The Doctor and the Curer: Medical Theory and Practice in Kove

Abstract

Although the time covered by my visits to Kove stretches from 1966 to 1983,¹ this was not a period of major change in attitudes towards the use of traditional as opposed to foreign medical services. Most such changes had occurred much earlier. What tended to vary during this later period was the availability of certain services and consequently the use made of them. As will be seen, there has probably never been consensus about the relative worth of various diagnoses and cures and the variety of alternatives has steadily increased in recent years, leading to a complex situation which makes it difficult to predict the action taken in any particular case. At best, it is only possible to understand why the complexities exist.