Irish Folk Medicine

Irish Folk Medicine PDF

Author: Patrick Logan

Publisher: Appletree Press (IE)

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13:

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At a time when people are increasingly interested in natural medicine and holistic remedies, this book traces the history of folk medicine in Ireland and examines its continued popularity. It reviews a comprehensive range of country cures for both people and animals, noting that many remedies date back to early pagan times before the rise of medical science in the 19th century while others arose in the 20th century as an alternative to modern medicine. With often lighthearted humor, this guide examines how folk medicine has always been a curious blend of common sense and nonsense. From attempts to cure a child of dropsy by tying it up in a rope used to hang an innocent man to driving away whooping cough with medicine made from sheep droppings boiled in milk, this book looks at how practical observations and natural cures often went hand in hand with useless and often dangerous remedies.

Ireland's Hidden Medicine

Ireland's Hidden Medicine PDF

Author: Rosarie Kingston

Publisher: Aeon Books

Published: 2021-10-28

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 1913504980

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An exploration of the rich herbal healing traditions of Ireland which resonate through the country’s landscape, music, festivals and language. Indigenous medicine, no matter where it exists in the world, is characterised by the oral transmission of knowledge and the necessity for each person to be in harmony with themselves, their society and environment, as well as the spirit world. Ireland is no different, and its traditional therapeutic approach is designed to address body, mind, spirit and emotions within the local social and environmental context. However, these ancient healing traditions are increasingly neglected due to the dominance of biomedicine as the country's primary system of healthcare. Ireland's Hidden Medicine explores how the core elements of any medical system are always the same: diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of ill health. These central elements do not change, but the medical systems which give them expression may evolve, mutate, and even die, because their fortunes are tied up with the changing cultural, technological, and economic paradigms of their societies. This book provides a fascinating look at the history and fortunes of Irish folk medicine - from the legendary god of healing, Dein Checht, to the coming of Christianity and the religious and social backdrop of the nation's development. The book also provides a seasonal guide to utilising Ireland's indigenous medicine, which provides a wealth of benefits and a connection to a sacred and therapeutic landscape.

Moral Power

Moral Power PDF

Author: Koen Stroeken

Publisher: Berghahn Books

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 9781845457358

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Neither power nor morality but both. Moral power is what Sukuma farmers in Tanzania in times of crisis attribute to an unknown figure they call their witch. A universal process is involved, as much bodily as social, which obstructs the patient's recovery. Healers turn the table on the witch through rituals showing that the community and the ancestral spirits side with the victim. In contrast to biomedicine, their magic and divination introduce moral values that assess the state of the system and that remove the obstacles to what is taken as key: self-healing. The implied 'sensory shifts' and therapeutic effectiveness have largely eluded the literature on witchcraft. This book shows how to comprehend culture other than through the prism of identity politics. It offers a framework to comprehend the rise of witch killings and human sacrifice, just as ritual initiation disappears.

Folk Medicine in Southern Appalachia

Folk Medicine in Southern Appalachia PDF

Author: Anthony Cavender

Publisher: UNC Press Books

Published: 2014-07-25

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1469617390

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In the first comprehensive exploration of the history and practice of folk medicine in the Appalachian region, Anthony Cavender melds folklore, medical anthropology, and Appalachian history and draws extensively on oral histories and archival sources from the nineteenth century to the present. He provides a complete tour of ailments and folk treatments organized by body systems, as well as information on medicinal plants, patent medicines, and magico-religious beliefs and practices. He investigates folk healers and their methods, profiling three living practitioners: an herbalist, a faith healer, and a Native American healer. The book also includes an appendix of botanicals and a glossary of folk medical terms. Demonstrating the ongoing interplay between mainstream scientific medicine and folk medicine, Cavender challenges the conventional view of southern Appalachia as an exceptional region isolated from outside contact. His thorough and accessible study reveals how Appalachian folk medicine encompasses such diverse and important influences as European and Native American culture and America's changing medical and health-care environment. In doing so, he offers a compelling representation of the cultural history of the region as seen through its health practices.

Traditional Medicine

Traditional Medicine PDF

Author: Steven B. Kayne

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13:

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The World Health Organization has acknowledged that the majority of people living in developing countries continue to use traditional medicine. Increased levels of immigration and migration also mean that health professionals are more likely to come into contact with patients using them. Traditional Medicine is therefore a vital and timely book which covers medical systems practised on five continents, including: * traditional European folk medicine* Aboriginal/traditional medicine in North America* traditional medicine in the Colombian Amazon Tropical forest* traditional medical practice in Africa* traditional Chinese medicine* Indian Ayurvedic medicine* Japanese Kampo medicine * Korean medicine* traditional medicines in the Pacific* traditional Jewish medicine.Each section, written by an acknowledged expert, gives information on history, philosophy, methods of practice, safety issues, evidence, and examples of medicines. Traditional Medicine will be a crucial resource for complementary and alternative practitioners and students worldwide and for healthcare providers working in a multicultural society enabling them to interact effectively with their patients.Steven B Kayne is Honorary Consultant Pharmacist at Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital and Honorary Lecturer at the University of Strathclyde, School of Pharmacy, Glasgow, UK.

Charms, Charmers and Charming in Ireland

Charms, Charmers and Charming in Ireland PDF

Author: John Carey

Publisher: University of Wales Press

Published: 2019-10-15

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 1786834944

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• The first study of the full chronological range of Irish charms, from the Middle Ages until the present. • Includes survey articles, which give the reader a broad overview of major aspects of the subject. • Includes new discoveries in the field, information concerning which is not yet available elsewhere. • Includes articles dealing with folk medicine and traditional healing.

The Healers

The Healers PDF

Author: David Hamilton

Publisher: Pelican Publishing

Published: 1999-03-31

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 9781455605651

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Scotland offers almost unique opportunities for medical historians. For a conventional history, there is a rich stock of famous doctors and their discoveries. There are also the contributions of four ancient universities and three equally old colleges of physicians and surgeons. For historians of public health there is the famous struggle against the problems of the industrial revolution and the lives and works of the great sanitary reformers in Glasgow and Edinburgh. For the social historian there are equal opportunities in the diversity of the health care in the Highlands and Lowlands, the rich traditions of Scottish folk medicine and the interactions of Scottish and English medical practice. Much else can be learnt in relating Scotland's great innovative periods to her cultural and political state at the time. It is perhaps surprising therefore that there are no up-to-date accounts of any of these aspects of health and health care in Scotland. . . . there are now many new sources available and new questions to be asked. -from the Introduction In this book, author David Hamilton explores new sources and evaluates the rich history of medicinal practices in Scotland. Thus, for historians both of medicine and of Scotland, this study is necessary to more fully understand the country's history.

Cursed Britain

Cursed Britain PDF

Author: Thomas Waters

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2019-10-07

Total Pages: 375

ISBN-13: 0300249454

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The definitive history of how witchcraft and black magic have survived, through the modern era and into the present dayCursed Britain unveils the enduring power of witchcraft, curses and black magic in modern times. Few topics are so secretive or controversial. Yet, whether in the 1800s or the early 2000s, when disasters struck or personal misfortunes mounted, many Britons found themselves believing in things they had previously dismissed – dark supernatural forces.Historian Thomas Waters here explores the lives of cursed or bewitched people, along with the witches and witch-busters who helped and harmed them. Waters takes us on a fascinating journey from Scottish islands to the folklore-rich West Country, from the immense territories of the British Empire to metropolitan London. We learn why magic caters to deep-seated human needs but see how it can also be abused, and discover how witchcraft survives by evolving and changing. Along the way, we examine an array of remarkable beliefs and rituals, from traditional folk magic to diverse spiritualities originating in Africa and Asia.This is a tale of cynical quacks and sincere magical healers, depressed people and furious vigilantes, innocent victims and rogues who claimed to possess evil abilities. Their spellbinding stories raise important questions about the state’s role in regulating radical spiritualities, the fragility of secularism and the true nature of magic.

Biomedical Hegemony and Democracy in South Africa

Biomedical Hegemony and Democracy in South Africa PDF

Author: Ngambouk Vitalis Pemunta

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2020-12-29

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 9004436421

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In Biomedical Hegemony and Democracy in South Africa Ngambouk Vitalis Pemunta and Tabi Chama-James Tabenyang unpack the contentious South African government’s post-apartheid policy framework of the ‘‘return to tradition policy’’. The conjuncture between deep sociopolitical crises, witchcraft, the ravaging HIV/AIDS pandemic and the government’s initial reluctance to adopt antiretroviral therapy turned away desperate HIV/AIDS patients to traditional healers. Drawing on historical sources, policy documents and ethnographic interviews, Pemunta and Tabenyang convincingly demonstrate that despite biomedical hegemony, patients and members of their therapy-seeking group often shuttle between modern and traditional medicine, thereby making both systems of healthcare complementary rather than alternatives. They draw the attention of policy-makers to the need to be aware of ‘‘subaltern health narratives’’ in designing health policy.