History of sickness and medical art 7 : in preliterate society 4

＜ A Mask dancing of Dogon( agricultural tribes) in the Middle West Africa　　＞

An etiology: Recognition of the world

Although native’s recognition about the sickness and the medical art is unscientific and superstitious, the base of it is a thinking that gives on to modern society.

First, they have caught logically the principle of cause and effect about the sickness in their own way.

For example, they thought that a swelling of hand and foot originated in an abnormality of the internal organs, or when a sickness prevailed in a village, it was carried with insect or the wind, or an epilepsy began from temporary cutting of a brain.

Although they did not need explanation beyond it, and could not make the exact medical treatment, they always have tried a certain understanding and explanation for it.

They think that most of mental diseases depend on the supernatural causes (evil spirit).

In order for people to advocate a general etiology with physical element (body fluid and blood, etc.), we had to wait for the city civilization birth.

Medicinal herb use and magic of medical treatment was still the main thing.

＜　Her diseased part is purifying with leaves in Mexico.　＞

病因論：世界の認識

先住民の病と医術に関する認識は、非科学的で迷信が目につきますが、現代に通じる思考が見られます。

先ず、彼らは病の因果論を彼らなりに論理的に捉えています。

例えば、彼らは手足のむくみが内臓の異常に起因し、村に病気が流行ると虫や風が媒介し、てんかんは脳の一時的な切断と見なしています。

彼らはそれ以上の説明を必要としませんし、的確な治療も出来ていないと言えますが、必ず何らかの理解と説明を試みます。

精神病の多くは、超自然的な原因（悪霊）と考えられている。

人々が物資的な要素（体液、血など）によって汎用的な病因論を唱えるには、都市文明誕生を待たなければなりません。

それでも治療はまだ薬草利用や呪術が主でした。

Medical treatment and magic:  Animism

To think that the magic and the evil spirits are causes of the disease are that they are thinking with separating the soul from the body, and moreover assume that the natural world have human nature.

Possibly you might have thought, "While clouds come out and it is raining, the sun is escaping to want not to get wet to rain."

Bushman living in Kalahari Desert may cure a poor bag of hunting.

First, the root of certain plant and the hoof of certain game animal are burned, and it becomes powder.

Subsequently, the droppings of the animal are mixed with it and it becomes a mash.

Several body surfaces of a hunter are injured with a razor, and the powder is rubbed in.

I guess that this is a courtesy to control misfortune by the indirect contact to the object, and the dirty things (impurity).

Thus, all medical treatment and the courtesy will develop from abundant experiences and the analogy.

＜　Bushman　＞

治療と呪術　：　アニミズム

呪術や悪霊が病因になると考えることは、身体から精神（魂）を分離し、さらに自然界に人間性（魂）を仮託することです。

自然現象を人間のように説明することは我々幼児期の自然な姿です。

「雲が出て雨が降っているとき、お日様は雨に濡れたくないから逃げているのよ」と幼児の頃にあなたは思ったかも知れない。

カラハリ砂漠に住むブッシュマンは弓矢不猟を治療することがある。

最初に、ある植物の根とある狩猟動物の蹄を焼き、粉にする。

次いでその動物の糞をそれに混ぜてすり潰す。

狩人の体表面数カ所を剃刀で傷つけ、その粉を擦り込む。

これは汚いもの（不浄）と対象への間接的な接触によって災いを制する儀礼と推測出来る。

このようにして豊富な経験と類推からあらゆる治療と儀礼が発展していくのだろう。

＜　a dancing to cure　＞

Magic, science, and religion

The anatomy of the animal might deepen understanding to the physiology and the sickness.

Therefore pastoral people would be able to escape easily from a conception of magic more than agricultural people.

This may be one reason that pastoral people have little mask culture (where the magic is thought as important in).

I think that this had made a difference of scientific development, along with the growth of the city civilization.

Moreover, by ethnic group, the ultimate responsibility contracting a disease included a difference in whether it was caused by self or outside.

These might have given a big influence on religion that was born in ancient civilization.

呪術と科学と宗教

動物の解剖は生理や病気への理解を深め、牧畜民は農耕民より呪術的な発想から脱しやすかったのだろう。

これが牧畜民に仮面文化（呪術を重視する）が少ないことの一つの理由かもしれない。

このことが都市文明の発展と相俟って科学発展への差異を生じたのかもしれない。

また民族によって、病気の最終責任は自己か外部に帰すかの差異もあった。

これらのことが古代文明に誕生する宗教に大きな影響を与えた可能性がある。