From Faith Healer to a Medical Doctor: Creating Biomedical Hegemony

Abstract

The present research was conducted in Zandra village of Ziarat district in the province of Balochistan. Anthropological research techniques were used to collect empirical data. In this article, an effort has been made to understand the natives’ cultural beliefs and practices in health care sector. The main focus of this research was to understand the nature of development, internal and external factors responsible for the changes and the actual beneficiaries of the development. An effort has also been made to find out the health care systems working in the village which included both faith healing and allopathic medicines. Initially the natives were using traditional and spiritual healing systems, but now as their economic condition and literacy rate are increasing, they are more inclined towards the modern methods of treatment.