Competition, Race, and Professionalization: African Healers and White Medical Practitioners in Natal, South Africa in the Early Twentieth Century

Flint, Karen

doi:10.1093/shm/14.2.199

Cited by 22 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…These policies and licensing of indigenous medical practitioners coupled with direct out-of-pocket payment for biomedical care provided an ideal incentive for professionalization of healers through setting of standards (Janes, 1999). The end result was the commodification of some aspects of the indigenous healing practices, particularly herbal and plant medicine (Flint, 2001;Han, 2001;Hsu, 2009). The commodification of indigenous medical care systems created a professional body of healers whose activities are highly formal and commercially oriented.…”

Section: A Triple-systems Model Approach To Medical/health Pluralism In Ghanamentioning

confidence: 99%

An Assessment of Care-Seeking Behavior in Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District: A Triple Pluralistic Health Sector Approach

Amegbor

2017

SAGE Open

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Discussions and studies on Ghana's pluralistic health care system usually ignore or downplay self-care as a crucial sector in this system of care. In view of this, this study uses a triple sector approach of the pluralistic health care system as advocated by Kleinman to assess care-seeking behaviors of residents in the Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District (Ghana). The results of cross-tabulation analysis demonstrate that respondents' general care-seeking behavior is different from the type of care sought for last illness before the study. Data for the study were obtained from 227 urban and rural respondents in the study district in 2013. The findings indicate that factors such as geographic location, health insurance, and perception of the cost of professional care had a bearing on residents' general care-seeking behavior. However, age, sex, relationship status, economic status, and proximity to nearest biomedical care service influenced the type of treatment sought for last illness. The approach use of the study demonstrates that self-care remains a general avenue of care for residents, whereas in times of severe illness, respondents often rely on professional biomedical care. The use of professional indigenous care services is generally low due to the financial burden associated with its use.

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Section: A Triple-systems Model Approach To Medical/health Pluralism In Ghanamentioning

confidence: 99%

An Assessment of Care-Seeking Behavior in Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District: A Triple Pluralistic Health Sector Approach

Amegbor

2017

SAGE Open

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“…Ferraggat in Marrakech are very much like those in the mountains in terms of the settings of the practice (generally their homes) and their availability (working “ fi sabilillah ”). However, it is worth mentioning the case of a very young ferragga who had an established practise in Marrakech with time schedules and set prices, showing a shift towards professionalization [50, 51]. …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Treating infants with frigg: linking disease aetiologies, medicinal plant use and care-seeking behaviour in southern Morocco

Teixidor‐Toneu¹,

Martin²,

Puri³

et al. 2017

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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BackgroundAlthough most Moroccans rely to some extent on traditional medicine, the practice of frigg to treat paediatric ailments by elderly women traditional healers known as ferraggat, has not yet been documented. We describe the role of these specialist healers, document the medicinal plants they use, and evaluate how and why their practice is changing.MethodsEthnomedicinal and ethnobotanical data were collected using semi-structured interviews and observations of medical encounters. Information was collected from traditional healers, namely ferraggat, patients, herbalists and public health professionals. Patients’ and healers’ narratives about traditional medicine were analysed and medicinal plant lists were compiled from healers and herbalists. Plants used were collected, vouchered and deposited in herbaria.Results Ferragat remain a key health resource to treat infant ailments in the rural High Atlas, because mothers believe only they can treat what are perceived to be illnesses with a supernatural cause. Ferragat possess baraka, or the gift of healing, and treat mainly three folk ailments, taqait, taumist and iqdi, which present symptoms similar to those of ear infections, tonsillitis and gastroenteritis. Seventy plant species were used to treat these ailments, but the emphasis on plants may be a recent substitute for treatments that used primarily wool and blood. This change in materia medica is a shift in the objects of cultural meaningfulness in response to the increasing influence of orthodox Islam and state-sponsored modernisation, including public healthcare and schooling.ConclusionsReligious and other sociocultural changes are impacting the ways in which ferraggat practice. Treatments based on no-longer accepted symbolic elements have been readily abandoned and substituted by licit remedies, namely medicinal plants, which play a legitimisation role for the practice of frigg. However, beliefs in supernatural ailment aetiologies, as well as lack or difficult access to biomedical alternatives, still underlie the need for specialist traditional healers.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13002-016-0129-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…Second, healers were forbidden to mix or compound their own herbs as medicines. Although many policy makers at the time stated a fear that the compounded medicines made by traditional healers may do harm to the people using them, the more immediate reason for the ban was that the white doctors did not want competition from traditional healers (Flint 2001(Flint , 2008. In the colonial era, traditional medicine was often the only medical care available to the majority of the population, a situation we still find today.…”

Section: Discussion: Medical Colonial Presentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anglo American media representations, traditional medicine, and HIV/AIDS in South Africa: from muti killings to garlic cures

Bishop

2010

GeoJournal

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Before 2000 limited media coverage of medicine in South Africa existed, yet much of what did exist centered primarily on traditional healing practices. It was not until the introduction of HIV/ AIDS that traditional medicine was seen as having some potential value to the population, but only so far as the ability of traditional healers to direct patients to biomedical treatment. This article examines how the contemporary western media portrays medicine in South Africa and how the introduction of HIV/AIDS as a major news story has shifted the depiction of western and traditional medical treatment. Insights from these questions are examined in light of the colonial context of South Africa's political struggle over medicine. Keywords HIV/AIDS Á Media representations Á Traditional medicine Á South Africa ''What the government says and doesn't say still matters, unfortunately. I met some South Africans who can get antiretrovirals free at their local clinic but still prefer herbal medicines. They could live, thanks to the government's highly reluctant actions. Instead, they will die because of its words.''-Tina Rosenberg in The New York Times, 2006

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Competition, Race, and Professionalization: African Healers and White Medical Practitioners in Natal, South Africa in the Early Twentieth Century

Cited by 22 publications

References 0 publications

An Assessment of Care-Seeking Behavior in Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District: A Triple Pluralistic Health Sector Approach

An Assessment of Care-Seeking Behavior in Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District: A Triple Pluralistic Health Sector Approach

Treating infants with frigg: linking disease aetiologies, medicinal plant use and care-seeking behaviour in southern Morocco

Anglo American media representations, traditional medicine, and HIV/AIDS in South Africa: from muti killings to garlic cures

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