DOCTORS

Doctors: translation

In many indigenous cultures, shamans arehealers. As the local equivalent of Western doctors, they seek the causes and cures ofillnesses. However, since their medical practice exists in ananimistcontext, it is frequently either spiritualized or demonized in Western discourse. For example, the use of the termmedicine peoplewith reference toNative Americanreligious leaders can be interpreted in a way that privileges allegedly metaphysical “powers” rather than recognizing the importance of the people’s skill as healers. On the other hand, the termwitch doctorin manyAfricancontexts is often taken to place these people among suspect workers of magic rather than recognizing their role ascombatantsagainstwitchesandthe illnesses they cause. In both cases, local medical knowledge is highlighted by indigenous terms and denigrated or misinterpreted in many Western contexts. Many indigenous people, for instance, theKaruk, prefer the termdoctorto the termshaman.