section_path: Academic study/Medical anthropology approaches
section_name: Medical anthropology approaches
paragraph_text: Medical anthropology approaches
  
  In many societies where shamanism is practiced, the understanding and treatment of illness are closely tied to social and cultural processes. Disease is often seen not just as a biological condition but as a disruption in the balance of spiritual and social relationships. The concept of the body in these contexts is multifaceted, encompassing physical, social, and cultural dimensions. Anthropologists Nancy Scheper-Hughes and Margaret Lock expand on this by introducing the idea of "the three bodies": the "individual body," relating to personal health experiences; the "social body," connecting health to social and cultural values; and the "body politic," reflecting the influence of power structures on health outcomes.
  
  According to anthropologist Donald Joralemon, the practice of medicine is inherently a social process, both in shamanistic societies and contemporary biomedicine. Joralemon argues that healing rituals, diagnoses, and treatments are deeply embedded in the cultural norms and social expectations of a community. This is particularly evident in shamanism, where the shaman addresses not only physical symptoms but also the spiritual and communal aspects of illness. The shaman's role is to restore harmony within the individual and the community, reinforcing the social bonds believed to influence health. Joralemon emphasizes that in both traditional and modern medical practices, disease is not merely a biological fact but a social phenomenon, shaped by the cultural and societal contexts in which it occurs.
  
  Where a Shaman is present within a community - the group determines whether an individual is true Shaman or not. The group also determines whether an individual is sick and doomed by sorcery, this is where a Shaman is given the role to dispel an illness. The Shaman does not become a great Shaman because they cure a person, it is because they are known by the group as great Shamans. Community members known as dreamers also listen in on private conversations to convey an individual’s known sickness.