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3. Socio-demographic profile the Phu Tai culture.
Socio-demographic profile of the 20 sampled Multi-talented healers were another challenge
healers is shown in Table 4. Age range, sex, educa- in the sampling process, To overcome this, the healersû
tional level, experience in monkhood, and professions main area of expertise was determined by weighing
of these healers are given. the perceptions of the healer using three different
sources: other community members, the healer, and
Discussion the research team. In this way most healers could be

In this study, two populations were studied. The categorized into one type of healer.
first population consisted of 263 Phu Tai healers from During the process of recording and document-
the four provinces with a large population of Phu ing data under the framework of the established in-
Tai: Kalasin, Sakon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom and clusion criteria, the sample healers were whittled down
Mukdahan. These healers were interviewed using the to 20 healers according to the following criteria: per-
profile interview technique. During the process of re- sonal rapport with the healers, logistical criteria, and
cording and documenting the data, the inclusion cri- supplemental criteria specific to the healer type.
teria were established and applied. The second popu- Logistical criteria included growing reluctant to share
lation of 20 qualified healers was included in the in- their knowledge with the research team, time con-
depth study. flicts that made them unavailable, and quotes of ex-
All healers identified by villagers as traditional orbitant fees to share their knowledge. The supple-
healers were considered to have healing capabilities mental criteria were developed during the interview
that were respected among the local people (criterion process to increase the quality of the data generated
2 in Table 3.). Healers who were triangulated by vil- among the healers by identifying the most talented
lage residents (identified by more than one villager) and knowledgeable healers. These criteria were based
were considered as having met this criterion. on basic definitions of the types of healer; they were
It was not always a straightforward process to developed as the sample selection progressed.
determine if the healers met the criteria (Table 3). Herbalists were defined in this study as healers
Criterion 1 was challenged when healers stated that who are able to specify medical plant name, origins,
they had only one Phu Tai parent. In this case, we parts use, uses, and methods of preparation, in-
considered the healers as having met this criterion if cluding health conditions. Among the herbalists, sup-
the healers had a Phu Tai mother, and had been plemental criteria included the following: (1) healers
brought up in the Phu Tai community. According to who treated more than 15 health conditions, and
the Phu Tai tradition, marriages are often matrilineal (2) healers with the ability to diagnose and prescribe
and matrilocal. Therefore, the ethnicity of the mother, herbal remedies. çBlowingé healers were defined as
rather than that of the father, was ued to determine healers who rely on a blowing technique and incan-
the ethnicity of their child. tation to treat patients who are afflicted with acute
Criterion 4 (Table 3) was challenged when heal- physical injuries and health conditions caused by
ers reported that they had learned their body of medical spirits. çYaoé healers were defined as healers who
knowledge from Buddhist monks or spirits. Healers have the ability to mediate and communicate with
who learned from monks were not included in this spirits (a spirit medium) and treat patients by per-
study, because Buddhist temples often represent a forming the çYaoé ceremony.
unique traditional medical system which may be dif-
Conclusion
ferent from that of surrounding ethnomedicines. How-
ever, healers who learned from spirits were included This paper is the first part of a report on qualita-
in the study because, as ethnic Phu Tais, they were tive research on traditional medical knowledge of
assumed to have leared from spirits the originate in the Phu Tai ethnic group in Thailand, dealing with