Ignorance, Poverty, Desperation and Pressure
Doctor Rodolfo Guiang mentions that “there are four reasons why people in the rural areas still adhere to these old beliefs and practices, and these are ignorance, poverty, desperation, and remorse of conscience for breaking tradition” (xvii). It is almost self-explanatory as to why ignorance and poverty could still attribute to the rampant belief of superstition and the solution to both these problems are clearly seen but the latter two are more difficult to address, them being more of an internal problem.
As science and technology has advance through time, it is still as easy to be left behind. The rural areas in the Philippines are more often than not, isolated from the technological advancements
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The people living in rural areas also receive lesser salaries than the ones you could receive in more urbanized areas. It is a sad reality in the Philippines that one would need to attain a certain level of education to be qualified for a better-paying job. With the lack of money of the people living in rural areas receive from their salaries, the patients could barely afford the costly fees that doctors and medical examinations require.
Now as Doctor Rodolfo Guiang has mentioned, desperation could also lead to superstitious belief (xvii). Although there has been great advancement in the field of medical science, there are still many limitations to such advancements. There are always cases wherein a patient is already considered terminal by physicians and there is no medical treatment known to man that could help the patient with his condition. With desperations such as these, the patient and or his family and friends, would seek alternative cures, remedies and treatments, whether these cures are legitimate or not. The patient and everyone close to him would try and cling to every little hope for the patient to get better again, something that is in our human
...uals, even if they don't agree with them. It really falls to nurses to address the situation properly, and effectively ensure that the cultural communication between the doctor and the patient does not break down. Nurses most of all have to communicate with patients in a healing way, even if they do not agree with mystical remedies because the nurse has to recognize that there is nonetheless a function that mystical ritual remedies do serve, even to western medicine: to comfort the patients and their families. Ancient rituals or customs, retained to some extent or respected by western caregivers, can serve to maintain a healing and positive attitude, and as a psycholgocial support which the nurse can provide through respect and symbolic use of non-western cultural myths as a psychological stimulant to assist the healing process and inspire the patient thereof.
Rituals associated with magical thinking are practiced by young children and adults alike in the face of uncertainty and during periods of stress or transition that pose a potential threat to either the self or selfhood; the fact that a belief and reliance on magical rituals can exist simultaneously with a rational cause-effect perception of reality in both adults and children reveals that while individuals may attain a more rational worldview with age, a system of non-rational thinking may be foundational to human cognitive functions.
In modern medicine when an ailment arises it can be quickly diagnosed, attributed to a precise bacteria, virus, or body system, and treated with medication, surgery or therapy. During the time before rational medical thought, this streamlined system of treatment was unheard of, and all complaints were attributed to the will of the multitude of commonly worshiped Greek gods (Greek Medicine 1). It was during the period of Greek rationalism that a perceptible change in thought was manifested in the attitudes towards treating disease. Ancient Greece is often associated with its many brilliant philosophers, and these great thinkers were some of the first innovators to make major developments in astrology, physics, math and even medicine. Among these academics was Hippocrates, one of the first e...
Bowen, J. R. 1998. Explaining misfortune: witchcraft and sorcery. Chapter 5 of J.R. Bowen Religions in Practice: An Approach to the Anthropology of Religion. Allyn and Bacon.
Lehmann A. C. & Myers J. E. Magic, Witchcraft and Religion – An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural (Fourth Edition) (Mayfield Publishing Company, 1997). Miner, H. Body Ritual Among the Nacirema. American Anthropologist 58 (1956). Tambiah, S. J. & Co., Ltd. Magic, Science, Religion and the scope of Rationality (Cambridge University Press, 1990). Taylor, C. Rationality.
When someone has a cold or a headache, what are the common cures that come to mind? In Western cultures, some common cures may include drinking fluids, getting more rest, taking over the counter medications, and eating soup. In Southeast Asian cultures, coining is a very popular home therapy used to relieve colds and headaches. Coining involve using a coin dipped with hot balm oil to rub back and forth repeatedly on skin to create a redden color bruise (Nguyen, 1985). This technique is believed to release all bad energy from the bodies and help cure illnesses of those feeling sick. Typically in Western medicine, coining is not view as a health benefit, but as healthcare providers, it is important to interject different health beliefs from patients in which we are caring for.
Thailand has a system of health beliefs called Thai Traditional Medicine, which the material and knowledge has been passed down generation to generation orally. Thai Traditional Medicine is comprised of old-style philosophies and based sturdily on the principles of Buddhism. It is safe to assume Thai Traditional Medicine is a holistic and natural approach to health care. According to Thai Traditional Medicine, illness can be caused by the supernatural, power of the universe and nature, or kimijati; which could be the equivalent to germs or parasites in modern medicine.
Superstitions are part of our daily lives. We deal with these superstitions as we go on with our everyday lives, whether we are fully aware of it, or not. Even with the progress we have with modern science and technology, it is still very hard to shake of these superstitious beliefs. Mainly because it is so deeply rooted in our culture, and has been with us almost since the beginning of time. The adamant belief of the vast majority with these superstitions, also aid into the etching these beliefs in our daily lives.
The Power of Superstition A superstition is the belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation. Superstition is also an irrational, abject attitude of mind toward the supernatural, nature, or God, or a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary (Merriam-Webster). Superstitions are the most common relic of the past, handed down from the ages. When & where did superstition come from?
In 1692 superstitions somehow became the way of thinking. The misuse of it led to the executions of many innocent people in this country. Witchcraft was the crime, for which they were wrongly accused. Fact Net Inc. (see Internet Source) defines superstitions as "Beliefs held despite evidence. They are based on the belief that some people, Plants, animals, stars, words, numbers or special things have magical powers, which contradicts what we know about the world."
I believe there are many superstition stories passed on because our ancestors had experience them but had no idea what has happened to them. Same for supernatural anyone can believe in what they want but it’ll still affect their lives because they’re still at the mystery zone where they can’t identify unless they typically interfere physically or verbally with the supernatural. The overall value of superstition is that believing too much will cause to get closer to supernatural because your brain can see anything and anytime being. I learned superstitious can harm you because it can lead you to the unwanted path that will keep you scared for life. Superstitious beliefs are not always harmful, but most of time they are because they may lead to scarcity where people start forget what happens in the real world.
Mysterious happenings are all around us today. I personally have done extensive studies in the histories of many of these superstitions, from the common to the absurd. Science tends to claim that all superstitions are pointless, and, in some cases, I agree, such as the fear of black cats, but the fact of the matter is that some superstitions come from a rich pre-Christian background. Many superstitions have been doubted since the rise of science, but it has been said that "In spite of advances and science, people are still superstitious." First, today's superstition is yesterday's magick; second, many people still practice the old ways; and finally, even common people practice. Superstitions are a part of our everyday lives and always have been.
Due to rural-urban migration, there has been increasing levels of poverty and depopulation in rural areas. This is one of the reasons why the government has seen it as necessary and made it a priority to improve the lives of the people who live in rural areas. Rural development is about enabling people in the rural areas take charge of their destiny. This is through the use and management of the natural resources they are exposed to. This is a process through which people learn over time and they use this knowledge to adapt to the changing world. The purpose of rural development is to improve the lives of people living in the rural areas.
Superstition are excessively credulous belief in and reverence for supernatural beings.(en.dictionary.reference.com) In the “legend of The Sleepy Hollow”, a guy named Ichabod Crane lived in little town called Sleepy Hollow, while he was a town teacher and choirmaster. One day Ichabod finds that the richest guy in town who has an only daughter that was very good looki...
In simpler words, a superstition is any blindly accepted belief or notion. Superstitions can be believed in for different reasons such as religious beliefs, false interpretations of natural events or people develop personal superstition. A superstition based off of religious beliefs can include, for example, a Christian may believe at a time of trouble or distress may open the Bible at a random time to a random page and read the first text that catches his or her eye. A religion for someone could be a superstition for someone else. A superstition based off of a false interpretation is if one’s right hand is itchy money will be found. One person's right hand must have been itchy and right after that, they found some money. This must have happened more than twice and they told someone and it happened to them. After that, it could have happened to someone else and it became a superstition. Personal superstitions normally apply to one person. A personal superstition can be something small such as having a lucky pencil that one needs to have to write every test with to get an “A” to something bigger such as a pair of lucky sock that one can never wash or the team will lose the baseball game. Something could be a superstition to one person, but religion to another. Who knew that there are different types