Healing and morality: a Javanese example.

In Javanese traditional medicine, two conflicting healing modalities coexist: one relies on the magical powers of curers (dukun), the other on the religiously validated powers of Sufi saints. Both are rooted in Sufi Muslim concepts of personhood, knowledge, and magical power. Javanese integrate traditional and biomedical cures into a unified health care system by associating magical and biomedical knowledge. Comparison of Javanese medical, religious, and political systems reveals that the structural uniformity of cultural domains arises from the hierarchical organization of cultural knowledge. The study of traditional medicine and medical pluralism cannot be separated from that of worldview.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Javanese traditional medicine is based on Sufi Muslim notions of personhood, knowledge and magical power. This world view motivates two conflicting modalities of medical practice: one based on the magic powers of curers (dukun), the others on the religiously validated powers of Sufi saints. The association of magical and bio-medical knowledge allows Javanese to interpret traditional and bio-medical cures as components of a unified health care system. Comparison of Javanese medical, religious and political systems suggests that the structural uniformity of cultural domains derives from the hierarchical organization of cultural knowledge and that the study of traditional medicine and medical pluralism can not be undertaken apart from that of world view.