Ethnomedical (Folk) Healing in the Caribbean

Brian M. Toit

Chapter Chapter 2 in Healing Cultures, 2001, pp 19-28 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract Academic interest and knowledge of folk healing have come a long way in the half century since Erwin Ackerknecht described “primitive medicine” as “primarily magico-religious, utilizing a few rational elements.”1 Through the studies of anthropologists, pharmacologists, health-related professionals, and a range of informed researchers, we today acknowledge the positive value of much traditional, folk, and alternative healing. Some of this healing exists in the realm of health and trust. Some involves the stimulation of endorphins. Some depends on biodynamic chemical properties of certain plants. These properties have long been acknowledged by pharmacological companies and university colleges of pharmacy, as the history of such vegetable drugs as digitalis, quinine, and curare illustrate.

Date: 2001
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DOI: 10.1007/978-1-137-07647-2_2

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