Herbalism and divination in Southern Malawi

Brian Morris

Social Science & Medicine, 1986, vol. 23, issue 4, 367-377

Abstract: Although contemporary anthropological studies of African medical systems have indicated their pluralistic and complex nature, many studies still suggest a stark contrast between folk and cosmopolitan medicine, implying that ethnomedicine is primarily concerned with mystical causation. The present paper outlines ethnomedical practices in southern Malawi, stressing the distinctiveness of herbalists and diviners, and the important role of herbal remedies in the empirical treatment of all illness.

Keywords: anthropology; ethnomedicine; Malawi; herbal; remedies; Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1986
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