article
The traditional classification and treatment of illness on Woleai and Lamotrek in the Caroline Islands, Micronesia
Culture • 2 (1) • Published In 1982 • Pages: 29-41
By: Alkire, William H..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article argues that the classification of illness and treatment in Woleai and Lamotrek Atolls is related to knowledge and associated beliefs involving three classes of spirits. These are 'malevolent' spirits that cause sickness, divination spirits that diagnose ailments, and 'good' spirits that aid in curing. As a consequence, patients who seek treatment need to consult with three types of specialits, namely diviners, medcine curers and massage curers, who focus on each of these three classes of spirits.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Food preparation
- Eating
- Pharmaceuticals
- Occupational specialization
- Rest days and holidays
- Preventive medicine
- Theory of disease
- Medical therapy
- Spirits and gods
- Prayers and sacrifices
- Purification and atonement
- Magicians and diviners
- Menstruation
- Ethnoanatomy
- Ethnophysiology
- Transmission of skills
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Woleai Region
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2000
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Oceania
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Micronesia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Teferi Abate Adem ; 2005
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1962-1963,1965,1975-1976
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1899-1976
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Woleai and Lamotrek Atolls, Woleai Region, Federated States of Micronesia
- NotesAdditional notes
- William H. Alkire
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 41)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 90641213
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Lamotrek (Micronesia)/Caroline Islands--Social life and customs/Micronesians--Social life and customs