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ALTERNATIVETHERAPIESsepoct2011VOL.17NO.545HaitianVodouasaHealthCareSystemthishealthcaresystemandthelogicunderlyingthatwayitman-agesillnessemphasizingthattheconnectionsbetweenvodouandillnessarestillpoorlyunderstood.THEx0RELATIONSHIPx0BETWEENx0VODOUx0ANDx0ILLNESSHealthandillnessarethecoreofAfro-CaribbeanreligionsparticularlyCubanSantera2BrazilianCandombl3andHaitianvodouwhichconstitutesiteswherepracticesofteninvolvethepreventionandtreatmentofillness.AccordingtoConway4Laguerre5andmorerecentlyBrown6whohasstudiedHaitianVodouintheUnitedStatesillnessmanagementisthemostimportantaspectofvodou.ResearchersatkOSANBAaNorthAmericanassociationthatstudiesHaitianvodoustatethattheonlypersonwhohaswrittenaboutthemedicalaspectsofvodouisMaxBeauvoirBellegarde-SmithandMichel20067avodoupractitionerwhopresentsvodouasanenergymedicineandpre-sentsdetailsconcerningthephytotherapeuticaspectsofrem-ediespractitionersgivetothesic0seeBeauvoir2006.8Tobefairauthorswhohavewrittenabouttheconnectionsbetweenvodouandillnesshavesuggestedthatvodoucanbealastresortinthehealth-see0ingprocess9oraformof0nowledgeusedtogivemeaningtoillness.1011Otherauthorshaveta0enagreaterinterestinsuchconnectionsdiscussingvodouintheEeldofmentalhealthparticularlythepathologicalaspectsoftranceandpossession12orthepositiveaspectsofsuchphenomena.1314Vodoubeliefshavealsobeenconsideredasfactorsthatpredis-posetomentalillness1516anditspractitionershavebeenidenti-EedasculturallyrootedtherapistswhomaybeeffectivewhereWesternpsychiatristsarenot.1718WhenallissaidanddoneImustagreewithBellegardeandMichel7thatwedonot0nowmuchaboutvodoupracticesrelatedtoillness.MtrauxistheonlyauthortohaveprovidedErst-handorsecond-handempiricaldataonthesubject.StillconsideredtobethespecialistofHaitianvodouMtrauxpublishedawell-documentedtextaboutthex1cmedicalfunctionx1dofvodou.19Itistheonlyethnographicsourcecontainingdetailsonillnesscat-egoriesinHaititheirdiagnosisandtheiretiologywithafewdescriptionsoftherapeuticpracticesaswellasrealcasesofvodoutreatments.HowevertheobservationsareonlyafewpageslongbrieFydescribeatreatmentforsomeoneafFictedbysoulsandprovidesomediagnostictechniques.TheconclusionsdrawnbyLaguerre20onthelac0ofunder-standingaboutvodouarestilltruetoday.Twentyyearslaterthesameremar0canbemade.Althoughmuchhasbeenwrittenaboutvodouwestill0nowverylittleabouthowoungancareforthesic0the0nowledgetheyusetocureandtreatillnessesandtheirpracticesfordealingwithillness.RESEARCHx0OBJECTIVESx0ANDx0DATAx0COLLECTIONx0Ihavetriedtofillthesegapsandbetterunderstandtheresponsesvodoupractitionersgivetothosewhoconsultthemwhenfacedbyillness.Myresearchonvodouwasfocusedonitspractitio-nerssitesofactivity0nowledgeandpracticesastheyappearedinillnessepisodes.Myresearchobjectivesweretoanalyzevodoux19srolewithinamedico-religioussociallandscapemadeupofdifferentcaregiversandtherapeutictraditionsthesupervisionandtreatmentprovidedbypractitionerstothosesee0ingcareandhowthe0nowledgepracticesanddiscoursesofvodoupractitionersaremobilizedinillnessepisodes.TodosoIspent16months4in19984in1999and8monthsin2002and2003inaruralHaitiandistrictwherewegathereddatausinginterviewsandobservations.InthecourseofEeldwor0wespenttimewithvodoupractitionersandliveddailyintheworldofsmallfarmers.Ivisitedvariousplaceswheretheillgotobetreatedsothatwecouldmeetcare-see0ersandweaveawebofrelationsthatwouldenableustofollowthemalongtheirtherapeuticitineraries.Sincemyobjectofstudywasmagi-co-religiousandthereforestronglystigmatizedandhistoricallycondemnedinHaitiandbecausethepracticesthatinteresteduswereprivateandcovert21Ihadtobecomecloseenoughtoboththepractitionersandtheirpatientstobeabletoobservepractic-esandforpeopletofeelfreetospea0.Individualandgroupinterviewswereusedtoidentifythedifferentstagesinpeoplex19shealth-see0ingprocesstogainanin-depth0nowledgeofthepracticesusedbyvodoupractitionerstoidentifytheirdiscourseonillnesstograspthedynamicsandrelationshipsbetweendifferenttherapistsandtoobtaininforma-tionontheHaitianmedico-religiouslandscapeandthefeaturesofeachtreatmentsector.Individualinterviewswerecarriedoutwithbothsic0andhealthypeople.Iconducted39individualinterviewswith21vodoupractitionersandmetregularlywithsixofthem.InanefforttodocumenttheHaitianmedico-religiouslandscapeweconductedover20interviewswithothertherapistsfromCreolemedicinebiomedicineandhealingchurches.Finally20interviewswithindividualswellacquaintedwithvodouadrummerapersonwhowashesthedeadeldersassis-tantstovodoupractitionersgraveyard0eepersandparticipantsinvodouritualshelpedtoEllanygapsinourunderstanding.AllthedatagatheredduringtheresearchwereanalyzedusingNVivosoftwareQSRInternationalAmericasIncCambridgeMassachusettswhichhelpedmetoconductacon-tentanalysisorientedbymyresearchobjectives.FINDINGSDataanalysiswasguidedbythethemesderivedfromtheobjectivesdescribedabove.TheanalysishaspointedtocertaincontentandfunctionsusedtodeEnemedicalsystemsandethno-medicinesintheEeldofmedicalanthropology.22-24BycontentIreferto0nowledgerelatingtoillnesstoaworldviewtopreven-tiveandtherapeuticpracticestotechniquesmaterialss0illswaysoflearningspacesofcareandtherapistsorganizedwithinaspeciEcmedicaltraditionforagroupofpeople.ByfunctionsImeanthatthecontentoffersaculturalconstructionofillnessprovideselementsforexplainingandclassifyingillnessespro-posestherapeuticpracticesgivesindicationsforobtainingtreat-mentsuggestspreventivebehaviorandmanagesdeathchronic