Culture and Health: Building Relationships with Local Shamans

Culture and Health
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Culture and Health
Shamans are respected within their communities and have access to information to help healthcare practitioners make better healthcare decisions for the community. According to Vadala,1 they are community leaders who engage in healing ceremonies to aid their patients’ recovery from ailments. Therefore, building a working relationship with the shaman is important for the healthcare practitioner.
The first step would be to demonstrate an understanding of the role of religion in healing and well-being. As Winkelman indicates,2 religious healing practices are universal because every culture uses religion as a resource to heal and maintain well-being. Just as Christians pray for the sick to get better, people in other religions also have certain religious practices that bring healing to sick people. For the shaman, diseases are associated with “sickness of the soul,”1 and their healing practices involve curing the attacked soul using a spirit being from the spirit world and other practices such as plant medicines and massages.3 To build a working relationship with the shaman, one needs to acknowledge his healing practices and validity them. As Winkelman reveals,2 doubting and challenging the beliefs of others about the role of their religion in healing can only cause more resistance. It can even affect the patient’s willingness or ability to adhere to care and medication. The shaman needs to feel that his healing practices are validated and considered important despite the existing religious differences.
The second step would be to respect the shaman and his work. As pointed out earlier, the shaman is treated with resp...