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Journal of Thai Traditional & Alternative Medicine Vol. 5 No. 2 May - August 2007 Ò˜˜

Table 3 Criteria for inclusion in the study group.

Criteria Method of determination

1.The healer is ethnically Phu Tai. The healer has parents who are ethnically Phu Tai and speak Phu Tai.
2. The healing capability of the healer is respected among Triangulation method: based on community membersû opinion of
local people.* their local healers.
3.The healer is willing to share information and partici- Healer will be asked a direct question.
pate in this study.
4.The knowledge of the healer has been handed down Healer gained main body of knowledge from a teacher of the Phu
from ancestors. Tai ethnic group, or spirits.
5.The healer is an active healer. Healer treats at least one patient a month.
6. The healer has at least 10 years of experience in medi- Healer will be asked a direct question.
cal practice as a herbalist, or çblowingé healer, or a
çYaoé healer.

Note: The symbol* marks the only criterion that was verified from the data generated during the healer surveys in the community in
contrast to profile interviews, which were used to determine the remaining criteria.

criteria, 20 Phu Tai healers were selected for the in- balist (À¡Õ¬“Ωπ), a çblowingé healer (À¡Õ‡ªÉ“), mid-
depth study; their provincial distribution is shown in wife (À¡Õµ”·¬), and a çDhammaé healer (À¡Õ∏√√¡).
the last column of Table 1. However, only two types of these specified healers,
In the profile interviews, the healers identified namely a herbalist (including a çsandingé herbalist),
themselves as ça specified healer,é a herbalist (À¡Õ and a çblowingé herbalist, are included in this study.
¡ÿπ‰æ√), a çYaoé healer (À¡Õ‡À¬“), a çsandingé her-

Table 4 Socio-demographic profile of 20 healers selected for study

Profile Number (persons) Percentage
1. Age range (years old)
60-69 12 60
79-79 5 25
80-89 3 15
2. Sex
Male 18 90
Female 2 10
3. Education level
Lower than grade 4 3 15
Grade 4, or higher 17 85
4. Monkhood
No experience in monkhood 4 20
Experience in monkhood 16 80
5. Profession
Farmer 17 85
Others 3 15
6. çSpecifiedé type of healer
Herbalists 10 50
çBlowingé healers 6 30
çYaoé healers 4 20