Different cultures may have ceremonies and rituals of special importance in coping with illness or...
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Transcript of Different cultures may have ceremonies and rituals of special importance in coping with illness or...
Differentculturesmay haveceremoniesand rituals ofspecial importance incoping with illness or preparing fordeath.
Native American Medicine vs.
Western Medicine
Ayurdevic mmedicine
Ayurvedic Medicine
American Indian Medicine
To most American Indians, medicine signifies an array of ideas and concepts rather than remedies and treatment alone.
There is no separation between religion and medicine in tribal culture, and healing ceremonies are an integral part of the community experience.
More emphasis is given to the connectedness of one thing to another than to the individual thing itself.
Tribal cultures interpret disease and human suffering as disharmony, and the individual suffers because they have fallen out of harmony.
American Indian Medicine Continued
American Indian medical theory arises from the reasoning that the medicine man can control the forces of nature and hence make disease yield to his personal effects.
The medicine man is entrusted with ceremonies connected with birth and death.
The medicine man is not only the primitive doctor, but also the diviner, the rainmaker, the soothsayer, the prophet, the priest, and in some instances the chief. Sitting Bull is an example of an Indian chief
that was also the medicine men.
American Indian Theories of Medicine
Native healing of externally caused injuries, in which the origin of the ailment is perfectly obvious, is usually rational and often effective.
Some of these ailments include: Fractures Dislocations Snake and insect bites Skin irritation Bruises
Minor internal illnesses, such as colds, headaches and digestive disorders are treated with herbal remedies.
American Indian Theories of
Medicine Continued However, in cases of persistent internal
disease where the cause is not apparent, the usual American Indian custom is to attribute the disease to some supernatural agency.
If ordinary medicine did not does not bring relief, they resort to shamanistic methods.
Some examples of shamanistic methods: Incantations Charms Prayers Dances Shaking of rattles and beating of drums
Supernatural Causes of Disease
There are six categories of supernatural causes of disease among American Indian societies: 1. Sorcery 2. Taboo Violation 3. Disease-Object Intrusion 4. Spirit Intrusion 5. Soul Loss 6. Unfilled dreams/desires
In certain tribes/areas, some of these causes are more important than others.
Sorcery Belief that witchcraft is
the cause of disease, especially when epidemics or persistent misfortunes affect the tribe.
Treatment includes placing the blame on an old friendless tribe member, who is then usually pressed to confess.
Upon confession, the witchcrafter would be exiled or severely tortured and maltreated
Taboo Violation
After hunting animals or gathering herbs, American Indians were expected to pray or offer gifts of tobacco to the spirits of the animals/plants. Failure to do so leads to
illness. For example, a hunter
who kills beaver without asking permission or offering tobacco to its spirits, he becomes strangely ill.
Tribe Cree – nearly every disease has the name of an animal that is believed to have caused it.
Disease Object Intrusion
When a worm, snake, insect or small animal has entered the body and caused illness.
Treatment includes removal of object by drumming and singing, sucking, and sometimes by bitter medicines that make the patient’s body an uncomfortable place for invader to reside.
beliefs, each person has a distinct pattern of energy - a specific combination of physical, mental, and emotional characteristics. It is also believed that there are three basic energy types called doshas, present in every person: Vata - energy that regulates bodily functions associated with motion including blood circulation, breathing, blinking, and the beating of the heart. When vata energy is balanced, there is creativity and vitality. Out of balance, vata produces fear and anxiety.
The Four Humors were:Sanguine: The blood, related to the element of air and the liver, dictated courage, hope and love. Choleric: Yellow bile, related to the element of fire and the Gall Bladder, could lead to bad temper and anger, if in excess. Melancholic: Black bile, associated with the element of earth and the spleen, would lead to sleeplessness and irritation if it dominated the body. Phlegmatic: Phlegm, associated with the element of water and the brain, was responsible for rationality, but would dull the emotions if allowed to become dominant.
BLOOD - AIR PHLEGM - WATER YELLOW BILE - FIRE BLACK BILE - EARTH All four of these humors, or vital fluids, are present in the bloodstream in varying quantities: Blood, or the Sanguine humor, is the red, hemoglobin-rich portion. Phlegm, or the Phlegmatic humor, is present as the clear plasma portion. Yellow Bile, or the Choleric humor, is present as a slight residue or bilirubin, imparting a slight yellowish tint. Black Bile, or the Melancholic humor, is present as a brownish grey sediment with
Ayurvedic medicine include universal interconnectedness (among people, their health, and the universe), the body’s constitution (prakriti), and life forces (dosha), which are often compared to the biologic humors of the ancient Greek system. Using these concepts, Ayurvedic physicians prescribe individualized treatments, including compounds of herbs or proprietary ingredients, and diet, exercise, and lifestyle recommendations
Spirit Intrusion
American Indian societies recognize several kinds of disease causing spirits, both animal and human.
Treatment requires the medicine man to determine which sprit is causing the trouble and prescribe a cure.
Another kind of spirit intrusion is the return of the souls of the dead to live in the bodies of their living relatives.
Soul Loss
Soul loss occurs when the soul, during a dream, leaves the body and travels about.
Treatment requires that the medicine man recover the soul using the appropriate rituals.
If the soul is not brought back, the patient will die.
The soul could be stolen by malignant shamans, witches, or evil spirits.
Unfulfilled Dreams or Desires
Idea that disease is caused by unfulfilled desires, which are reveled in dreams.
Treatment requires that the patient must fulfill whatever they saw in their dream to cure the sickness.
In addition, the medicine man must recite prayers.
Methods of Treatment Indian medical treatment is seen as a combination of
rational and religious practices being performed collectively by the same functionary. There are variations in healing procedure from tribe to tribe and in different cultural areas. However, there are some methods which are nearly universal. Common methods of treatment include prayer, chanting, music, herbalism, counseling, and ceremony.
It is thought that chanting ceremonies aid healing by expressing harmony, rebirth, vitality, and a will to live. The use of rattles or drums is universal. The drumming or rattling entrains the minds of both healer and patient and leads them to an expanded awareness of self and spirit.
Herbs Herbs are another important part of
native healing. The herbs employed by the medicine men are believed to derive their strength from the ceremonies performed to make them powerful. Yellow plants are good for jaundice; red ones are good for the blood. Some part of the plant might resemble the organ of the body it is designed to cure.
The Indians also commonly believed that certain roots or plants were beneficial to the system because they are distasteful and injurious to the demons causing disease in the host body. Consequently, foul-tasting medicines, emetics, and purges are often used.
Smoke Treatments Many western tribes
treated respiratory, rheumatic, and other diseases by heating or burning substances such as cedar branches or sweet smelling herbs over live coals. Sometimes an infusion of herbs was poured over hot stones to form steam.
The Plains Indians often use Echinacea and red cedar in the smoke treatment of headache.
The Dakotas, Omaha, Ponca, and Pawnee burned the twigs and inhaled the smoke for head colds.
Massage
Native Americans have always considered touch to be therapeutic. They used ancient massage techniques comparable to acupressure. The Creator touches patients and transfers power to them through medicine people or shamans who are healing instruments. They believed touching was an expression of loving care and was essential to the healing process.
Shamanism They were religious healers.
They were commonly found in the Navajo indians, there basically medicine men. They are believed to possess special healing powers. They are believed to interpret the causes of sickness or lack of hunting success. They work with the spirit or soul to help those who are ill. They gain knowledge from working with spirits of animals and humans such as their ancestors. For the shaman everything is alive and carries information.
American Indian Medicine
Health promotion & disease prevention is a major focus of the IHS, although it is often in conflict with American Indian values.
Use of traditional healing practices is explained to physicians practicing on the reservations, but clients may perceive reluctance to accept practices. Especially true among elderly who seek hospital or
clinic treatments only when their conditions become life threatening.
Younger generations seek treatment sooner and use the health care system more readily than do elderly people. However if their beliefs are traditional, they may combine native traditional medicine with Western medicine.
Current Health Care Practices
Through existing treaties, the US government assumes the responsibility of the healthcare needs of American Indians.
The Indian Health Service is basically the health care provider and advocate for American Indian people.
Over the last 20 year, IHS has shifted its focus from acute care to disease/chronic health prevention.
Comparison of Health Conditions
Comparison of 1994-1996 American Indian age-adjusted death rates with all races of the US population in 1995 reveals the following higher death rates in American Indian population: Alcoholism 627% higher Tuberculosis 533% higher Diabetes Mellitus Type II 249% higher Suicide 72%
higher Pneumonia & Influenza 71% higher Homicide 63% higher Infant Mortality 22% higher Heart Disease 13% higher
The report reviews the prevalence of three diseases—depression, diabetes and cardiovascular disease—in the American Indian and Alaska Native population. Top-line findings from each disease include:
The report reviews the prevalence of three diseases—depression, diabetes and cardiovascular disease—in the American Indian and Alaska Native population. Top-line findings from each disease include:The report reviews the prevalence of three diseases—depression, diabetes and cardiovascular disease—in the American Indian and Alaska Native population. Top-line findings from each disease include:
Up to 30 percent of all American Indian and Alaska Native adults suffer from depression, and there is strong reason to believe the proportion is even greater among those living in cities.
•Up to 30 percent of all American Indian and Alaska Native adults suffer from depression, and there is strong reason to believe the proportion is even greater among those living in cities.
Compared to the general U.S. population, American Indians and Alaska Natives have a higher prevalence of diabetes, a greater mortality rate from diabetes and an earlier age of diabetes onset.
•Compared to the general U.S. population, American Indians and Alaska Natives have a higher prevalence of diabetes, a greater mortality rate from diabetes and an earlier age of diabetes onset.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among American Indians and Alaska Natives and kills more American Indians and Alaska Natives age 45 and older than cancer, diabetes and unintentional injuries—combined
•Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among American Indians and Alaska Natives and kills more American Indians and Alaska Natives age 45 and older than cancer, diabetes and unintentional injuries—combined•Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among American Indians and Alaska Natives and kills more American Indians and Alaska Natives age 45 and older than cancer, diabetes and unintentional injuries—combined
