Some Complementary Medicines in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan as Conveyers of Meaning and Manifestations of Values
| Author(s) | Penkala-Gawęcka, Danuta |
|---|---|
| Title | Some Complementary Medicines in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan as Conveyers of Meaning and Manifestations of Values |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Language | eng |
| Number of Pages | 7 |
| Location | Kazakhstan |
| Keywords | traditional medicine social practices others |
| Relevance to ICH Safeguarding | identification transmission promotion awareness raising |
| ICH Genre | traditional medicine social practices ICH transmission |
| Description | This article discusses some remedies of complementary medicine used in post-Soviet Kazakhstan. Since the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, complementary medicine has gained great popularity and the support of the state in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The popularity of various complementary methods of treatment, from folk medicine and “great medical traditions” to relatively new therapies and medicines of different origins, may be partly explained by the economic dificulties of the period of transition to market economy, which have made people search for cheaper treatment. The other reason was the rapid deterioration in the state health care system. However, there are also other factors, connected with the ideology of the new state, promoting cultural heritage of the Kazakh – the titular nation. It is argued in this article that those issues could be studied through medicines, and especially through the meanings and values attributed to them. Some complementary medicines represent traditional values of the Kazakh culture or the culture of other ethnic groups, or are treated as expressions of the ancient wisdom of the East. There are also such medicines that appeal to the aspirations to modernity and epitomise the authority of science. This outline of the “histories of medicines” shows a wide spectrum of meaning and values ascribed to remedies of complementary medicine which can also contribute to its popularity. |
| Book/Journal Title | Curare. Journal of Medical Anthropology |
| Place of Publication | Berlin, Germany |
| Date of Publication | 2011 |
| Volume | 34 (1-2) |
| Pages | 29-35 |
| Usage | copyright cleared |
| Academic Field | Anthropology Traditional knowledge and skills |
| Contributor | Kazakhstan National Committee for Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage |
| Active Contribution | Kazakhstan, FY 2024 |
| Data Collection Project | |