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Abstract
Traditional Health Care and Healing by Folk Healers: Case Study in Amphur Muang , Khon Kaen
Province
Pratakwal Sugsamran
Provincial Health Office, Nakhon Sri Thammarat Province
This descriptive research study on traditional health care and healing with folk medicine was conducted
in the rural areas of 14 tambons in Amphur Muang, Khon Kaen Province. The purposes of the study were to
determine the types of illnesses and symptoms, both physical and mental, that are still currently treated by
folk healers, the transfer of knowledge about folk medicine, and factors affecting the existence of folk healers.
The subjects were folk healers who do not hold a license as a traditional Thai medicine practitioner but who
have not less than 20 years of experience. Fifty-five subjects were selected by systematic random sampling,
including magic healers, herbalists, mor nammon (holy water healers), ritual healers, massage healers, mid-
wives, and healers having more than one area of expertise. It was found that folk healers are in a relatively low
financial stratum and receive a low fee for healing. The treatment procedures are mostly mixed, usually
involving “blowing methods” combined with other types of treatments. Midwives no longer help to deliver
babies but provide pre- and post-natal care and treatment for some minor illnesses. Health conditions and
symptoms that folk healers often and successfully treat are kum lerd (baby or young child crying constantly
without any obvious health problem), inflamed wounds, herpes zoster, fresh wounds and accidental injuries.
The medicinal plants used are those found or grown in the village and community forest. The herbs are
prepared and prescribed in the forms of ya fon (sanding medicine), ya foon (powdered medicine), pills, paste,
poultice, and herbal compress. Folk healers do not prescribe herbal medicines to be taken together with
modern medicines. The types of rituals used in the healing process are, e.g., lai pe (chasing evil spirit), su kwan
(welcoming back the spiritual part of the body), sador kraw (performing a ceremony to change one’s bad
fortune), son kwan (bringing back the spiritual part of the body that had been lost), and lum pe fa (traditional
singing and dancing ceremony to help treat patients). Patients usually receive medical care from health
service centers or hospitals before seeing folk healers; another group of patients are those who suffer from
diseases that modern medicine cannot cure. Some folk healing processes are effective and some are only
palliative. The textbooks on folk healing are still available but are not kept in good condition. The transfer of
folk medicine knowledge is limited as there are only a very small number people who are interested in this
field. Government offices have played a minor role in promoting, supporting or reviving folk medicine.
Statistical analysis of the data showed that folk healers who used rituals in their treatment (healers that
used mixed methods and ritual healers) are statistically significantly different from other types of healers
(p<0.05), namely, they are older, have more patients, and more commonly transfer their knowledge. Signifi-
cant correlations are found between the number of patients that healers treat in a month and massage treat-
ment, treatment with folk medicine combined with modern medicine and diseases folk healers commonly
treated. The study shows that the treatment of health conditions and symptoms with rituals, massage, and
herbal medicine are still a way of life of people in the rural areas in Muang District, Khon Kaen Province,
while there are various factors that either support or hinder the health-care system using folk medicine.
Key words: folk medicine, folk healer, health care, healing