Ancient Forms of Healing

· Illness was considered to be a crises.

· Cause of an Illness was attributed to forces of evil, which originated either within or outside the body.

· Early forms of Healing dealt with the removal of evil.

· Successful treatments were passed on through generations.

The cause of an illness was attributed to the forces of evil, which originated either within (internal evil) or outside (external evil) the body. Early forms of healing dealt with the removal of evil.

Interval Evil

If the source of sickness-causing evil was internal, the treatment was to get the evil out of the body. This can be done in multiple ways:

1. Purgatives

· vomiting or diarrhea

2. Blood-letting

· Bleeding

· Leeching “sucking out” blood

If the source of the evil was external, there are a number of ways to deal with it.

· Ancient belief – Witchcraft

· People (or a single person) who were “different” from the other people

· Seen as the causative agent

· Remove or punish the guilty person from the community, the disease would be cured

· Healers themselves were often seen as witches and the possessors of evil skill.

Ancient Rituals

· Sick person isolated from others.

· Special prayers chanted and incantations recited.

· Sacrifices and dances often were performed.

· Speaking in tongues

· Reciting incantations in an unfamiliar language

· Use of strange practices