This case study will be the first to deal with a topic in medical anthropology. It explores the world of folk
medicine in the Caribbean (Dominica) -- local beliefs and practices concerning how the body functions and malfunctions
and the home remedies Dominicans use to cure common illnesses. The case study goes beyond discussing the exotic
medical system of a developing country (which includes sorcery and folk-illnesses) to discuss how folk medicine
flourishes in industrialized countries in a way that is little different than that practiced in Dominica. The theme
is that cultural ideas about the body and uses of medicinal plants are deeply intertwined. Ideas about illness
direct the consequent medical response. The book's topic is important because knowledge of local ethnomedical practice
is essential for development of public health interventions in non-Western settings. This realist ethnography is
aimed at any member of the generally educated population.
Benefits:
This case study presents the actual methods for collecting parallel data in any society, as well as discussing
the ethnomedicine of one Caribbean group.
Plant illustrations are necessary in ethnobotanies so there are 23 plant photographs in this case study. There
are also photographs that will familiarize the reader with the setting, introduce the people, and make the book's
subject more accessible to students.
From the Bush also provides a glossary of anthropological and ethnobotanical terms, appendices of Dominican
herbal remedies and non-herbal remedies, and a general index.
Table of Contents
List of Figures and Tables.
Foreword.
Preface.
1. The Importance of Home Remedies.
2. Dominica and Dominicans.
3. Bwa Mawego.
4. Methods.
5. Disease and Illness in Bwa Mawego.
6. Bwa Mawego's Sectors of Healthcare.
7. Body Image in Bwa Mawego.
8. Bush Medicine in Bwa Mawego: Illnesses and their Treatments.
9. Applications and Conclusions.
Appendix A.
Appendix B.
Appendix C.
Glossary.
Bibliography.
Index.
