William S Sax
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195335866
- eISBN:
- 9780199868919
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195335866.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This book deals with ritual healing in the Central Himalayas of north India. It focuses on the cult of Bhairav, a local deity who is associated with the lowest castes, the so-called Dalits, who are ...
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This book deals with ritual healing in the Central Himalayas of north India. It focuses on the cult of Bhairav, a local deity who is associated with the lowest castes, the so-called Dalits, who are frequently victims of social injustice. When powerless people are exploited or abused and have nowhere else to go, they often turn to Bhairav for justice, and he afflicts their oppressors with disease and misfortune. In order to end their suffering, they must make amends with their former victims and worship Bhairav with bloody sacrifices. Many acts of perceived injustice occur within the family, so that much of the book focuses on the tension between the high moral value placed on family unity on the one hand, and the inevitable conflicts within it on the other. Such conflicts can lead to ghost possession, cursing, and other forms of black magic, all of which are vividly described. The book includes a personal account of the author's own experiences in the field as well as descriptions of blood sacrifice, possession, exorcism, and cursing. The book begins with a straightforward description of the author' s fieldwork and goes on to describe the god Bhairav and his relationship to the weak and powerless. Subsequent chapters deal with the lives of local oracles and healers; the main rituals of the cult and the dramatic Himalayan landscape in which they are embedded; the moral, ritual, and therapeutic centrality of the family; the importance of ghosts and exorcism; and practices of cursing and counter-cursing. The final chapter examines the problematic relationship between ritual healing and modernity.Less
This book deals with ritual healing in the Central Himalayas of north India. It focuses on the cult of Bhairav, a local deity who is associated with the lowest castes, the so-called Dalits, who are frequently victims of social injustice. When powerless people are exploited or abused and have nowhere else to go, they often turn to Bhairav for justice, and he afflicts their oppressors with disease and misfortune. In order to end their suffering, they must make amends with their former victims and worship Bhairav with bloody sacrifices. Many acts of perceived injustice occur within the family, so that much of the book focuses on the tension between the high moral value placed on family unity on the one hand, and the inevitable conflicts within it on the other. Such conflicts can lead to ghost possession, cursing, and other forms of black magic, all of which are vividly described. The book includes a personal account of the author's own experiences in the field as well as descriptions of blood sacrifice, possession, exorcism, and cursing. The book begins with a straightforward description of the author' s fieldwork and goes on to describe the god Bhairav and his relationship to the weak and powerless. Subsequent chapters deal with the lives of local oracles and healers; the main rituals of the cult and the dramatic Himalayan landscape in which they are embedded; the moral, ritual, and therapeutic centrality of the family; the importance of ghosts and exorcism; and practices of cursing and counter-cursing. The final chapter examines the problematic relationship between ritual healing and modernity.
Anne Digby and Sheila Ryan Johansson
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263471
- eISBN:
- 9780191734786
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263471.003.0016
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
This chapter explores some issues raised by historical changes in the positions of scientific and alternative medicine in health care provision, pointing out parallels between the coexistence of ...
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This chapter explores some issues raised by historical changes in the positions of scientific and alternative medicine in health care provision, pointing out parallels between the coexistence of modern and traditional healers. It argues that in both developed and developing countries, maximizing the production of health-related welfare may require the continued existence of these two medical systems.Less
This chapter explores some issues raised by historical changes in the positions of scientific and alternative medicine in health care provision, pointing out parallels between the coexistence of modern and traditional healers. It argues that in both developed and developing countries, maximizing the production of health-related welfare may require the continued existence of these two medical systems.
Frank Graziano
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195171303
- eISBN:
- 9780199785193
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195171303.003.intro
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter establishes the cultural and thematic contexts for understanding folk saint devotions. It explores the nature of devotion, the means by which devotions are initiated and disseminated, ...
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This chapter establishes the cultural and thematic contexts for understanding folk saint devotions. It explores the nature of devotion, the means by which devotions are initiated and disseminated, and the relation of folk saints to canonized saints and to the Catholic Church.Less
This chapter establishes the cultural and thematic contexts for understanding folk saint devotions. It explores the nature of devotion, the means by which devotions are initiated and disseminated, and the relation of folk saints to canonized saints and to the Catholic Church.
Carol Laderman
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520069169
- eISBN:
- 9780520913707
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520069169.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
Charged with restoring harmony and relieving pain, the Malay shaman places his patients in a trance and encourages them to express their talents, drives, personality traits—the “Inner Winds” of Malay ...
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Charged with restoring harmony and relieving pain, the Malay shaman places his patients in a trance and encourages them to express their talents, drives, personality traits—the “Inner Winds” of Malay medical lore—in a kind of performance. These healing ceremonies, formerly viewed by Western anthropologists as exotic curiosities, actually reveal complex multicultural origins and a unique indigenous medical tradition whose psychological content is remarkably relevant to contemporary Western concerns. Accepted as apprentice to a Malay shaman, the author of this book learned and recorded every aspect of the healing séance, and found it comparable in many ways to the traditional dramas of Southeast Asia and of other cultures such as ancient Greece, Japan, and India. The Malay séance is a total performance, complete with audience, stage, props, plot, music, and dance, and the players include the patient along with the shaman and his troupe. At the center of the drama are pivotal relationships—among people, between humans and spirits, and within the self. The best of the Malay shamans are superb poets, dramatists, and performers as well as effective healers of body and soul.Less
Charged with restoring harmony and relieving pain, the Malay shaman places his patients in a trance and encourages them to express their talents, drives, personality traits—the “Inner Winds” of Malay medical lore—in a kind of performance. These healing ceremonies, formerly viewed by Western anthropologists as exotic curiosities, actually reveal complex multicultural origins and a unique indigenous medical tradition whose psychological content is remarkably relevant to contemporary Western concerns. Accepted as apprentice to a Malay shaman, the author of this book learned and recorded every aspect of the healing séance, and found it comparable in many ways to the traditional dramas of Southeast Asia and of other cultures such as ancient Greece, Japan, and India. The Malay séance is a total performance, complete with audience, stage, props, plot, music, and dance, and the players include the patient along with the shaman and his troupe. At the center of the drama are pivotal relationships—among people, between humans and spirits, and within the self. The best of the Malay shamans are superb poets, dramatists, and performers as well as effective healers of body and soul.
Robin Briggs
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198225829
- eISBN:
- 9780191708947
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198225829.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter focuses on the lives of individuals sometimes called ‘white witches’, men and women who formed part of a ragged and disorganized phenomenon which historians of early modern medicine now ...
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This chapter focuses on the lives of individuals sometimes called ‘white witches’, men and women who formed part of a ragged and disorganized phenomenon which historians of early modern medicine now call the ‘medical market-place’, an array of practitioners ranging from university-trained physicians to villagers credited with some modest gift for healing. Topics discussed include clergy, lawyer, and doctor involvement in cases; popular medical practitioners and devins; life stories of the six most active practitioners who were tried for witchcraft; the healer Nicolas Noel le Bragard; and magical healing and conceptions of illness.Less
This chapter focuses on the lives of individuals sometimes called ‘white witches’, men and women who formed part of a ragged and disorganized phenomenon which historians of early modern medicine now call the ‘medical market-place’, an array of practitioners ranging from university-trained physicians to villagers credited with some modest gift for healing. Topics discussed include clergy, lawyer, and doctor involvement in cases; popular medical practitioners and devins; life stories of the six most active practitioners who were tried for witchcraft; the healer Nicolas Noel le Bragard; and magical healing and conceptions of illness.
Robin Briggs
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198225829
- eISBN:
- 9780191708947
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198225829.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter focuses on witch trials Saint-Nicolas-de-Port. Trials from Saint-Nicolas began with the trial of Claudon Charniere, also known as la Picquatte on account of her first marriage to Martin ...
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This chapter focuses on witch trials Saint-Nicolas-de-Port. Trials from Saint-Nicolas began with the trial of Claudon Charniere, also known as la Picquatte on account of her first marriage to Martin Picquot, in the autumn of 1572. Another trial began with a public accusation in July 1582 by a young married woman named Mongeatte Recouvreur, who was said to be going about the streets as if demented. Trials Saint-Nicolas appears then passed through the hard times of the late 1580s and early 1590s without any formal accusations, until a new group of trials began in 1598. Altogether the town saw nineteen known witchcraft trials over a period of fifty-six years, fifteen of which have left full records, with all but one of the accused being women.Less
This chapter focuses on witch trials Saint-Nicolas-de-Port. Trials from Saint-Nicolas began with the trial of Claudon Charniere, also known as la Picquatte on account of her first marriage to Martin Picquot, in the autumn of 1572. Another trial began with a public accusation in July 1582 by a young married woman named Mongeatte Recouvreur, who was said to be going about the streets as if demented. Trials Saint-Nicolas appears then passed through the hard times of the late 1580s and early 1590s without any formal accusations, until a new group of trials began in 1598. Altogether the town saw nineteen known witchcraft trials over a period of fifty-six years, fifteen of which have left full records, with all but one of the accused being women.
Charles K. Bellinger
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195134988
- eISBN:
- 9780199833986
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195134982.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
Four major theories of Atonement in the Christian tradition are summarized: the Orthodox ransom theory, Anselm's satisfaction theory, Calvin's penal substitution theory, and Abelard's subjective ...
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Four major theories of Atonement in the Christian tradition are summarized: the Orthodox ransom theory, Anselm's satisfaction theory, Calvin's penal substitution theory, and Abelard's subjective theory. Perspectives on Atonement found in Soren Kierkegaard, Karl Barth, Rene Girard, and Robert Jenson are also presented. It is argued that a medical metaphor (Christ as the Healer who submits to the violence of his patients) is more helpful than a legal metaphor. The incarnation is God the Father's action in sending the Son on a medical mission for the healing of humanity, and the crucifixion and resurrection complete the mission. We can always hope that human beings will use their freedom to accept divine healing rather than to reject it, thus growing toward a more peaceful future.Less
Four major theories of Atonement in the Christian tradition are summarized: the Orthodox ransom theory, Anselm's satisfaction theory, Calvin's penal substitution theory, and Abelard's subjective theory. Perspectives on Atonement found in Soren Kierkegaard, Karl Barth, Rene Girard, and Robert Jenson are also presented. It is argued that a medical metaphor (Christ as the Healer who submits to the violence of his patients) is more helpful than a legal metaphor. The incarnation is God the Father's action in sending the Son on a medical mission for the healing of humanity, and the crucifixion and resurrection complete the mission. We can always hope that human beings will use their freedom to accept divine healing rather than to reject it, thus growing toward a more peaceful future.
Cecil A. Rice
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199736393
- eISBN:
- 9780199894574
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199736393.003.0008
- Subject:
- Psychology, Clinical Psychology
The wounded healer archetype reaches back to antiquity. The chapter traces that history and reflects on its current forms in the practice of psychotherapy. While woundedness is universal no matter ...
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The wounded healer archetype reaches back to antiquity. The chapter traces that history and reflects on its current forms in the practice of psychotherapy. While woundedness is universal no matter what ones work, the chapter argues that therapists seem to be people who acknowledge and understand their woundedness, may even have been very sensitive to it early in life, and have been willing to wrestle with it and continue to do so. It is that awareness, the willingness to accept it and wrestle with it that contributes significantly to the effectiveness of their work and redounds to their clients’ benefit. Such willingness operating in the background allows therapists in conjunction with their clients to co-create an intersubjective field within which healing can take place.Less
The wounded healer archetype reaches back to antiquity. The chapter traces that history and reflects on its current forms in the practice of psychotherapy. While woundedness is universal no matter what ones work, the chapter argues that therapists seem to be people who acknowledge and understand their woundedness, may even have been very sensitive to it early in life, and have been willing to wrestle with it and continue to do so. It is that awareness, the willingness to accept it and wrestle with it that contributes significantly to the effectiveness of their work and redounds to their clients’ benefit. Such willingness operating in the background allows therapists in conjunction with their clients to co-create an intersubjective field within which healing can take place.
Nicole M. Piemonte
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780262037396
- eISBN:
- 9780262344968
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262037396.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
While many commentators have pointed to the lack of compassion and empathy in medicine, their critiques, for the most part, have not considered seriously the deeper philosophical, psychological, and ...
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While many commentators have pointed to the lack of compassion and empathy in medicine, their critiques, for the most part, have not considered seriously the deeper philosophical, psychological, and ontological reasons why clinicians and medical students might choose to conceive of medicine as an endeavor concerned solely with the biological workings of the body. Thus, this book examines why it is that existential suffering tends to be overlooked in medical practice and education, as well as the ways in which contemporary medical epistemology and pedagogy not only perpetuate but are indeed shaped by the human tendency to flee from the reality of death and vulnerability. It also explores how students and doctors perceive medicine, including what it means to be a doctor and what responsibilities doctors have toward addressing existential suffering. Contending that the being of the physician is constituted by the other who calls out to her in his suffering, this book argues that the doctor is, in fact, called to attend to suffering that extends beyond the biological. It also discusses how future physicians might be “brought back to themselves” and oriented toward a deeper sense of care through a pedagogy that encourages intentional reflection and values the cultivation of the self, openness to vulnerability, and a fuller conception of what it means to be a healer.Less
While many commentators have pointed to the lack of compassion and empathy in medicine, their critiques, for the most part, have not considered seriously the deeper philosophical, psychological, and ontological reasons why clinicians and medical students might choose to conceive of medicine as an endeavor concerned solely with the biological workings of the body. Thus, this book examines why it is that existential suffering tends to be overlooked in medical practice and education, as well as the ways in which contemporary medical epistemology and pedagogy not only perpetuate but are indeed shaped by the human tendency to flee from the reality of death and vulnerability. It also explores how students and doctors perceive medicine, including what it means to be a doctor and what responsibilities doctors have toward addressing existential suffering. Contending that the being of the physician is constituted by the other who calls out to her in his suffering, this book argues that the doctor is, in fact, called to attend to suffering that extends beyond the biological. It also discusses how future physicians might be “brought back to themselves” and oriented toward a deeper sense of care through a pedagogy that encourages intentional reflection and values the cultivation of the self, openness to vulnerability, and a fuller conception of what it means to be a healer.
R. Andrew Chesnut
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195393408
- eISBN:
- 9780199894390
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195393408.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
Divine healing, more than glossolalia, is the most universal gift of the Spirit in Latin American pentecostalism. Less than half of pentecostal informants in Belém, Pará, Brazil, regularly spoke in ...
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Divine healing, more than glossolalia, is the most universal gift of the Spirit in Latin American pentecostalism. Less than half of pentecostal informants in Belém, Pará, Brazil, regularly spoke in tongues, but most claimed that Jesus or the Holy Spirit had cured them. The disease of poverty predisposes the dispossessed of Brazil and Latin America to accept pentecostal cura divina (divine cure or faith healing) and libertação (exorcism or deliverance). Poverty and illness are necessary, but insufficient, preconditions for conversion. Reaching a health crisis and perceiving a divine cure are also necessary. Church altar calls for healing are supplemented by testimonials and prayers from relatives, friends, and neighbors. Typically, the afflicted first try cheaper, easier home remedies; then medical aid; then curandeiras (folk healers), saints of Catholicism, or Umbanda spirits of African-Brazilian religions; finally paying the high price demanded by pentecostalism of accepting Jesus in exchange for a cure.Less
Divine healing, more than glossolalia, is the most universal gift of the Spirit in Latin American pentecostalism. Less than half of pentecostal informants in Belém, Pará, Brazil, regularly spoke in tongues, but most claimed that Jesus or the Holy Spirit had cured them. The disease of poverty predisposes the dispossessed of Brazil and Latin America to accept pentecostal cura divina (divine cure or faith healing) and libertação (exorcism or deliverance). Poverty and illness are necessary, but insufficient, preconditions for conversion. Reaching a health crisis and perceiving a divine cure are also necessary. Church altar calls for healing are supplemented by testimonials and prayers from relatives, friends, and neighbors. Typically, the afflicted first try cheaper, easier home remedies; then medical aid; then curandeiras (folk healers), saints of Catholicism, or Umbanda spirits of African-Brazilian religions; finally paying the high price demanded by pentecostalism of accepting Jesus in exchange for a cure.
Susan J. Palmer
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199735211
- eISBN:
- 9780199918577
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199735211.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
The antisecte movement in the late 20th century has taken up the banner of reason against obscurantisme in its efforts to expose fake healers. It is perhaps significant that some of the most ...
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The antisecte movement in the late 20th century has taken up the banner of reason against obscurantisme in its efforts to expose fake healers. It is perhaps significant that some of the most controversial spiritual healers of the post-OTS era have not been foreign invaders, but have been men and women steeped in the old folk medicine traditions of Europe. Among these we find Breton spiritual healers, French psychologists and psychoanalysts, and a Basque herbalist, whose controversial careers are discussed. We will begin our story of the social control of healing cults in the French Sect Wars with the singular case of Horus, a New Age farming community near the tiny village of La Coucourde, in the Dr ôme region of France. Horus was placed on the Guyard list of sects in 1995, and in 1997, the Belgian parliamentary commission followed suit by publishing a list of 189 sectarian movements that included Horus (although Horus had no presence in Belgium). Horus's controversial status dates back to 1991, soon after its founder Maïte began to broadcast her research findings. She claimed that fertilizer and pesticides were unnecessary since the advent of ondes de forme. In news reports on Horus, she was labeled as a gourelle (a quaint franco-feminization of the Sanskrit word for spiritual teacher). The first police raid on Horus followed, in 1991.Less
The antisecte movement in the late 20th century has taken up the banner of reason against obscurantisme in its efforts to expose fake healers. It is perhaps significant that some of the most controversial spiritual healers of the post-OTS era have not been foreign invaders, but have been men and women steeped in the old folk medicine traditions of Europe. Among these we find Breton spiritual healers, French psychologists and psychoanalysts, and a Basque herbalist, whose controversial careers are discussed. We will begin our story of the social control of healing cults in the French Sect Wars with the singular case of Horus, a New Age farming community near the tiny village of La Coucourde, in the Dr ôme region of France. Horus was placed on the Guyard list of sects in 1995, and in 1997, the Belgian parliamentary commission followed suit by publishing a list of 189 sectarian movements that included Horus (although Horus had no presence in Belgium). Horus's controversial status dates back to 1991, soon after its founder Maïte began to broadcast her research findings. She claimed that fertilizer and pesticides were unnecessary since the advent of ondes de forme. In news reports on Horus, she was labeled as a gourelle (a quaint franco-feminization of the Sanskrit word for spiritual teacher). The first police raid on Horus followed, in 1991.
Matthew Marostica
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195393408
- eISBN:
- 9780199894390
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195393408.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
Divine healing and liberación (liberation or deliverance) became the primary tool for evangelization and church growth in Pentecostal and evangelical Protestant churches in Argentina between 1985 and ...
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Divine healing and liberación (liberation or deliverance) became the primary tool for evangelization and church growth in Pentecostal and evangelical Protestant churches in Argentina between 1985 and 1990. Key leaders are Carlos Annacondia, Omar Cabrera, Hector Giménez, and Claudio Freidzon. Pentecostal missionaries who founded churches in Argentina since the 1940s did not promote healing. Annacondia supplanted the old missionary gospel with a new, culturally resonant repertoire of practices appropriate to the Argentine popular sector. Divine healing, by providing an alternative to visiting expensive curanderos (traditional healers), was a primary attraction. Evangelicals united behind Annacondia’s crusades and imitated his pentecostal methods and style of casting out demons, divine healing, testimonies, and popular music. Freidzon’s “new anointing” brought pentecostal practices to sectors of the historically Protestant churches that had previously not participated in the movement. The ecumenical Charismatic movement may further break down barriers between Protestants and Catholics.Less
Divine healing and liberación (liberation or deliverance) became the primary tool for evangelization and church growth in Pentecostal and evangelical Protestant churches in Argentina between 1985 and 1990. Key leaders are Carlos Annacondia, Omar Cabrera, Hector Giménez, and Claudio Freidzon. Pentecostal missionaries who founded churches in Argentina since the 1940s did not promote healing. Annacondia supplanted the old missionary gospel with a new, culturally resonant repertoire of practices appropriate to the Argentine popular sector. Divine healing, by providing an alternative to visiting expensive curanderos (traditional healers), was a primary attraction. Evangelicals united behind Annacondia’s crusades and imitated his pentecostal methods and style of casting out demons, divine healing, testimonies, and popular music. Freidzon’s “new anointing” brought pentecostal practices to sectors of the historically Protestant churches that had previously not participated in the movement. The ecumenical Charismatic movement may further break down barriers between Protestants and Catholics.
Claude F. Jacobs
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195167962
- eISBN:
- 9780199850150
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195167962.003.0021
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Among African Americans, there exists a wide variety of religious beliefs regarding health, illness, and healing. Many Spiritual churches arose in the early 20th century and are characterized by ...
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Among African Americans, there exists a wide variety of religious beliefs regarding health, illness, and healing. Many Spiritual churches arose in the early 20th century and are characterized by their combination of elaborate rituals, highly aesthetic sanctuaries, intensely emotional services of worship, openness to women ministers, and eclectic belief system. Drawing on Roman Catholicism, Pentecostalism, 19th-century Spiritualism, New Thought, and African religious concepts that were incorporated into what is known as Voodoo or hoodoo in the United States, the Spiritual churches have created ritual spaces in which people can combine features of these religions in a variety of ways. A part of what attracted people to the Spiritual churches in the early days, and continues to do so now, is their reputation for healing and prophecy. Today's leaders of the Spiritual churches are men and women who often are recognized as “prophets,” “divine healers,” or “spiritual advisers”.Less
Among African Americans, there exists a wide variety of religious beliefs regarding health, illness, and healing. Many Spiritual churches arose in the early 20th century and are characterized by their combination of elaborate rituals, highly aesthetic sanctuaries, intensely emotional services of worship, openness to women ministers, and eclectic belief system. Drawing on Roman Catholicism, Pentecostalism, 19th-century Spiritualism, New Thought, and African religious concepts that were incorporated into what is known as Voodoo or hoodoo in the United States, the Spiritual churches have created ritual spaces in which people can combine features of these religions in a variety of ways. A part of what attracted people to the Spiritual churches in the early days, and continues to do so now, is their reputation for healing and prophecy. Today's leaders of the Spiritual churches are men and women who often are recognized as “prophets,” “divine healers,” or “spiritual advisers”.
Gretchen Long
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807835838
- eISBN:
- 9781469601472
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/9780807837399_long.11
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
During the war, the diverse experiences of African Americans as soldiers, laborers, domestic servants, and fugitives caused the meanings of their wounds and illnesses to shift radically. Like their ...
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During the war, the diverse experiences of African Americans as soldiers, laborers, domestic servants, and fugitives caused the meanings of their wounds and illnesses to shift radically. Like their evolution from slaves to free people, the evolution of medical care for blacks was neither straightforward nor predictable. This conclusion suggests that the struggle of African Americans, since emancipation, for the right to health care and the right to become professional healers themselves is an essential part of the story of their struggle for freedom and autonomy. It also contains lessons for the present and future of freedom and health in the United States.Less
During the war, the diverse experiences of African Americans as soldiers, laborers, domestic servants, and fugitives caused the meanings of their wounds and illnesses to shift radically. Like their evolution from slaves to free people, the evolution of medical care for blacks was neither straightforward nor predictable. This conclusion suggests that the struggle of African Americans, since emancipation, for the right to health care and the right to become professional healers themselves is an essential part of the story of their struggle for freedom and autonomy. It also contains lessons for the present and future of freedom and health in the United States.
Mack Lipkin
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- November 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199238361
- eISBN:
- 9780191730290
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199238361.003.0001
- Subject:
- Palliative Care, Patient Care and End-of-Life Decision Making, Palliative Medicine Research
Most of the history of communication skills knowledge and teaching derives from work and studies done in general medicine, or further afield, rather than in cancer care. Cancer care has been advanced ...
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Most of the history of communication skills knowledge and teaching derives from work and studies done in general medicine, or further afield, rather than in cancer care. Cancer care has been advanced in attempting, as this book reflects, to codify the processes required to accomplish some key goals: to help cancer patients to accept their diagnosis and prognosis; to accept or reject tests and difficult treatments according to their core preferences; to participate in studies; to enable them to participate meaningfully when curative care is futile; and to facilitate dying with dignity. The importance of communication in medicine generally was understood by prehistoric human healers. In 1995, the American Academy on Communication in Healthcare published its authoritative reference text, which covered clinical care, education, and research as an exposition of communication training for internal and family medicine. Since then, although there have been serial syntheses and consensus efforts (always a moving target), the core principles of communication skills training have remained quite stable, once one translates the babble of new language for common concepts.Less
Most of the history of communication skills knowledge and teaching derives from work and studies done in general medicine, or further afield, rather than in cancer care. Cancer care has been advanced in attempting, as this book reflects, to codify the processes required to accomplish some key goals: to help cancer patients to accept their diagnosis and prognosis; to accept or reject tests and difficult treatments according to their core preferences; to participate in studies; to enable them to participate meaningfully when curative care is futile; and to facilitate dying with dignity. The importance of communication in medicine generally was understood by prehistoric human healers. In 1995, the American Academy on Communication in Healthcare published its authoritative reference text, which covered clinical care, education, and research as an exposition of communication training for internal and family medicine. Since then, although there have been serial syntheses and consensus efforts (always a moving target), the core principles of communication skills training have remained quite stable, once one translates the babble of new language for common concepts.
Richard Price
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226680583
- eISBN:
- 9780226680576
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226680576.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Anthropology, Religion
Thirty-five years into his research among the descendants of rebel slaves living in the South American rain forest, the author of this book encountered Tooy, a priest, philosopher, and healer living ...
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Thirty-five years into his research among the descendants of rebel slaves living in the South American rain forest, the author of this book encountered Tooy, a priest, philosopher, and healer living in a rough shantytown on the outskirts of Cayenne, French Guiana. Tooy is a time traveler who crosses boundaries between centuries, continents, the worlds of the living and the dead, and the visible and invisible. With a blend of storytelling and scholarship, the book recounts the mutually enlightening and mind-expanding journeys of these two intellectuals. Included on the itinerary for this hallucinatory expedition: forays into the eighteenth century to talk with slaves newly arrived from Africa; leaps into the midst of battles against colonial armies; close encounters with double agents and femme fatale forest spirits; and trips underwater to speak to the comely sea gods who control the world's money supply. The book draws on the author's long-term ethnographic and archival research, but above all on Tooy's teachings, songs, stories, and secret languages to explore how Africans in the Americas have created marvelous new worlds of the imagination.Less
Thirty-five years into his research among the descendants of rebel slaves living in the South American rain forest, the author of this book encountered Tooy, a priest, philosopher, and healer living in a rough shantytown on the outskirts of Cayenne, French Guiana. Tooy is a time traveler who crosses boundaries between centuries, continents, the worlds of the living and the dead, and the visible and invisible. With a blend of storytelling and scholarship, the book recounts the mutually enlightening and mind-expanding journeys of these two intellectuals. Included on the itinerary for this hallucinatory expedition: forays into the eighteenth century to talk with slaves newly arrived from Africa; leaps into the midst of battles against colonial armies; close encounters with double agents and femme fatale forest spirits; and trips underwater to speak to the comely sea gods who control the world's money supply. The book draws on the author's long-term ethnographic and archival research, but above all on Tooy's teachings, songs, stories, and secret languages to explore how Africans in the Americas have created marvelous new worlds of the imagination.
Gerald M. Oppenheimer and Ronald Bayer
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195307306
- eISBN:
- 9780199863976
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195307306.003.0003
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
This chapter describes the early burdens carried by those dedicated to treating people with AIDS. To care for their patients, these doctors and nurses often needed to create their own clinics and ...
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This chapter describes the early burdens carried by those dedicated to treating people with AIDS. To care for their patients, these doctors and nurses often needed to create their own clinics and begin a regimen of therapeutic trial and error. To protect their patients against inevitable stigma and discrimination, they developed protocols to ensure privacy and confidentiality. However committed the clinicians, the context in which they practiced was strained by cultural and class barriers: a linguistic divide (most doctors did not speak African languages) and the tension between Western-trained physicians and traditional healers. Perhaps the greatest burden for nurses and doctors was coping with the stream of suffering and dying patients and their inevitable deaths.Less
This chapter describes the early burdens carried by those dedicated to treating people with AIDS. To care for their patients, these doctors and nurses often needed to create their own clinics and begin a regimen of therapeutic trial and error. To protect their patients against inevitable stigma and discrimination, they developed protocols to ensure privacy and confidentiality. However committed the clinicians, the context in which they practiced was strained by cultural and class barriers: a linguistic divide (most doctors did not speak African languages) and the tension between Western-trained physicians and traditional healers. Perhaps the greatest burden for nurses and doctors was coping with the stream of suffering and dying patients and their inevitable deaths.
R. Andrew Chesnut
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199764662
- eISBN:
- 9780199932535
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199764662.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter discusses Santa Muerte's role as healer. Drawing on both European and Mexican cultural antecedents in which death possesses awesome curing powers and tapping into the well-established ...
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This chapter discusses Santa Muerte's role as healer. Drawing on both European and Mexican cultural antecedents in which death possesses awesome curing powers and tapping into the well-established tradition of saints (both canonized and folk) who heal through faith, Santa Muerte in just a decade has become one of the greatest healers on the Mexican religious landscape. But judging by the small number of purple votive candles at her altars and shrines, one would surmise that miracles of restored health do not figure as an important part of the cult.Less
This chapter discusses Santa Muerte's role as healer. Drawing on both European and Mexican cultural antecedents in which death possesses awesome curing powers and tapping into the well-established tradition of saints (both canonized and folk) who heal through faith, Santa Muerte in just a decade has become one of the greatest healers on the Mexican religious landscape. But judging by the small number of purple votive candles at her altars and shrines, one would surmise that miracles of restored health do not figure as an important part of the cult.
Brett Hendrickson
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781479834785
- eISBN:
- 9781479843015
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479834785.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This book has explored how transcultural exchanges have occurred between Mexican American folk healers and Anglo American patients. It has also discussed the impact of Mexican American religious and ...
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This book has explored how transcultural exchanges have occurred between Mexican American folk healers and Anglo American patients. It has also discussed the impact of Mexican American religious and folk healing traditions not only on Mexican Americans but also on a small but significant number of non-Mexican American patients. It has shown that the narrative predispositions of Mexican American folk healing have encountered channels of convergence with the predispositions of the American metaphysical tradition, making transcultural healing a possibility. One positive outcome of this transcultural exchange is that curanderismo has established a place for itself in the expanding world of complementary and alternative medicine. It has also allowed some curanderos in the United States to reconnect with the perceived indigenous roots of Mexican American religious healing.Less
This book has explored how transcultural exchanges have occurred between Mexican American folk healers and Anglo American patients. It has also discussed the impact of Mexican American religious and folk healing traditions not only on Mexican Americans but also on a small but significant number of non-Mexican American patients. It has shown that the narrative predispositions of Mexican American folk healing have encountered channels of convergence with the predispositions of the American metaphysical tradition, making transcultural healing a possibility. One positive outcome of this transcultural exchange is that curanderismo has established a place for itself in the expanding world of complementary and alternative medicine. It has also allowed some curanderos in the United States to reconnect with the perceived indigenous roots of Mexican American religious healing.
John O’Leary
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199736393
- eISBN:
- 9780199894574
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199736393.003.0002
- Subject:
- Psychology, Clinical Psychology
This chapter seeks to define certain qualities important to the early development of a practitioner of psychotherapy, a calling in which no single dimension viewed in isolation can determine the ...
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This chapter seeks to define certain qualities important to the early development of a practitioner of psychotherapy, a calling in which no single dimension viewed in isolation can determine the fullness of preparedness and excellence. The chapter proceeds from a generally interpersonal perspective to include cross-disciplinary observations in regard to: inborn and acquired traits, the importance of conscious and unconscious motivation, psychological-mindedness, resilience and the dynamics of positive and negative experience, language affinity, communication skills, empathy and altruism. The chapter notes the wealth of narrative and personally revelatory material, as well as the paucity of controlled studies and near absence of longitudinal work on the critical topic of suitability for psychotherapeutic practice. Particular emphasis is placed on qualities that inform cross-cultural competence. This emerging issue is viewed as a major challenge given the relative homogeneity of the profession and the rapidly growing diversity of its clientele.Less
This chapter seeks to define certain qualities important to the early development of a practitioner of psychotherapy, a calling in which no single dimension viewed in isolation can determine the fullness of preparedness and excellence. The chapter proceeds from a generally interpersonal perspective to include cross-disciplinary observations in regard to: inborn and acquired traits, the importance of conscious and unconscious motivation, psychological-mindedness, resilience and the dynamics of positive and negative experience, language affinity, communication skills, empathy and altruism. The chapter notes the wealth of narrative and personally revelatory material, as well as the paucity of controlled studies and near absence of longitudinal work on the critical topic of suitability for psychotherapeutic practice. Particular emphasis is placed on qualities that inform cross-cultural competence. This emerging issue is viewed as a major challenge given the relative homogeneity of the profession and the rapidly growing diversity of its clientele.
