Therapeutic processes and perceived helpfulness of dang-ki (Chinese shamanism) from the symbolic healing perspective.
Boon-Ooi Lee, Laurence J. Kirmayer, Danielle Groleau
Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry March 1, 2010 DOI: 10.1007/s11013-009-9161-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnographic interview study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 21 |
| Population | Patients consulting dang-kis in Singapore |
| Interventions | talismans and physical manipulations |
| Duration | Three stages: immediately before and after the healing and approximately 1 month later |
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Keywords | Humans Treatment outcome Spiritual therapies Adult Middle aged Patient satisfaction Singapore Female Interviews as topic Surveys and questionnaires |
| Key findings | Most patients (11 of 21) perceived dang-ki consultations as helpful, 4 found them helpful but could not follow all recommendations, 5 were unsure due to lack of concrete results, and 1 found the consultation unhelpful. Dang-kis typically used more than one method per problem, including words, talismans, and physical manipulations. The authors argue the symbolic healing model is a useful but incomplete framework because shared meaning and symbolic transformation are complex and may unfold over multiple sessions. |
Abstract
This study focuses on the therapeutic process and perceived helpfulness of dang-ki, a form of Chinese shamanistic healing, in Singapore. It aims to understand the healing symbols employed in dang-ki, whether or not patients find them helpful and whether their perceived helpfulness can be explained by the symbolic healing model (Dow, Am Anthropol 88(1):56-69, 1986; Levi-Strauss, Structural anthropology. Basic Books, New York, 1963). Although many researchers have applied this model to explain the efficacy of shamanistic healings, they did not directly provide empirical support. Furthermore, the therapeutic process of a shared clinical reality as proposed by the model may be achievable in small-scale traditional societies that are culturally more homogeneous than in contemporary societies that are culturally more diversified due to globalization and immigration. Patients may hold multidimensional health belief systems, as biomedicine and alternative healing systems coexist. Thus, it would be interesting to see the relevance and applicability of the symbolic healing model to shamanistic healing in contemporary societies. In this study, ethnographic interviews were conducted with 21 patients over three stages: immediately before and after the healing and approximately 1 month later. The dang-ki healing symbols were identified by observing the healing sessions with video recording. Results show that dang-kis normally applied more than one method to treat a given problem. These methods included words, talismans and physical manipulations. Overall, 11 patients perceived their consultations as helpful, 4 perceived their consultations as helpful but were unable to follow all recommendations, 5 were not sure of the outcome because they had yet to see any concrete results and only 1 patient considered his consultation unhelpful. Although the symbolic healing model provides a useful framework to understand perceived helpfulness, processes such as enactment of a common meaning system and symbolic transformation are complex and dynamic, and may be carried over several healing sessions.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Plantas con madre": plants that teach and guide in the shamanic initiation process in the East-Central Peruvian Amazon. Curanderos, apprentices, and herbalists in East-Central Peru, including Mestizo,... | 2011 | Qualitative study | n = 36 |
| Purging and the body in the therapeutic use of ayahuasca Healers and participants in shamanic tourism contexts of the Peruvian Amazon and... | 2019 | Ethnography with literature review | n = 227 |
| The Globalization of Ayahuasca Shamanism and the Erasure of Indigenous Shamanism Western tourists and indigenous peoples in Iquitos, Peru | 2016 | Ethnography | |
| Shamanism and Rock Art in Far Western North America Historic hunter-gatherer cultures of California and the Great Basin | 1992 | Ethnographic review and analysis | |
| Working with “La Medicina”: Elements of Healing in Contemporary Ayahuasca Rituals Ayahuasqueros and Western participants in shamanic tourism in Iquitos, Peru | 2012 | Ethnography |
Citations in the library
Cited by 9
- Dang-Ki healing: An embodied relational healing practice in Singapore. Transcultural Psychiatry December 1, 2020
- Transformation in Dang-ki Healing: The Embodied Self and Perceived Legitimacy. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry September 1, 2016
- Making Selves and Meeting Others in Neo‐Shamanic Healing Ethos September 1, 2015
- Exploration of trance states: phenomenology, brain correlates, and clinical applications Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences May 9, 2024
- Scoping review on shamanistic trances practices. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies November 4, 2024
and 4 more in the library