Berber ethnomedicine: Healing herbs and their use in the High Atlas in Morocco

Vol.8,No.2(2017)

Abstract
In the paper I discuss the conceptualization of the medical pluralism in Morocco. I pay special attention to Berber ethnomedicine in the High Atlas, making use of my field research carried out in 2014 and 2017. My conclusions and findings are based on studying Moroccan health systems in a broader developmental and cultural context. In the first part of my paper I define ethnomedicine and biomedicine in Morocco. In the following part I describe Berber ethnomedicine with emphasis on the High Atlas, focusing on the role of traditional women healers, the main principles of their treatment methods and use of healing herbs. On a more general note I describe healing herbs, their effects and how they are used in the High Atlas. In the final part of my paper I present the traditional model of sustainable use of natural resources and the current development of unsustainable use of natural resources that may have impact on Berber ethnomedicine and even result to the extinction of medical pluralism in Morocco.

Keywords:
ethnomedicine; biomedicine; healing herbs; Berbers; High Atlas
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