Interface between shamanism and psychiatry in Miyako Islands, Okinawa, Japan: a viewpoint from medical and psychiatric anthropology.
A Shimoji
The Japanese journal of psychiatry and neurology December 1991 DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1819.1991.tb00515.x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Mentally ill persons examined in the Miyako Islands, Okinawa, Japan |
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key findings | The authors report that most mentally ill people they examined in the Miyako Islands had consulted shamans, and they describe cases of psychotic illness attributed to "kandaari." They argue that understanding patients' "explanatory model" of illness is important and that the interaction between shamanism and psychiatry on the islands must be addressed on a multidimensional level, while the positive and negative effects of shamanistic practices on the health care system remain to be assessed. |
Abstract
This study is the first report regarding the borderland between psychiatry and shamanism in Miyako Islands, Okinawa, Japan. Folk healing practices are still flourishing on the islands. Most mentally ill persons we examined admitted to having consulted shamans. Although there is a need to assess the positive and negative effects of shamanistic practices on Miyako Islands' health care system as a whole, this report indicates the urgent need to come to terms with the interaction between shamanism and psychiatry on a multidimensional level. We describe here psychotic illness attributed to kandaari. These cases underline the importance of understanding "the explanatory model" (Kleinman 1979) of people as regards the causes and the effective healing of illness. From the viewpoint of medical and psychiatric anthropology, aspects of the treatment of such patients in the biocultural context are described.
Comparable studies
Other case reports and case series on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brain changes during a shamanic trance: Altered modes of consciousness, hemispheric laterality, and systemic psychobiology A normal subject with extensive training in the Mongolian shamanic tradition | 2017 | Case study | n = 1 |
| The Diaspora of Brazilian Religions | 2013 | Ethnographic case studies | |
| Transformation in Dang-ki Healing: The Embodied Self and Perceived Legitimacy. A male dang-ki, 10 temple assistants, and 9 clients at a shrine in Singapore | 2016 | Case study | n = 20 |
| (Neo)Shamanic Dialogues Members of a Guarani Indian village on the Atlantic coast of Santa Catarina, Brazil | 2012 | Case study | |
| Kambô: A Shamanic Medicine - Personal Testimonies | 2018 | Case study |