Healers: Who are They?

Abstract

The article discusses changes in healers’ healing tradition, explanatory models, use of written and published traditions. During the past century, healers used and integrated knowledge from different schools. Another significant trend rising to the fore highlights the importance of local folk medicine, which emphasises traditional values and creates novel cultural interpretations. To characterise the changes, the article introduces four healers, ranging from a half-mythic witch-herder to the healers-innovators of medical methods and local culture.