From Crazy Witch Doctor to Auxiliary Psychotherapist: The Changing Image of the Medicine Man
Author(s)
Jilek, W. G.
Abstract
The medicine man’s portrait varies from that of a mentally ill person to that of a skilled psychopractor. “Sick medicine man” hypotheses are reviewed which trace the origin of this institution to pathological phenomena and suggest that its representatives are afflicted with conditions ranging from neurosis to idiocy. These hypotheses appear to be rooted in western interpretations of ritualized initiatory states of the qualifying medicine man. Initiatory states are analyzed and compared with analogous western phenomena, past and present. Observations are reported which attest to the medicine man’s mental integrity and professional acumen. A growing body of psychiatric opinion favors utilizing the medicine man in modern mental health care of emerging nations. Eurocentric and positivistic fallacies are revealed in the ascribing of pathology to non-western cultures and their institutions.
