Medicine
Medical Pluralism and the Anthropology of Healing Systems
Quick fact
In many non-Western societies, patients often consult multiple healers—biomedical doctors, herbalists, shamans, or religious figures—for the same illness, and they do not see this as contradictory. For instance, a Nigerian woman might take antimalarial drugs while also using a local plant remedy, and she may visit a Pentecostal pastor for prayers.
Why this is interesting
You visit a doctor for a prescription, but your grandmother insists on a herbal remedy passed down for generations. Who is right, and why do we choose one over the other?