Abstract
ABSTRACTIn Northern Norway, traditional healing has been preserved by passing down the knowledge through generations. Religious prayers of healing (reading) and Sami rituals (curing) are examples of methods that are used. We have examined traditional healers’ understanding of traditional healing, the healing process and their own practice, as well as what characteristics healers should have. Semi-structured individual interviews and focus group interviews were conducted among 15 traditional healers in two coastal Sami municipalities in Norway. The traditional healers understood traditional healing as the initiation of the patient’s self-healing power. This power was initiated through healing rituals and explained as the power of God and placebo effect. During the healing ritual, the doctor’s medical diagnoses, the patient’s personal data and a prayer in the name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit were used in combination with steel and elements from the nature. The traditional healers stated that they had to be trustworthy, calm and mentally strong. Healers who claimed that they had supernatural abilities (clairvoyant or warm hands) were regarded as extra powerful. According to the participants in this study, the healers must be trustworthy, calm and mentally strong. Moreover, these traditional healers drew on information from conventional medicine when performing their rituals.
Highlights
Traditional medicine may be understood as “the sum total of the knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures used in the maintenance of health, whether they are explicable or not, used in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement, or treatment of physical and mental illness” [1]
In Norway, traditional medicine is often understood as a kind of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), which is defined in Norwegian 1 Act No 64 of 27 June 2003 relating to the alternative treatment of disease, illness, etc: Alternative treatment is understood as health-related treatment which is practised outside the established health services and which is not practised by authorised health personnel
Treatment practised within the scope of the established health services or by authorised health personnel is covered by the term alternative treatment when the methods used are essentially methods that are used outside the established health services [5]
Summary
Traditional medicine (including traditional healing) may be understood as “the sum total of the knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures used in the maintenance of health, whether they are explicable or not, used in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement, or treatment of physical and mental illness” [1]. In Northern Norway, traditional medicine is influenced by Sami, Kven and Norwegian folk medicine, reflecting these populations understanding of nature, humanity and life [2]. It mirrors a large part of the Sami cultural heritage through a belief in the universe and the origin of man [3]. Kristoffersen et al [4] reported that 13.8% of the participants in a large populationbased study in Northern Norway reported to have used traditional healing once or more during their lifetime This number was considerably higher (25.7%) among the participants defining themselves as Sami. Treatment practised within the scope of the established health services or by authorised health personnel is covered by the term alternative treatment when the methods used are essentially methods that are used outside the established health services [5]
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