Traditional Rites And Herbal Therapy

Nao Kao and Foua had been conflicted with abiding with the Hmong ways to not seek physician help. Certain parts of Hmong culture, such as taboos against procedures, beliefs of disease origins, and power structures within the family and Hmong clan often conflict with western culture of medicine. But when the Lee’s had not taken one of their children to the hospital, his soul was lost, and he died. Considering this incident and their lack of knowledge of Lia’s condition, the Lee’s had to involuntarily comply to western culture and take Lia to the doctors, as their last line of defense. It is important to note here that as a provider, I must be aware of my own assumptions of care. The doctors’ goal of treatment was to use medication and procedures to find out what caused her seizures and treat it with various medications. Lia’s parents considered her disease a blessing as a chance to become a shaman and a curse that caused great stress over the family. This often resulted in misunderstandings between the physicians and the Lee family as the Lee’s perceptions of Lia’s illness were not in line with the doctors.

The bio-medical model of ill health has been at the forefront of western medicine since the end of the eighteenth century and grew stronger with the progress in modern science. This model underpinned the medical training of doctors. Traditionally medicine had relied on folk remedies passed down from generations and ill health was surrounded in superstition and religious lore with sin and evil spirits as the culprit and root of ill health. The emergence of scientific thinking questioned the traditional religious view of the world and is linked to the progress in medical practice and the rise of the biomedical model. Social and historical events and circumstances were an important factor in its development as explanations about disease

The Igbo, like many other cultures around the world, have a set tradition to medicine. In fact, “For thousands of years a majority of the world’s population had used and continues to use the traditional method of healing and medicine. Similarly, the African people have used methods of healing suited to Africa” (Osuji 95). This suggests that the Igbo tribe is among the many African tribes to use traditional medicine, as opposed to modern medicine, and they have used it for millennia. In addition, they incorporate multiple aspects of religion into medicine, for their spiritual beliefs act as the core to which their lives revolve. For instance, they refer to spirits as the source of power for common treatments, for “spirit forces energize medicine that individuals can conjure and deploy for strength, protection, or to harm enemies” (Arinze 4365). In addition, traditional doctors themselves play a major role in connecting patients to the spiritual worlds. As stated by Ali Arazeem Abdullahi, “Traditional

Alvord observed the power of belief could have positive or negative influence in her Navajo patients. One of her patient, Carolyn, had a breast cancer that she believed that was caused of her bad deed. Carolyn was hesitant to have a surgery to remove her cancerous tumor. However, having a medicine man performed a Night Chant ceremony made her feel calmer, as if her body’s harmony was restored, and prepared her mentally for her lumpectomy. Many of her patients dealt with cancer in different ways but a sing performed by a hataalii gave a dimension to their cure that helped those patients cope better with their conditions. Dr. Alvord discovered that patients undergoing chemotherapy reacted well to the presence of a traditional healer at bedside. Thus, help with the healing process (Alvord, 1999, pp. 94-102). She also explained that the feelings of both the patient and the surgeon could affect recovery time, postsurgical complications, and even whether the patient lived or died. Evelyn, was one of Dr. Alvard patient to suffered a stroke complication that might be cause by lack of harmony during her surgery. Dr. Alvord thought that the combination of her anger, the nurse’s inattentive and defensive posture, and Evelyn’s fear had influence the complication to happen. Later, she attempted to create harmonious relationships within my personal life and within the staff at the hospital (Alvord, 1999, pp.

The reliance on western medicine was insufficient. The doctors were die-hard subscribers to western medicine who urgently wanted the child in care, while the parents were resistant and preferred their own customary traditions for addressing the situation according to their mystic “diagnosis.” The clashes provide insights into Hmong culture representative of a pattern of beliefs that clash when patients from other countries face hospital trips in western hospitals. The fact is that all less developed cultures, as western medicine would call them, are reliant on their mythologies and ancient rituals stretching back hundreds of years to determine their course of treatment for their children. In fact, the rituals that they adhere to become so difficult to understand because saving the parents in the ancient spiritual cultures is not the same as saving a patient according to western medicine. The Hmongs are clearly philosophical, and even accepting of the fate of their child, as they believe that the child has already been departed from the body. They hope that the situation is only temporary, and are trying to revive the girl, but also seem prepared to face the spiritual truth if they believe the spirit will not leave. Of course, the doctors feel this is voodoo and they just want to save the child's physical life, or correct her condition. The Hmongs seem more yielding on what they believe to be the fate of their child, and focus on the spiritual character of treatment according to her soul, while the doctors are trying to directly intervene with the physical

In this case study on cross cultural medicinal beliefs and practices, Anne Fadiman addresses the rift between Hmong spiritual and medicinal customs and the culture of American biomedicine by telling the story of a young Hmong child, Lia Lee. Lia’s journey started when she was three months old and she suffered her first of many epileptic seizures. Over the next few months she continued to suffer from her seizures and made at least three emergency room visits. Like most cases of epilepsy, the cause of her grand mal seizures was unknown, however, her parents, Nao Kao and Foua Lee, believed it to be the result of her elder sister slamming the door and scaring Lia awake, allowing a dab, or evil spirit, to steal her soul. After her first visit to the Merced Community Medical Center, it became clear that the language barrier would not allow for an accurate patient history to be recorded. As Lia’s condition worsened, this barrier would further prevent the Lee’s from understanding exactly what was happening to their daughter as well as follow the treatment the doctors were implementing. This eventually lead to the doctor’s believing that Nao Kao and Foua

This credible source could be useful in my research by showing how sub-Saharan Africa’s health centers are in dire condition. It would also be useful because it shows how spirituality and medicine go hand-in-hand, especially in developing countries.

It was a chilly day but began just as any other day of shadowing a pediatrician. We rushed between patients in order to keep on schedule but instead of dismissing patients early, thorough evaluation remained present. This next patient, however, was one apart from the ordinary. A father had brought his child in to see the doctor but it was the end of the routine checkup which was disjoint with the mundane patient. It was a series of troubles his wife possessed over the past weeks and contemplation of suicide followed by a narrative of the futile efforts of every single doctor she had seen. The end of his child’s evaluation ended in the father’s insipid begging to see his wife despite the fact he was just a pediatrician and had no jurisdiction among adults. Succumbing to the father in concern for her safety, the doctor told him to bring her in during his lunch hour.

When the culture of the Anishinaabe, or Ojibwe, people were suppressed when colonization began in the Americas, their medical practices were as well. In an effort to preserve the Ojibwe culture as well as establish effective treatment options for people living on reservations as well as members of Ojibwe communities, Anishinaabe cultures should be incorporated into the clinical setting.

Jane secretly writes in her diary about her thoughts. She states “You see he does not believe I am sick! And what can one do? If a physician of high standing, and one’s own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with me but temporary nervous depression - a slight hysterical tendency - what is one to do? My brother is also a physician of high standing, and he says the same thing.”

Among the three theories of religion, Eliade had the largest impact on my understanding of religion, more specifically, religion pertaining to sickness and health. Throughout Eliade’s perspective of religion, he defines it as, “a mythical time, that is, a primordial time, not to be found in the historical past, an original time, in the sense that it came into existence all at once, that it was not preceded by another time, because no time could exist before the appearance of the reality narrated in the myth.” (Eliade, 72) Eliade’s idea of religion pertaining to sickness was emphasized in the stressful life of Lia Lee, the uplifting experience of the African rituals, and the riveting way in which Atul Gawande deals with sickness. By addressing these ideal points, Eliade carries out the religious significance of each point individually through his interpretation of religion.

“The Religious Rituals of the Pygmies” video portrayed the healing rituals, as well as their Funeral rite in which death is accepted as a natural part of human life. The witch doctors of the Pygmies are shown in the video as they are healing, who use exorcism and spiritual cleansing in order to rid the people of disease along with natural remedies. The video portrays how supernatural powers assist in the curing of disease, the witch doctors as they are referred to in the video, are believed to possess special powers for dealing with the supernatural. This video helped demonstrate the importance of the Life-Crisis rites of healing rituals as the community values the health of its people and the religious professionals in charge of healing create

In Traditional witchcraft one may lay a compass/compass round, as this is kind of similar to the Wiccan casting of a circle , but with much more different meaning .I will occasionally lay one depending on what I am doing , it's not for sacred space , it isn't for protection ,it is for awakening the powers of the spirits of the earth , the seen and un seen world , as a meeting place , we are the centers of our world and this can be considered as the cross roads , it makes us aware ,and everything comes together , where we respect and honor one another and these powers are brought together .

The history of nursing can be traced to ancient years whereby people generally applied simple care techniques towards the members of the society facing health implications. Pre-industrial medicines to contribute in the care were incorporated (Dingwall et al, 2002, pg 6). They included the provision of dietetic health menus; advice on appropriate dressing during illness situations; poultices, and herbal infusions. In other extreme situations, spiritual care was availed. This was majorly induced to those experiencing terminal sicknesses or injuries.

I was born and raised in a small village in India. My father was a farmer and my mother is a housewife. It troubled many people in my village that no doctors were in close proximity. For me, it was a relief, as I feared getting big needles in my thighs. What pleased me most, was a swing set in our back yard. I would sit there for hours, without a care in the world, simply singing songs and swinging back and forth. On that swing I felt untouchable. In the swing’s gentle motion, I was overcome with a sense of peace. One day, I woke up and found that the swing no longer existed. Our backyard had been rebuilt and the ground, which had once supported our youth, had been transformed. Things changed as I grew up and that serenity was lost somewhere with those childhood moments. I am always searching for the swing, longing to find a resemblance of that peace. I hope to find it each day, as the product of my life and of my career. Ironically, I have learned that being in the medical feild brings me that contentment.