Religion and Healing

1. Religion and Healing Ethnomedicine and Curers

2. Ethnomedicine as a Specific Discipline Ethnomedicine is the study of the beliefs and practices concerning illness in different human populations. It observes and describes hygienic, preventive and healing practices, also taking into account temporal and spatial references.

3. Ever since the most ancient times, human beings have found remedies within their habitat, and have adopted different therapeutic strategies depending both upon climatic, pedological, phytogeographic and faunal characteristics, and upon peculiar cultural and socio-structural typologies.

4. Every human population, in every time, builds a specific "view of the world" through its own culture. From this model of the world stem specific views of the body and of health and illness. From peculiar perceptions of the body, of anatomy, physiology, biology, of the position of human beings within the world and of what is normal and what is pathological, every culture frames and passes on a specific knowledge, that is put into practice both in everyday life and in institutional circumstances.

5. From this knowledge stems the definition of what is, and what is not, pathological; the different hypothesis on the causes of illnesses (aetiology) the classification of illnesses (nosology) and the descriptions of illnesses themselves. Ethnomedicine investigates this dynamic, complex and fluid reality, and the deep relativity of body descriptions.

6. Magic and Religion Those practices that we might call "magic" have differing relationships to religion. Some, such as baseball practices, are not based on any belief system whatsoever. Others, such as Trobriand spells, do imply beliefs in spirits but little else. Still other practices, such as healing in Japan, Venezuela, and Malaya or among the Cuna of Panama, draw on extensive bodies of knowledge about how spirits work.

7. In all cases some of the older insights by Frazer and Malinowski about the logic and functions of magic can still help us understand why people are attracted to certain practices. Malinowski's notion that all people use science plus magic, with the latter added on to the former, continues to make sense. The forms of magic differ greatly: memorized spells, possession and exorcism, narratives about creation or battles, or about God or the effectiveness of medicine.

8. But each such practice gives the person a sense of control, or understanding, or certainty greater than what was enjoyed before the event. Each practice also seems to reduce anxiety (although once it is relied on, its absence may create anxiety). These features of "magical" practices all concern their effects. To understand their contents and why Balinese, Yanomam�, and Serpent Handlers do things differently, we have explored the linkages between each practice and the dominant forms and motifs of the culture in which it is found.

9. Institutions built on notions of magic can take on functions of healing, religion, and even community. Their practices can provide confidence insofar as they fit general cultural expectations, and this confidence and assurance can cause physical changes in a patient. For better or worse, they can furnish the basis for close-knit relationships in a disorganized world. Far from being merely a set of mistaken ideas, magic continues to be a powerful force in the real world.

10. In the beginning, religion and healing were inseparable. In some societies, the priest and physician were one and the same person, administering spiritual and physical healing with divine sanction. The advent of scientific medicine in the middle of the 19th century separated medicine from religion nearly completely. Religion and Medicine

11. A century later, the direct interrelationship between the body and mind became firmly established, although psychosomatic medicine had already been described in the 12th century by Moses Maimonides. Over the past several decades, there has been a broad revival of interest in spiritual healing and religious practice and health. The return to spirituality and religion by patients as an adjunct to their physical healing is no longer ignored by physicians and other caregivers. In a sense, religion can be considered a form of complementary or supplementary therapy.

12. At the culmination of a century of scientific discovery and medical progress, physicians and their patients are more open to a spiritual direction and alternative/complementary forms of medicine. Despite progress in cancer therapy, for example, complementary forms of treatment are adopted by about half the patients undergoing conventional cancer therapy, often from an early stage of their illness. Contrary to stereotypes, patients who seek unproven methods tend to be well educated, upper-middle class, and not necessarily terminally ill or even beyond hope of cure or remission by conventional treatments.

13. Why do people seek out alternative/ complementary therapies, including religion and spirituality? Patients may be discouraged and in despair about the realities of conventional treatment. Fear, adverse effects, previous negative experiences, and a desire by the patient for more supportive care are other reasons. People may be unhappy with the impersonal technology of modern medicine and seek to emphasize self-care and whole-body fitness: somatic, mental, and spiritual.

14. Studies on the influence of religion and spirituality on health, illness, and well-being confirm the presence of spiritual and religious beliefs in medical practice. In 1967, JAMA created a medicine and religion department and has since periodically published review articles on medicine and religion and on religion and spirituality in medicine. Statistically significant associations between religious belief and health outcomes have been reported for a variety of diseases in systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Much of the research suggests that an active religious commitment is "beneficial for preventing mental and physical illness, improving recovery and enhancing the ability to cope with illness."

15. From historical and ethnographical beginnings, during the last years ethnomedicine has turned its attention to laboratory research, also involving biomedicine and pharmacology. This has been made possible also by the auspices and the activities of the World Health Organization; in fact, the Traditional Medicine Progra of WHO was precisely thought as an answer to a renewed interest for popular therapies and remedies, in view of their possible identification and utilization within national health services. History of Ethnomedical Studies

16. During the International Conference on Primary Health Care of 1978, the Alma Ata Declaration built the historical basis of the official politics of the Traditional Medicine Program, thus opening a dialogue between two distinct systems of health assistance: the traditional and the modern one. However, a condition was posed: support to traditional medicines, healers and remedies is to be given only to those practices that, on the basis of medical-scientific testing, are proved to be safe and effective.

17. The Traditional Medicine Program has been developed through a series of resolutions, adopted from the World Health Assembly and the Regional Committees of WHO. In 1987 the 40th World Health Assembly urged the member States to promote integrated programs on medical plants and their preparation, cultivation and conservation. In 1988, during the 41st World Health Assembly, the Chiang Mai Resolution was centered on the theme "Saving lives by saving plants"; it recognized traditional medicines as an essential element of cure.

18. In 1989 (42nd World Health Assembly) the inventory of traditional practices in different countries was encouraged. In 1991, during the 44th World Health Assembly, the WHA44.34 resolution was accepted. It was bent on stimulating cooperation between traditional healers and the professionals of modern health assistance, with special regard to the use of traditional remedies which have been scientifically validated and proved safe and effective. The resolution aimed at the reduction of national pharmaceutical expenses. In October 1991 the Chinese Government, supported by WHO, financed and organized a World Conference on Traditional Medicine. The Conference proposed four goals: the foundation of a world-wide association for academic exchanges; the training of health workers; the designation of the 22nd of October as World Day of Traditional Medicine; the foundation of an international journal.

19. Religion and Energy Healing Throughout history, the healing power of touch has been recognized and has played a significant role in every religion and culture. The founder or key figure of the religion is often the principal source of the healings. From its beginnings, Hebrew religion has laid great stress on health and on healing.

20. This is expressed in Exodus 15:26, when God tells Moses, �I am the Lord that healeth thee.� The great prophets, Elijah and Elisha were acknowledged as healers. Healing in fact, was expected of all true prophets and was often the sign that their calling was genuinely from God. Jesus inherited this healing background and took it to higher levels. Not only was Christ a renowned healer, he commissioned the Apostles to �heal the sick� (Luke 10:9). The first generation of Christians was primarily a healing community.

21. Healing is a key part of the revelation given to Muhammad in the Qur�an. Islamic tradition, in both the Sunni and Shi�a branches, attributes several dramatic healings to Muhammad. It�s not just the major religions that have expressed this deep connection with personal healing. Cultures in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas have realized the relationship of curing the body to the profound powers of the universe. Each culture explored and utilized this power from within the framework of its own knowledge and traditions.�

22. This powerful healing energy has been known in China and India for over five thousand years. The Chinese call it chi or qi, while the Hindu use terms such as maya and prana. The Japanese call it ki. North American Indians refer to it as medicine. The Melanese call it mana. !Kung people of the Kalahari Desert call it num. The Incas had their famous healing stone at Machu Picchu. In his book Future Science, John White lists ninety-seven different cultures, each of which has its own name to refer to healing energy.

23. This universal healing energy benefits every person regardless of his or hers religious beliefs. The experience of having healing energy coursing through the hands is profound, humbling, and uplifting. No philosophy, no doctrine, no dogma stands in anyone�s way of experiencing this healing energy� and that is as it should be.

24. With a better understanding of holistic health emerging in Western medicine, Reiki has become a valuable tool for improving mind/body awareness. This is why the conscious caregiver uses Reiki as a proven healing�technique in its own right� as well as to enhance all other healing modalities.

25. Reiki Universal life-force energy is naturally circulating throughout a person�s body. A Reiki treatment augments a strong , powerful flow of this energy to sustain health and vitality. This energy relaxes muscles, speeds digestion, stabilizes blood pressure and blood sugar, calms a racing pulse, stimulates the immune system, and relieves pain.

26. Trance, Possession, and Healing Healing practices often turn on the idea that a spirit has possessed the patient and is causing the illness. The cure then involves putting the patient (or sometimes a curer) into a trance state, investigating the reasons for the spirit's actions, and driving out the spirit (or exorcising the patient).

27. In Brazil today, healers draw on Afro-Brazilian religion traditions to carry out their art. Afro-Brazilian religions, variously called "Candomble;' "Umbanda;' or "Macumba" (and related to Haitian "Voudun" and Cuban "Santeria"), developed when people living in West Africa were forcibly brought to the Americas as slaves. Afro-Brazilian Trances

28. Forced to conceal their own religious ideas and practices, they developed a blend that appeared Catholic but contained elements of West African religion. Today these traditions have changed in various directions, some emphasizing African sources, others Native American elements, still others the ties with Catholicism and with European Spiritism.

29. In the Brazilian trance-healing practices called Macumba, trance is employed in varied settings to aid in healing. In sessions involving �professional mediums,� specialists sit in a separate, cordoned-off part of a room. They are dressed in white and are already in a trance. They each have special "spirit familiars" with whom they communicate.

30. Patients deliver to the staff slips of paper containing their questions; usually the questions are about their own illnesses. The mediums then ask for answers from their spirit familiars and relay these answers back through the staff. These sessions are calm, although sometimes a supplicant will slip into trance, and in such cases he or she may be approached about becoming a medium.

31. A second type of session involves mass trances. Dozens or hundreds of people gather together for evenings of trance, dancing and music, and consultation. These large-scale sessions also employ mediums, but they walk and dance around on the floor, mingling with other people who wish to attend. Rather than having personal spirit familiars, all the mediums cycle together through several standard spirit types during the evening. Each type represents both a familiar cultural figure of the Brazilian environment and a kind of emotion.

32. When the mediums are possessed by the "old black slave" spirit, they sit, smoking pipes, and dispense this old man's wisdom to those attending (who are often relatives or friends). When they take on the flashily dressed woman called Pomba Gira, they are seductive and loose, enjoying this break from normal behavioral restrictions. When they are the child they scamper about eating candy. (There is also an Amazonian equivalent of these sessions in which Indians act the role of whites, drink champagne, and act terribly refined.)

33. Shared Healing in Southern Africa The Kung people living in southern Africa once lived entirely from gathering and some hunting. The great variability of rainfall and thus food in their lands led them to develop norms of sharing and exchange. Sharing distributes risk and gives people a source of food during periods of drought and scarcity.

34. Healing follows similar lines of thought. The Kung heal those who have fallen ill by assembling in a group at night around a fire and dancing to reach a trance-like state of transcendence called �kai� reached by tapping into the energy, num, that everyone has in the pits of their stomachs. About half of the men tap this energy, and about one-third of the women. (They tend to be people whose parents did so. Larger percentages try, and somewhat smaller percentages become active healers.)

35. Num energy is not a limited good, but is given by God to individuals and benefits everyone in the group when people tap it. Reaching the state of kai can be dangerous and painful. An older healer described the feeling in terms of death and rebirth. Your heart stops. You're dead. Your thoughts are nothing. You breathe with difficulty. You see things, num things. You see spirits killing people. You smell burning, rotten flesh. Then you heal you pull sickness out. You heal, heal, heal. Then you live. Your eyeballs clear and you see people clearly. (Katz 1982, 45).

36. When your own num has begun to boil others feel it and they, too, begin to dance. Healing takes place in three stages. The healer, once his or her num is boiling, can see the num in other healers and the spirits causing illness. Then the healer pulls out the sickness, laying hands on the ill person to put num in and draw out illness, and then shaking the illness out into the darkness. The healer begins to sweat as his num boils; this sweat is the num and he or she rubs it into the patient to forcibly expel the illness (Katz 1982, 106-108).

37. Then the healer, in a heroic confrontation, does battle with spirits and gods. Usually the illness has been caused by spirits of the dead. Sometimes they have specific complaints about the living person they are bothering; sometimes they are just looking to stir up trouble. But they are also messengers from the great god, Gao Na, a capricious god who may destroy humans should he find them annoying.

38. Healers may argue with the spirits or even journey to the god's home. Others at the dance hear one side of a dialogue between the healer and the spirits or god, a dialogue of cajoling or threatening. The healer may hurl insults at the spirits or reason gently with them, telling them that they gain nothing from bothering humans. Kung trance-healing is collective in spirit and in practice because the source of healing power, the num energy, is more powerful the more it is shared.