The anthropology of alternative medicine

184 Pages·2012·1.16 MB·English

by  Ross

The Anthropology of Alternative Medicine
TThhiiss ppaaggee iinntteennttiioonnaallllyy lleefftt bbllaannkk
The Anthropology of Alternative Medicine
Anamaria Iosif Ross
London ● New York
English edition
First published in 2012 by
Berg
Editorial offices:
50 Bedford Square, London, W1CB 3DP, UK
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
© Anamaria Iosif Ross 2012
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form
or by any means without the written permission of Berg.
Berg is an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
PDF ISBN 978 0 85785 317 2
ISBN 978 1 84520 801 1 (Cloth)
978 1 84520 802 8 (Paper)
www.bergpublishers.com
To my mother Valentina and my sons
Benjamin Luca and Maxwell Toma,
for the motivation and encouragement
to delight, explore, and persist in my dreams
TThhiiss ppaaggee iinntteennttiioonnaallllyy lleefftt bbllaannkk
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
1 Alternative Medicine in the Twenty-First Century 1
Conflicting Interests Pertaining to the Rise of Integrative Medicine 7
What Distinguishes an Anthropological Approach to Alternative Healing? 9
Dominant Themes and Organization of the Book 9
Anthropology and the Human Journey 11
Healing Power and Agency 14
What Are Cultural Constructions and Why Does It Matter to Health Care? 16
A Bird’s Eye Overview of Core Concepts in Medical Anthropology 18
Curing or Healing? 20
Biomedicine and Traditional Medicine 22
Plural Healing in the Global Age: Intersections of Meaning and Power 29
Current Practice: Helminths Return as Promising New Drugs 32
2 Substance, Energy, and Information Flows 41
From the Flow of Rumors to Exposing the Global Traffic in Organs
and Tissues 45
Duality of Water: Vitality and Contamination 49
Current Practice: Homeopathy 51
Energy, Life-Force, and the Powers of the Sun 53
Nourishment and Healing 56
The American Health Foods Movement in the Early Twentieth Century 61
Rising Trend: Alternative Consumption Movements in the Developed
World 62
Humoral Medical Traditions, Foods, and Herbs 64
Case Study: ELTA Universitate—Natural Foods, Anesthesia, and Social
Renewal 68
Of Information and the Triadic Approach 73
Energy, Dowsing, and Information 75
3 Spirit, Consciousness, and Trance 81
Altered States, Bodies, and Souls 86
Shamanic Consciousness and Symbolic Healing 94
– vii –
viii • Contents
Hypnosis, Spirit(s), and Healing 99
Current Practice: Rediscovering Hesychasm and the Prayer of the Heart 104
Rising Trend: Healing Addictions with ASCs and Hallucinogens 107
Faith Healing and Pilgrimage 109
Ayurveda and Mental Illness 112
4 Body, Movement, and the Senses 117
The Anthropology of Sensations and the Multidimensionality
of Healing Work 122
Smell and Taste 125
Tactile Experiences 129
Rhythm, Movement, and Music as Life 132
Case Study: Becoming Radiant—Real Reiki in Postsocialist Romania 135
Ascent into the Future: Aromatherapy, Art, and Science, Ancient
and Modern 144
Current Practice: Medical Aromatherapy 148
Polythetic Medicine 150
5 Conclusion: Looking into the Future of Alternative Medicine 155
References 159
Acknowledgments
This book would not have happened without the inspiration and support of many ex-
traordinary people who have graciously provided me with their wisdom, assistance,
and understanding over the years. My research interest in “alternative medicine” was
encouraged at Tulane University by the distinguished scholars Victoria Bricker, Ade-
line Masquelier, and William Balée. It was brought to life by generous informants,
friends, and colleagues through their willingness to include my interests and queries
into their lives.
I especially wish to thank writer Vasile Andru, ELTA founder Ion Dumitrescu,
Dr. Lucian Stratan, and the ELTA members who shared their insights and resources
with me. The time spent with practitioners, supporters, and advocates of alternative
medicine or medicină naturistă in Romania has been provocative and nourishing in
countless ways. My Romanian fieldwork was generously supported by a junior Ful-
bright grant, and the writing of the original dissertation by a Selley Fellowship at Tu-
lane. In Romania, I was generously welcomed and greatly assisted by the energetic
and insightful scholars at the Francisc I. Rainer Anthropological Research Institute
in Bucharest: Ioan Oprescu, Cornelia Guja, Radu Răutu, and Cristiana Glavce, the
Institute’s tireless director.
The coming-into-the-world of this book must be credited to the elegant and per-
ceptive Anna Wright, my Berg editor, who navigated my ups and downs during the
past three years with the poise of a seasoned Tai Chi master. Her gentle but firm
encouragement and feedback have been immeasurably helpful and reassuring in the
journey from proposal to print. The idea for this book belongs to the spirited Hanna
Shakespeare, my first editor at Berg, who first envisioned my writing such a book on
the basis of our conversations about my Romanian fieldwork, and who guided me ex-
pertly through the proposal process. Mary Drucker and her husband David Drucker
provided invaluable wisdom and editing suggestions in the final stages. Karina Ross
generously lent her attentive eye to the proofs.
The writing of this book has been a logistical adventure, since shortly after start-
ing the project my family expanded with the joyful arrival of our second child. My
immense gratitude goes to my husband David Ross and my vivacious boys, Ben
and Max, for their love, help, sacrifice, and tolerance as I have struggled to carve
out the time needed for this project at a time when David was actively pursuing
his own Ph.D. and scholarly work on creativity. I am deeply thankful to my gener-
ous family in Romania: Luminiţa Blănaru, Coca Andronescu, Ovidiu Gartig, Tamara
– ix –