for legitimacy and authority across different settings and contexts. It argues that by virtue of castigating tibb as a remnant of the 'backward past' as well as demonising and suppressing tabibs, Soviet medical authorities eventually appropriated the traditional medical knowledge of the region and denigrated Central Asian indigenous medicine to the realm of 'non-traditional' by the end of the Soviet era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maskwio'mi (Mi'kmaw language for "oil made from birch bark") is a traditional topical skin medicine of the Mi'kmaq people of Atlantic Canada and is produced in a torrefaction process by heating birch bark (Betula papyrifera, paper birch) inside a metal container in a fire. The resulting viscous, oily mixture is traditionally mixed with goose fat or bear grease to create a topical salve that is subsequently applied to affected skin areas. When birch bark is exposed to high temperatures, pyrolytic chemical processes produce a complex mixture of pharmacologically active compounds, including potentially harmful side products such as ortho-, meta-, and para-cresol. This study discusses the qualitative and quantitative GC-MS analysis of cresols found in maskwio'mi and the challenges of the complex organic matrix. Using caffeine as an internal standard, ortho-, meta-, and para-cresol in birch bark extract were determined to be in the approximate order of 50–1500 ppm range with 3.24 ± 0.09 × 102 ng mg−1 (324 ppm), 8.7 ± 1.0 × 102 ng mg−1 (87 ppm), and 12.4 ± 1.6 × 102 ng mg−1 (1240 ppm), respectively, and thus suitable by Health Canada and FDA cosmetics regulation standards when the extract is co-formulated in creams to concentrations of 0.1–5 wt.% for topical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay analyzes the visualization of Euro-American medicine and indigenous healing in John Steinbeck's 1941 documentary-drama The Forgotten Village. The movie juxtaposes film and medical discourse as exemplifications of modern, visual culture by showing excerpts from hygiene films and foregrounding medical imagery (e.g., bacteria cultures). The film displaces indigenous medicine by privileging a Euro-American medical model, and the gaze of oppression is perpetuated through humanitarian medical intervention. In short, disease is not simply a material fact but embedded in discourses about community identity, moral values, and politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the puissance of psychospiritual geographies to Witsuwit'en–settler relations during the 1920s and 1930s in British Columbia, Canada. Specifically, we track the ontological politics of the psychospiritual that inhere to relationships between Indigenous healing traditions and a complex array of colonial institutions, including police detachments, courts, churches, residential schools, and asylums. Our entry point is the 1931 witchcraft trial of two Indigenous healers who police apprehended treating a person with cin sickness, a form of animal-spirit dream possession. The article highlights three central elements of the contested nature of psychospiritual care. First, it demonstrates the role that policing witchcraft played within the expansion of settler surveillance and control over Indigenous life. Second, we critically unpack court transcripts from the witchcraft trial, exploring how the Indigenous healers explained the treatment of dream sickness on the stand, as well as how courtroom mistranslations facilitated their criminalization. Third, we flip our gaze and interrogate the substance of colonial care, particularly focusing on the role of churches, residential schools, and asylums in causing psychospiritual harm to their Witsuwit'en wards. Through the article, we reveal the colonial deception that produces the illusion of benevolent settler institutions caring for Indigenous well-being while they actively disrupt the psychospiritual connections that define wellness within Witsuwit'en ontologies. To decolonize this foul settler magic, we argue that we must disrupt the universality of colonial ontologies, expose the violence inherent to settler regimes of care, and recognize the vitality of Indigenous psychospiritual relations to the more-than-human world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Photo Essay explores my experience with cancer and healing using Indigenous traditional medicines. I use Photo First Voice, a form of auto-ethnography, to story my ‘living’ experience with cancer, which includes getting in touch with and honouring my Indigenous roots (Algonquin/French) attending healing ceremonies, and becoming an Oshkaabewis (a healer’s helper) myself. I integrate photographic images into this essay to illustrate my experiences and to enhance the meaning of the words I have committed to these pages. Each image represents a different aspect or level of knowledge and healing. These images and text are followed by a discussion in which I weave fragments of experience together to narrate a living (inter)relationship with the earth, towards a more balanced whole. Indigenous medicines set in motion major changes in my life, which are fundamental to my ongoing healing. In this context, the term ‘medicine’ refers to Indigenous knowledges that contribute to healing, healing ceremonies, teachings, and plant medicines (mainly Ojibwe).

Background Traditional medicine (TM) plays a vital role in the Ghanaian health system by serving as an alternative healthcare delivery system for the majority of people. However, the quality of practice and level of TM practitioners' involvement in the integration of TM into the health system have not been fully investigated. Methods This study employed a phenomenological qualitative study design to explore the perceptions, experiences and recommendations of TM practitioners in the Ashanti region regarding TM integration. Data were collected through individual interviews with 17 participants. Results Participants had knowledge about TM integration. They cited effective alternative healthcare delivery and improved patient outcomes as the key benefits of TM integration. However, they reported a shortage of approved TM products, poor visibility of TM integration and poor relational coordination of care as factors hampering the integration. Participants recommended improved interprofessional relationships, provision of financial support and improved publicity of TM as possible strategies to enhance TM integration in Ghana. Conclusions The findings of the study clearly demonstrate that the Ghanaian health system is currently operating a consumer-led, tolerant health system with a parallel (between orthodox and TM practitioners) healthcare delivery model. Successful implementation of an effective TM integration would require improved integrative collaborative coordination of care between orthodox and TM practitioners in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every year, around 2 million individuals die as a result of liver disease, 1 million as a result of cirrhosis complications, and 1 million as a result of viral hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatotoxicity can result in cytotoxicity, cholestasis, steatosis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, hepatitis, liver cancer, and other health problems. Drinking alcohol, using chemicals, using medicines, having an autoimmune disease, and becoming ill are the most common causes of hepatotoxicity. These chemicals have a direct effect on the mitochondrial respiratory chain, cytochromes p-450, gluthione S-acyltransferase, and the mitochondrial permeability transitional pore, among other things. The mechanism of drug-induced hepatotoxicity could be an innate or idiosyncratic hepatotoxin reaction. There are several modern medications that can be used to treat liver disorders. Current pharmacological treatments for liver illnesses are increasingly ineffective, have long-term harmful consequences, and are prohibitively expensive in developing nations. As a result, research into inexpensive, easily accessible medicinal plants that do not need to be processed under strict pharmaceutical standards appears to have sparked a lot of interest as alternative remedies for the sickness. This review covered the many types of liver illness, drug-induced hepatotoxicity processes, and in vivo and in vitro hepatotoxicity models. This study delves into the phytoconstituents and pharmacological effects of plants found to have hepatoprotective qualities. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential for hepatoprotection of numerous indigenous medicinal herbs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infertility is a serious reproductive health challenge that has a far-reaching impact on women's lives as they, inevitably, are the ones blamed for the failure to conceive. Despite availability of Western treatments to manage infertilit y, women frequently consult indigenous healthcare practitioners (IHCP) for healthcare, preferring these services to Western practice due to reasons such as accessibility and affordability. The study used a qualitative explorative, descriptive, and contextual design. Both purposive and snowballing technique were used to identify five women whom indigenous practitioners had assisted to conceive. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted and data were analyzed using the Tesch method of data analysis. IHCPs are known experts in managing infertility, experiences of women on indigenous management of infertility and continuous holistic management of infertility among women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: α-Glucosidase is the major enzyme implicated in intestinal glucose absorption, and its inhibition is a target for the management of diabetes mellitus. This study investigated the in vitro α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of extracts from different parts of 20 selected medicinal plants and the potential for plant-part substitution and plant species combinations used by traditional healers to treat diabetes. Methods: Acetone and petroleum ether extracts from different parts of 20 plant species traditionally used to treat diabetes were individually evaluated in vitro using an α-glucosidase assay. The potential for plant-part substitution was investigated by including leaf extracts where non-renewable parts are used traditionally. The extracts of plant species were combined and investigated as used traditionally. Results: Anthocleista grandiflora stem bark acetone, Artabotrys brachypetalus leaf petroleum ether, and Dichrostachys cinerea root petroleum ether extracts exhibited remarkable α-glucosidase inhibitory activities with IC50 values of 9, 14, and 12 μg/mL, respectively. The α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of A. grandiflora, A. brachypetalus, Asparagus virgatus, Brackenridgea zanguebarica, Maerua edulis, Pterocarpus angolensis, and Tabernaemontana elegans were documented for the first time, suggesting their antidiabetic potential. The leaf acetone extracts of Brackenridgea zanguebarica and Terminalia sericea had similar α-glucosidase inhibitory activities when compared to their stem bark and root, respectively. The combination of Dichrostachys cinerea leaf with Elephantorrhiza elephantina root, extracted with petroleum ether, resulted in a synergistic inhibitory effect. Conclusion: The valorization of these newly documented species holds potential for the discovery of more effective and perhaps novel antidiabetic remedies or drug principles.

Introduction: The use of traditional medicine is especially relevant in low- and middle-income countries. In Timor-Leste, treatment options consist of free health care provided by the National Health System, private clinics or pharmacies, self-initiated treatment, and other informal systems such as Traditional Timorese Medicine or religious healing. Health care utilization and associated factors influencing health care decisions need to be investigated further to inform policy and spending decisions. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, this study screened communities for utilization of Traditional Timorese Medicine and conventional health care using an adapted version of the International-Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire in Tetum (one of the official languages of Timor-Leste). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods. Results: On average, 73% of those surveyed reported use of Traditional Timorese Medicine, with 44% using it in combination with conventional medical care. Individuals reporting the combined use of both systems were higher than those reporting use of either Traditional Timorese Medicine (29%) or National Health System (13%) alone. Of the treatment modalities surveyed, massage was the most common, with reported use by 50% of Timorese, while patients' ?belief in the treatment? was the most commonly reported factor influencing their health care decisions. Conclusion: Overall, a vast majority of Timorese rely on Traditional Timorese Medicine, and a formal model of Integrative health care delivery services is warranted to accommodate treatment preferences in this population.

Ayahuasca has spread from indigenous Amazonia to the industrialized world, in the form of ceremonies catering to Westerners, a corpus of academic studies and personal accounts and depictions of it in novels and films. Considering that its original users were zealous about revealing it to outsiders and their traditional cultures were being eroded by the mainstream’s society’s colonization, its very survival is a paradox, in that the native ayahuasqueros have been both the victims and beneficiaries of its globalization. Thus, this essay traces the dissemination of yajé (the Colombian name for ayahuasca) from the standpoint of the author, an early participant in the rituals which began to be held in Bogotá by a handful of taitas (indigenous healers) in the early 1990’s, whose number has since increased to at least fifty who regularly work in that and other Colombian cities. Then a set of closely related aspects are discuted: the disruptive socio-economic changes in the heartlands of yajé, like the Putumayo (especially the cocaine boom), which have impelled the traditional healers to seek new “markets” for their medicine; other focal points for its expansion; the clash between different healers about the ethics of providing their services to White men; the parallel establishment of ayahuasca “churches” in Brazil (with branches in Europe) which owe little to the indigenous tradition; the development of an “ayahuasca tourism” in Peru; and the legal status of the medicine in North America and Western Europe.

The advent of Western modernity in India, as a by-product of British colonialism, brought about considerable strain within Indian medical traditions. Indigenous medical traditions which were operating within the broad humoral theory of disease causation came to be subjected to the logic of biomedicine. By the late nineteenth century, as the British in India consolidated their state systems and the princely states modelled their administrative structures in accordance with the British state, there was an increased acceptance of biomedical standards against indigenous medical norms. This was further accentuated by the fear of epidemics, which suggested that diseases spread from person to person and could affect large geographic areas bringing death and suffering in its wake. Disease control and management had, therefore, become a major concern for both the state systems in the British presidencies and in the princely states. The prevalence of contagious diseases offered a challenge to reorganize the public health systems of the states, yet they also provided an opportunity to legitimize state sovereignty over the bodies of its subjects. Diseases that were previously seen as localized and situated within culturally specific locales were now increasingly subjected to the governing mechanisms of the state. This paper examines how the medical bureaucratization of Travancore, in the south-western part of the Indian subcontinent, affected local healthcare traditions in the face of expanding fear of epidemics, ultimately led to the reshaping of indigenous medical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harmful usage of tobacco is a global public health problem associated with adverse health effects and addiction. Yet, in the Peruvian Amazon, the native region of Nicotiana rustica L., this plant is used in remarkably different manners: it is considered a potent medicinal plant, applied in liquid form for oral ingestion to treat mental health problems, a common and ancient healing practice in this region. Using a transdisciplinary field research approach with mixed ethnopsychological methods, this work aimed to report for the first time a case study in this context. The intervention took place in the Peruvian Amazon (Loreto) and involved ritual tobacco ingestion in a weeklong retreat-like frame, administered by a specialized traditional Amazonian healer. The patient was a 37-year-old woman with diagnosed mood, anxiety, and attention deficit disorders, as well as a chronic somatic condition. We applied qualitative experience-sampling during and quantitative symptom assessments pre- and post-treatment. Our findings offer a detailed description of the experiential therapeutic process during the treatment week and suggest clinically relevant improvements in patient well-being. This work is significant in view of the globally prevalent harmful uses of tobacco and the current scientific trend of revisiting herbal psychoactives (e.g., cannabis, psilocybin) for their therapeutic potentials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spices have been an integral part of the trade of medieval Kerala since the ancient times. Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Jews, Arabs and Europeans were part of the spice trade in the region. Having been recognised for their healing properties, spices have been used widely as medicines in the regions that they were traded in. This paper is an attempt at understanding the circulation and incorporation of indigenous knowledge regarding spices as medicine and its subsequent usage in the medical realm of western pharmacopoeia. Medieval Kerala has had an active tradition of plant-based medicine with the focus mainly on spices. The works of van Rheede and de Orta attest to the local knowledge on botany and its application in medicine. The article focuses on bringing out the influence that the local medical traditions and knowledge have had on western medical corpus and to understand the acceptance and acknowledgement they received for the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The use of indigenous practices has increased remarkably throughout the world. Subsequently, society uses this practice for the treatment of various health problems, including infertility. This research focussed on the role of indigenous practitioners (IPs) using a holistic approach to explore the causes of infertility in women. Aim: This study aimed to explore and describe the views of IPs on the causes of female infertility in Ngaka Modiri Molema health district. Setting: The study was conducted in Ngaka Modiri Molema, North West Province, one of the most rural provinces in South Africa. Methods: The study followed a qualitative explorative design. A purposive sampling technique identified five IPs who were experts in managing infertility. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted, and data analysis used Creswell's method of qualitative data analysis. Results: Findings revealed that IPs offered a wide range of services in the treatment and management of infertility among rural women. Hence, the following themes emerged, namely, history taking regarding infertility, treatment of infertility and holistic care on infertility. Conclusion: The IPs are important providers of healthcare in the management of infertility in indigenous communities. The findings revealed that there are various causes of female infertility according to the indigenous healthcare system. Contribution: In contribution, the study described the unique practices found in the community as executed by the IPs. This care focusses on holistic care, including treatment and continuous care for the healthcare user and the family. Noteworthy to mention, this holistic care extends to subsequent pregnancies. However, there is a need for further research to valorise the indigenous knowledge unearthed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study highlights the transitions that indigenous medicine and indigenous medical practices have undergone in Asante. It uses a qualitative approach anchored on both primary and secondary sources. The primary data sources include interviews and documentary data derived from reports in historical archives. Anchored on rational choice contingent upon social change, it reviewed existing literature. It filters the transitions that herbal medicine in particular has undergone from the earliest times to the twenty-first century. The responses from interviewees and experts were corroborated with secondary sources. It highlighted the fact that indigenous medicine and herbal medicine in particular have seen changes over time and have been perceived differently at different times. It concludes that based on the evolving government policies on herbal medicine; it is anticipated that it will have a glowing future in Ghana and its full-fledged integration with the orthodox system in a modern healthcare setting is attainable. To achieve this end, the rational choice of practitioners in the herbal medicine milieu should be to build a formidable interest group that can influence government policy in their favour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The use of indigenous practices has increased remarkably throughout the world. Subsequently, society uses this practice for the treatment of various health problems, including infertility. This research focussed on the role of indigenous practitioners (IPs) using a holistic approach to explore the causes of infertility in women. Aim: This study aimed to explore and describe the views of IPs on the causes of female infertility in Ngaka Modiri Molema health district. Setting: The study was conducted in Ngaka Modiri Molema, North West Province, one of the most rural provinces in South Africa. Methods: The study followed a qualitative explorative design. A purposive sampling technique identified five IPs who were experts in managing infertility. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted, and data analysis used Creswell’s method of qualitative data analysis. Results: Findings revealed that IPs offered a wide range of services in the treatment and management of infertility among rural women. Hence, the following themes emerged, namely, history taking regarding infertility, treatment of infertility and holistic care on infertility. Conclusion: The IPs are important providers of healthcare in the management of infertility in indigenous communities. The findings revealed that there are various causes of female infertility according to the indigenous healthcare system. Contribution: In contribution, the study described the unique practices found in the community as executed by the IPs. This care focusses on holistic care, including treatment and continuous care for the healthcare user and the family. Noteworthy to mention, this holistic care extends to subsequent pregnancies. However, there is a need for further research to valorise the indigenous knowledge unearthed in this study.

The study aimed to develop culture-based lessons in Biology 9, integrating indigenous medicinal plants and practices in Cagraray Island. These developed lessons were designed incorporating features of research results, problem-based approach, active learning, and culture- or context-based teaching. The accounts from eight folk healers revealed the abundance of indigenous medicinal plants and practices for treating wounds, hypertension, anemia, cough and colds, and asthma. These illnesses were used as springboard for the development of five culture-based lessons with entry points in the K - 12 curriculum. Implemented to 45 Grade 9 learners for five consecutive days at Cawayan National High School, the culture-based lessons were found effective in developing learning outcomes like conceptual understanding, metacognition, science process skills, and cultural appreciation using quantitative data analysis (p <.05). Qualitative data also supported these findings through Focus-Group Discussion (FGD), journal entries, interviews, and observations. Educational philosophy for culture-based learning revealed the need to incorporate hands-on activities producing concrete evidences for culture-based learning. In general, the study concluded with the potentiality of using indigenous medicine as resources for culture-based lessons in biology. For further study, it is recommended to design and develop more studies about local medicinal plants so they can be integrated, as well as multiple cultural facets, to culture-based lessons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the appropriation of biomedicine among the Dayak Benuaq in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Taking the successful curing of a brain tumour as an example, I show how biomedicine is creatively intertwined with indigenous, animist healing practices in order to cure the patient comprehensively. I embed the case study within a broader discussion of modernity and enchantment, which have long been perceived as an opposing pair in western theory, as attributes of modernity like rationalization, secularization and bureaucratization are commonly seen as opposed to animistic connections, magical expectations and spiritual explanations of the world. I argue that the introduction of biomedicine among the Dayak Benuaq does not lead to an abandonment of animistic ideas and indigenous healing practices and as such to a process of disenchantment. Instead, their ability to accept the simultaneous relevance of alternative assumptions about how the world works allows them to combine biomedicine and indigenous medicine in a creative way.

Ayahuasca has spread from indigenous Amazonia to the industrialized world, in the form of ceremonies catering to Westerners, a corpus of academic studies and personal accounts and depictions of it in novels and films. Considering that its original users were zealous about revealing it to outsiders and their traditional cultures were being eroded by the mainstream's society's colonization, its very survival is a paradox, in that the native ayahuasqueros have been both the victims and beneficiaries of its globalization. Thus, this essay traces the dissemination of yajé (the Colombian name for ayahuasca) from the standpoint of the author, an early participant in the rituals which began to be held in Bogotá by a handful of taitas (indigenous healers) in the early 1990's, whose number has since increased to at least fifty who regularly work in that and other Colombian cities. Then a set of closely related aspects are discussed: the disruptive socio-economic changes in the heartlands of yajé, like the Putumayo (especially the cocaine boom), which have impelled the traditional healers to seek new "markets" for their medicine; other focal points for its expansion; the clash between different healers about the ethics of providing their services to White men; the parallel establishment of ayahuasca "churches" in Brazil (with branches in Europe) which owe little to the indigenous tradition; the development of an "ayahuasca tourism" in Peru; and the legal status of the medicine in North America and Western Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper intends to explore the rich traditions of the indigenous Chakma medicine, focusing on the concept of health and illness, causes and treatment of illnesses and diseases. A detailed account of the Chakma healers and their diagnosis process is also described. This study is a product of an ethnographic research conducted among the Chakma people in the Chittagong Hill Tracks (CHT) of Bangladesh and Chawngte of Mizoram in India. The main methods of data collection involve the observation and unstructured interviews. A Boiddoh or an Ojha occupies a respectable position in the traditional healthcare system of the Chakma communities of Mizoram in India and Chittagong in Bangladesh. The contributions made by the traditional healers Boiddoh or Ojha are appreciated. Villagers in far-off places are still living on their traditional medicine. The magico-religious performances for the treatment of different illnesses are also studied. This paper seeks rational answers to these intriguing matters regarding the geographical location and common illnesses encountered by the people of Chakmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to assess the unresolved health issues experienced by a cohort of snakebite survivors and their health-seeking behaviours during the first three months after the snakebite. Patients from the Anuradhapura snakebite cohort admitted to the Teaching Hospital Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, from July 2021 to June 2022 were recruited. Patients were interviewed over the telephone three weeks and three months post-bite to collect data on unresolved health problems post-discharge, patient's adherence to the review plan, newly experienced health issues, health-seeking behaviours and the effect on daily routine. Only snakebite survivors who could be contacted at both three weeks and three months were included. Of 710 eligible patients, 384 (54%) were contactable at both reviews. On discharge from the hospital, 248/384 (65%) had unresolved effects of the snakebite, including 224/384 (58%) who had local effects. The unresolved health problems were reported by patients bitten by H. hypnale (54%), D. russelii (23%), and unidentified snakes (19%). At three weeks and three months, 98/384 (26%) and 52/384 (14%) still had unresolved local effects of envenoming, respectively. Of 144/384 (38%) who were advised to attend review visits post-discharge, mostly to assess renal function, 118 (82%) complied. 112/384 (29%) patients reported self-motivated treatment seeking for unresolved effects of snakebite over the three months. Of them, 87 (78%) visited Sri Lankan indigenous medical practitioners. Patients missed a median of two working days (IQR: 2–4 days) post-discharge. 26 (6.7%) were unable to return to work at 3 weeks, and five patients at 3 months. In rural Sri Lanka, a significant number of viper bite patients leave hospital with mild persistent local effects, which commonly leads to them seeking further treatment. Despite that, almost all snakebite survivors had returned to work at three months post-bite. [Display omitted] • Health-seeking behaviours after hospital discharge is rarely reported. • We followed up 384 snakebite patients after hospital discharge in rural Sri Lanka. • 58% of snakebite patients have unresolved health effects when leaving the hospital. • The patients seek treatment for these effects from both indigenous and allopathic practitioners. • Arranging adequate pain relief, wound care and physiotherapy after hospital discharge is important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses three methods of combining biomedicine with traditional medicine in pre-Independence Madras State in India, with comparative examples drawn from ethnographic studies in South India in the 1990s. In the mid to late 1920s, two officers of modern medicine from the Madras presidency were delegated to be trained in the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine to investigate the properties of the indigenous drugs of India using laboratory and physiological techniques. In the 1930s, Srinivasamurti, the first principal of the Government School of Indian Medicine in Madras, trialed a collaborative approach between clinical practitioners of ayurveda, siddha, and unani, and allopathic medical registrars with the ideal of developing a universal and synthetic textbook encompassing all medical systems on an equal setting. In the 1940s, a traditional practitioner was permitted to practice bone setting in the Government Hospital of Indian Medicine in Madras. These examples illustrate various dimensions of asymmetric relations between traditional and modern medicine in twentieth- and twenty-first-century India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revue d'études Autochtones is the property of Recherches Amerindiennes au Quebec and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

La communauté autochtone shipibo-konibo de San Francisco de Yarinacocha a été particulièrement affectée par le SARS-CoV-2 en 2020. Ceci s’expliquerait par une dégradation de l’état sanitaire de ses habitants – dont certains souffrent d’une série de comorbidités – suite au passage rapide d’une économie d’autosubsistance fondée sur l’abondance, à une monétarisation de l’économie locale marquée par un phénomène de paupérisation et de restriction alimentaire. L’élaboration, dans la gestion de la COVID-19, de politiques de santé valorisant une automédication en accord avec les représentations nosologiques locales, principalement fondée sur l’usage de la pharmacopée autochtone, aurait cependant contribué à la revitalisation des liens étroits qui unissent traditionnellement cette société au monde végétal. La présentation de ce corpus thérapeutique en tant que « médecine shipibo » agirait dès lors comme une affirmation identitaire aux prises avec des revendications économiques, culturelles et politiques.

Harmful usage of tobacco is a global public health problem associated with adverse health effects and addiction. Yet, in the Peruvian Amazon, the native region of Nicotiana rustica L., this plant is used in remarkably different manners: it is considered a potent medicinal plant, applied in liquid form for oral ingestion to treat mental health problems, a common and ancient healing practice in this region. Using a transdisciplinary field research approach with mixed ethnopsychological methods, this work aimed to report for the first time a case study in this context. The intervention took place in the Peruvian Amazon (Loreto) and involved ritual tobacco ingestion in a weeklong retreat-like frame, administered by a specialized traditional Amazonian healer. The patient was a 37-year-old woman with diagnosed mood, anxiety, and attention deficit disorders, as well as a chronic somatic condition. We applied qualitative experience-sampling during and quantitative symptom assessments pre- and post-treatment. Our findings offer a detailed description of the experiential therapeutic process during the treatment week and suggest clinically relevant improvements in patient well-being. This work is significant in view of the globally prevalent harmful uses of tobacco and the current scientific trend of revisiting herbal psychoactives (e.g., cannabis, psilocybin) for their therapeutic potentials.

Kashmir's oldest Neolithic settlement dates back to 3000 BC. It stood as the centre of Buddhism and Hinduism for centuries, till the arrival of Islam in thirteenth century. Although Muslims ruled Kashmir under different empires for about four centuries and ever since there has always been a significant Muslim populace in Kashmir with or without Muslim rule, yet the literature about the history of health care in Kashmir and particularly the history about Muslim contributions to healthcare is sparingly limited. This paper aims at a) historical contextualization of healthcare in Kashmir, b) finding Muslim rulers` contributions if any to the healthcare system and c) exploring places of healing 'shafa-khanas' in Kashmir. In order to achieve these objectives, the methods used were data collection through locating key historical resources, by searching local libraries and bookshops and searching online academic databases, thereafter, subjecting the collected data to thematic analysis. Three themes emerged during data analysis, which corresponds to the objectives of this paper, these are a) 'Historical context of healthcare in Kashmir', b) 'Muslim contributions to healthcare in Kashmir' and c) 'Places of healing 'Shafa-khanas' in Kashmir'. The analysis shows that healthcare during Muslim rule was integrative, progressive, robust, indigenous, specialized, and efficient/accommodative. We conclude that though 'shafa-khanas' existed in medieval Kashmir, there is however not much literature available.

New Spain was the site not only of one of the largest-scale missionary enterprises in Christian history, but also of a prolonged encounter among diverse medical traditions of Mesoamerican, African, and European origin in which male missionaries were central. Given the paucity of licensed physicians in the colony, religious involvement in medical practice remained significant throughout the colonial period. This paper considers the confluence of religion and medicine in the encounters that friars and inquisitors had with women, arguing that in these encounters, missionaries and inquisitors participated in the translation, circulation, and creation of medical knowledge and positioned themselves as both theological and medical authorities, as proponents and translators of Galenic medical theory, and as "confessor-physicians" rather than "confessor-judges." Women thus played a crucial interlocutory role in the articulation of a colonial religio-medical regime whose primary framers were not physicians, but clergymen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to explore the evil eye belief practices among Saraiki mothers in a village in South Punjab, Pakistan. This study unfolds three aspects of the evil eye phenomenon; first, the ‘diagnosis’ of the evil eye that constitute the ineffectiveness of the available modern medicine, second the socio-cultural nexus of folk medical system and unmanageable or unexplained threats, and third the protective and remedial practices that disclose indigenous healthcare culture. Using semi-structured interviews and interpretative phenomenological analysis, five interviews were conducted and analyzed. Findings revealed the perceived failure of the available modern medicine when the evil eye effects are diagnosed. People religiously believe in the evil eye and relate it with the feelings of envy that bring harm to the child by resisting the effects of any medicine and internal immunity. The study concludes jealousy, hatred, and deprivation as primary causes, and religious and folk remedial practices provide a magico-religious shield allowing the effectiveness of other medical interventions. This study brings to light the need for cultural competence of medical professionals while working in indigenous communities where modern medicine cannot work if it is not gradually replacing or working in-line with the folk medical beliefs.

An injury or a wound is an anatomical and functional disturbance to the tissue. Wound healing is a complicated mechanism of tissue regeneration or remodelling that occurs in response to an injury. Plants and plant-derived constituents have long been used to heal and handle various forms of wounds. Currently, various forms of biopolymers are being studied in order to create a cost-effective, long-lasting, durable, and reliable delivery mechanism for the treatment of wounds. Wound treatment providers have revisited ancient healing practices by using conventional and complementary medicine in wound recovery due to the rise of multi-resistant pathogens and a decline in modern antibiotics. People’s attitudes toward alternative medicine have shifted as well, which is very positive. The idea of moist wound healing has gained a lot of attraction, and conventional medicine has begun to use it to speed up the healing process. In wound care treatment, several experiments using herbal and conventional medicine from various continents have been published. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Traditional and complementary medicines (T&CM) are any form of medicine, practice, treatment, product, technology, knowledge system or ceremony outside of conventional medical practice that aims to prevent and/or treat illness and/or promote well-being. Alongside conventional cancer treatments, T&CM usage is increasing; with 19% of indigenous Australians with cancer reporting using T&CM. There is limited evidence surrounding T&CM use and disclosure by indigenous patients. Our aim was to explore healthcare providers’ views about usage, disclosure/non-disclosure of T&CM by Indigenous cancer patients. Methods Semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 18 healthcare providers, including three indigenous providers, at a large urban hospital providing care to Indigenous cancer patients were conducted to explore providers’ experiences and attitudes towards T&CM use by Indigenous cancer patients. An interpretive phenomenological approach was used to thematically analyse the data. Results Analysis revealed six themes: concern about risk; no ‘real’ benefits; perception of T&CM and conventional medicine as antithetical; barriers to disclosure; ‘patients’ choice’ a double-edged sword; and providers’ lack of knowledge about T&CM. Healthcare providers perceived discord between T&CM and conventional medicine. Most lacked knowledge of T&CM, and had concerns around negative-interactions with conventional treatments. They considered T&CM outside their role, citing this as reasoning for their lack of knowledge. Indigenous healthcare providers had greater understanding and openness towards T&CM. Conclusions Given the potential usage of T&CM by Indigenous cancer patients, providers need a more comprehensive understanding of T&CM in order to inform discussion and facilitate effective disclosure on this topic. If indigenous Australians with cancer feel that cancer care providers are unreceptive to discussing T&CM, patient care risks being compromised; particularly given the potential for negative interactions between T&CM and conventional cancer treatments. Fostering health care interactions where indigenous patients feel comfortable to discuss T&CM usage should be a priority for all cancer care services.

Background: Folk medicine refers to traditional healing practices anchored on cultural beliefs of body physiology and health preservation. Reflective of indigenous heritage, it fosters a better understanding of health and disease, healthcare systems, and biocultural adaptation. In the Philippines, Quiapo is a well-known site for folk medicine services, cultural diversity, religious practices, and economic activities. Methods: This study utilized a phenomenological approach to comprehend the lived experiences of health-seeking individuals and the meaning behind their acquisition of folk medicine products. Using convenience sampling, seven participants acquiring folk medicine products in Quiapo on the day of data collection were approached and interviewed on separate instances. The collected data subsequently underwent thematic analysis. Results: Analysis revealed three emergent themes: health-seeking behavior, sources of knowledge, and folk medicine utilization. Health-seeking behavior was linked with the participants’ purpose of going to Quiapo, reasons for utilizing folk medicine, experiences in using folk medicine, and beliefs associated with the product bought. Sources of knowledge tackled the participants’ sources of information about Quiapo and its products. Folk medicine utilization relates to the type of product bought, its perceived medicinal use, and its history of usage. Conclusion: Folk medicine is perceived to be effective alleviating health concerns. The acquisition of such products is attributed to satisfaction from prior experience, distrust in the current healthcare system, family tradition, and intention to supplement existing medical treatment. This study provides health professionals a better understanding of patients who patronize folk medicine, subsequently aiding them in providing a holistic approach to treatment.

The historiography of science understands that the natural species exchanged in the colonization process of the New World were not transported alone; rather, they carried with them the traditional practices and knowledge connected in their uses. Based on this understanding, this study aims to understand how ipecacuanha, a plant used in traditional indigenous medicine, was assimilated and adapted by european medicine in the treatment of dysentery. For this purpose, several documentary sources were analyzed, from the chronicles produced by travelers in the first century of colonization of the Americas until 18th century european medical and botanical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) proposes the world as a holistic unity of energy. With a long history of use, TCM is generally accepted in the Chinese health care system. Despite growing global interest and use, TCM has received a mixed response from Western health care systems. This study aimed to describe the underpinnings of TCM, compare TCM and Western medicine, and suggest how key modalities might be applied to strengthen holistic nursing care in the United States. Design: A qualitative, descriptive exploratory investigation employing a constructivist grounded theory. Method: Interview of TCM healers in Hong Kong (n = 5). Transcripts were reviewed to identify common themes and categories. Findings: Five themes were identified: improvement in energy flow and health, TCM as "a way of knowing," curing source versus symptoms of disease, declining TCM practice in Hong Kong, and need for interprofessional education. Conclusions: TCM is considered useful in chronic illnesses, whereas those with acute illnesses often seek Western medicine. Failing to address the holistic care needs and preferences of individuals results in less than optimal health outcomes. Nurses need explicit TCM content and would benefit from a restructuring of curricula and clinical experiences to foster integration into caring practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]