Méthodes de soin actives et préventives. Apports des maîtres rituels javanais et rapport au développement

Abstract

Drawing from a Javanese case study, the article proposes a reflection on the active or passive character developed towards one’s health, and the social consequences. As an introduction, it starts by presenting a classification of the Javanese traditional therapists and their cultural background. Javanese conceptions of illness, rarely taken into consideration in previous works and often exposed to certain Islamic value systems, are also presented. A firsthand ethnography then describes therapeutic techniques used and taught by Javanese ritual masters and martial arts masters—through ritual initiation, local cults, meditation, breathing exercises, herbal medicine—and the people they address to. These different examples clearly show that a selection of the techniques has been under-way for nearly twenty years. Alongside this selective tendency, the secularisation and standardisation of some of these techniques encourage its popularisation. A more recent trend where in therapeutic specialists ask for modern money in return for the treatment they offer also occurs amidst concerned persons. Such a shift introduces a new type of patient passivity in terms of health care. The question of whether or not the process of standardisation, as promoted by the World Health Organisation concerning the techniques of traditional therapists, reinforces patient passivity—when such practices require patient activity as a basic premise—is explored in conclusion.

Keywords

• Java
• traditional care
• illness
• development
• techniques
• action