book chapter

Navaho treatment of sickness: diagnosticians

American anthropologist, n.s.33 • Published In 1931 • Pages: 390-402

By: Morgan, William.

Abstract
This is a detailed account of Navajo diagnosis and treatment of disease by diagnosticians. It covers hand-tremblers, stargazers, and listeners: their theories of diseases, their methods of prediction, their rituals, sacred objects and therapeutic efforts at curing. The author also touches on other functions of diagnosticians: advice about unusual incidents, provisions for warding off dangers, help in the recovery of lost possessions, and oneiromancy. In discussing the latter, he stresses the importance of dreams as factors in everyday life of the Navajos. The author is an anthropologist who gathered the material personally on the Reservation. Capital letters in the text denote Navajo informants. Small letters denote Euro-American informants. Since Morgan is primarily interested in a study of individuals, he has inserted informants in order to prevent his statements from sounding like tribal generalizations.
Subjects
Theoretical orientation in research and its results
Price and value
Representative art
Theory of disease
Shamans and psychotherapists
Medical therapy
Medical care
Spirits and gods
Prayers and sacrifices
Revelation and divination
Ethnometeorology
Ethnozoology
Ethnopsychology
culture
Navajo
HRAF PubDate
2004
Region
North America
Sub Region
Southwest and Basin
Document Type
book chapter
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Katchen S. Coley ; 1951
Field Date
no date
Coverage Date
not specified
Coverage Place
Navajo Reservation, Arizona, New Mexico, United States
Notes
William Morgan
This document consists of excerpts
LCCN
1715424
LCSH
Navajo Indians