プユマ族ピナシキ村の伝統的医療 : ビンロウジはビンロウジ

概要

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In this article I describe the traditional medicine and its change among the Puyuma, an aboriginal people inhaviting the southern plain of Taiwan. There are two kinds of native specialists, rao (male diviner) and tomaramao (female witchdoctor). When people get sick, they consult with rao. He performs divination by rubbing bamboo strings and announces the causes of illness. There are deemed to be many possible causes of illness, such as, plague of evil spirits, punishment from ancestral spirits, withdrawal of vital spirits from the body, sorcery, etc. After diagnosis, Rao divines who would be the most eligible tomaramao in that case. People then visit the recommended tomaramao. The core of the healing rites performed by tomaramao is the display of betel nuts on the ground, which symbolizes the transaction between the patient's family and the mystical world. About 30 years ago the Puyuma were under rapid social change, due to the propagation of Christianity, as well as the contact with the near-by Chinese. The traditional medicine also changed. Rao and tomaramao radically decreased in number. Nevertheless, more recently there has been a revitalization in their traditional ritual life, which suggests that predictions that their traditional practices would disappear may prove incorrect.
愛知学院大学の論文
1990-09-20