Abstract.
Anthropology is the study of human relationships. It tries to explain where human beings are and how they got there. It seeks to understand all the worlds cultures, customs, artifacts, knowledge, history and habits. It looks to understand the story of man. It covers four main branches archeology, biology, culture and linguistic. Those with this knowledge, when they apply it in order to analyze and come up with solutions to human problem, that application are called applied anthropology. This idea of looking at an issue has been borrowed by other discipline in their quest to better understand themselves.
Some of the domains that have used and continue to use anthropology to better understand and come with solutions for human problems include development, agriculture, environment, health and medicine, nutrition, business and industry, education and the aged. This paper will look at how Anthropology can and has been used in traditional medicine. It will look at the pros and cons of using anthropological approach in understanding and using traditional medicine. This paper will seek to arrive at an informed position in line with the evidence available.
Discussion.
Kedia and Wiligen (2005) define applied anthropology as the application of knowledge, methodology and theoretical approaches to address societal problems and issues. The strand that joins together the various organs concerned with research, policy and action is applied anthropology. Therefore this paper defines applied anthropology as, the application of available solutions to a variety of challenges in a way that gives and allows for the most gain and returns at the least cost and inconvenience to all concerned.
In medicine, especially as regards traditional medicine, the need to get the big picture of a particular remedy is very important. Increasingly, due to people appreciation potential side effects of contemporary medicine, more and more people are turning to traditional medicine. The common belief and the biggest selling point of traditional remedies is that they do not have any harmful side effects. This though must be thoroughly investigated. Just because no side effects have been attributed to a particular remedy, this does not necessarily mean it has no hidden or unknown side effects.
Using the social biological anthropological theory, it is possible to know the constitution of a particular traditional remedy from a biological perspective. Just as human beings are all similar and may even have the same culture, no two are genetically the same. The same is true with traditional remedies. Using genetics, it is possible to know any hidden maladies that a person may be having even when there are no symptoms present. The same for traditional medicine. It would be possible to interrogate the medicine to find out whether there are hidden harmful effects that are not easily identifiable. It would also be useful in finding out any other useful uses a particular remedy has on top of what is in the public domain (Samson, Fink Matts, 2009)
The symbolic anthropological theory looks at culture as existing as a result of how people look at different things and events around them. The same with traditional medicine. Some traditional medicine has been found to have not really scientific reason to give the benefits it gives (having a placebo effect). But increasingly, with its continuous use, people have gained health wise. This symbolic anthropological theory explains this best. It is not what people are told a remedy will give but what they believe it will give. The value they have given a particular view of the remedy (Erickson Murphy, 2008).
When the same traditional remedy has two different outcomes in two different regions, then cognitive anthropological theory will be used to find out why. It tries to explain why people perceive things differently as a result of their culture (Erickson Murphy, 2008). Therefore the same item or object will be known differently in different culture and will deliver different results depending on the value attached to it. If in one culture a particular traditional remedy for instance, grass, is considered to have healing power, in another community, where they have never considered it to have any value but fodder for animals, it will not be readily accepted as having healing properties, even when scientifically proven. Even when taken it will be expected to find people who swear it does not work.
When a person complains of pain or discomfort in their body and is given a traditional remedy they have never used before, prior to the pain or discomfort leaving, they can not coherently explain what the remedy will do. However, when the pain or discomfort is eased, they use the symbols best known to them, which will make the description of the remedy effective. This is interpretive anthropology (Erickson Murphy, 2008). It seeks to give credence to the reason why one can only explain what they have experienced first hand.
Traditional medicine by its nature is as old as man kind. Ever since humans have walked on the face of the earth, there have been remedies to ease different discomforts experienced over time. The one unique thing about traditional medicine is that it contains no synthetic additives. It is found in its most pure form. This has made it gain rapid acceptance with increased knowledge.
Why is it that now people are taking to herbal medicine like a fish takes to the river like this is something new that has just been discovered Herbal remedies by their nature are not always fast acting. Human beings on their part were so much in love with instant solutions that could be offered by synthetic remedies. They chose to ignore the harmful side effects of these remedies. However, with time the harm done by the synthetic drugs could not be ignored or wished away.
It is worth to remember that most drugs are derived from herbs, tree and shrubs (Alternative medicine, 1998). What the manufacturing companies did was to substitute the genetic make up of natural drugs with synthetic genes. This was in an effort to make drugs cheaper and work faster.
This paper agrees with Dr Parwardhans assertion that, with the increased number of remedies entering the public domain under the guise of traditional medicines, people must develope newer ways of manufacturing, checking that they are not harmful to humans, dosage standardization, and research. Just because one claims a product to be a traditional remedy does not guarantee its human safety (Parwardhan, 2009).
It is undeniable that since herbs occur in their natural state, the overall gain to the body is greater than use of synthetic drugs. It also true that some herbs, shrubs and trees when taken in their natural form even in very small quantities, are very lethal. It is only through an anthropological approach will people be able to discover any benefits accruing to any traditional remedy.
Just like in forensic anthropology, the meticulousness needed in arriving at an informed decision is derived from many years of practice and from agreed industry best practice. In forensic anthropology, it was a combination of two sciences for the achievement of one objective that saw its birth (Schmitt, Cunha Pinheiro, 2006). This would have to be applied to traditional medicine. Not only would the history of each remedy be relevant, but also its chemical make up and its toxicity level among other specifics.
This does not mean an anthropological approach to interrogate benefits accruing to traditional medicine is all good. Science by its nature is developed from a point of knowledge. When faced with a situation that is unique appearing for the first time and without any backing findings, the tendency of science is either to disregard the new phenomenon or to issue a qualified statement concerning it. A scientific interrogation, will only give rise to opportunities to once and for all discredit traditional medicine.
The scientists working for manufacturing companies are well aware that the continued acceptance of traditional medicine does not auger well for the industry that provides their daily bread. Even to date, there are scientists who do not agree with the findings that smoking increases the chances of causing lung cancer. On the same breadth, there are scientists who even to date can not agree that carbon dioxide emissions are causing global warning and by extension melting of the polar ice caps. Yet it is these same scientists who will have to interrogate traditional medicine.
The time taken for medicine to be tested scientifically and proven to have tolerable side effects and thus not harmful for human consumption could be anything from five years and above. If all traditional medicine will have to undergo this testing, then people will take along time gaining from the benefits that come with traditional remedies.
Conclusion
An anthropological approach to traditional medicine is good. Given that it will seek to interrogate all aspects and facets of these medicines. It will allow for a proper and thorough understanding of the benefits to be found in traditional medicine. With the chance of having not to suffer harmful side effects attributable to synthetic drugs, this is an area that as a matter of human survival must be explored. The benefits to be gained far outweigh the costs to be incurred. This paper proposes that the anthropological approach to traditional medicine has more benefits than costs.
With the marriage of the different fields of knowledge found in medical anthropology, and its comprehensive approach to problem solution, mankind has a chance to use what is readily and easily available to hisher own good. The fact that traditional remedies are naturally occurring, all humans need to do is to take care of the environment and the environment will take care of humanity. This is a win-win situation all round. It is time people learned to take care of themselves more lovingly. What with all the pollution in the atmosphere. Anthropology is offering to humans a viable avenue of taking advantage of traditional remedies to ensure continued good health to all and for generations to come.
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