Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Category: Anthropology

  • Obstetrical fistula: A malady hidden by shame

    Layla A. Al-Jailani Yemen   Photo by Kat Jayne on Pexels. Nouria strolls across the kitchen, making lunch for her family as she does every day. Her stride is slightly wobbly, but any observer would think this was a healthy young woman. What they do not see, however, is the hidden anguish, pain, and shame…

  • The snake, the staff, and the healer

    Simon Wein Petach Tikvah, Israel   The Rod of Asclepius, graphite on paper, by Daniel Wein, 2021. Introduction In some ancient cultures, especially around the Near East, the snake was involved in healing. Today this seems counterintuitive. There are as many as 130,000 deaths from snake bites worldwide each year and three times that number…

  • Female Genital Mutilation: cultural practices, historical moments, and medical issues

    Alexandros Argyriadis Agathi Argyriadi Limassol, Cyprus   Photo UNICEF / Olivier Asselin. Accessed via MONUSCO on Flickr. CC BY-SA 2.0 Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as any procedure that involves partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for…

  • The anthropology of chronic pain

    Charles Paccione Oslo, Norway   Image of Dharmakīrtisāgara, one of the Eight Medicine Buddhas, from the upper book cover of The Sūtra of Great Liberation. Courtesy of U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Health & Human Services, [2010]. The global burden of chronic pain is large and growing. About 25% of patients…

  • A traditional practice in baby care: salting

    Sinem Çaka Sakarya, Turkey Sümeyra Topal Kahramanamaras, Turkey Nursan Çınar Sakarya, Turkey   Lamp made from natural Cankiri rock salt used in bedrooms in Turkey In many societies, there are traditional practices performed to protect babies from magic, witchcraft, or the evil eye. At first, it may seem that these practices would have no particular…

  • Yellow Fever: Harmful habit or new frontier in identity dysphoria?

    Oyinade Osisanya Ijebu Ode, Ogun, Nigeria   A young woman with bleached skin. Album cover for “Yellow Fever” by Fela Kuti, 1976. Courtesy: Ghariokwu Lemi In 1976, when Fela Kuti, the late Afrobeat legend, released Yellow Fever, the hit masterpiece in which he passionately decried in his powerful, ringing voice, You dey bleach o, you…

  • Rachel Fleming and the non-reality of “racial types”

    Barry Bogin United Kingdom   Human “races” as depicted in the 19th century Nordisk familjebok  (Nordic Family Book Encyclopedia). Each person in the painting depicts one “race” of Asiatic people. Today, anthropologists and biologist reject such “race” categorization. The differences between human groups are better ascribed to biological plasticity. During the early twentieth century several…

  • Haunted by a living spirit

    Bernardo Ng San Diego, California, United States   Witchcraft has been present in the Mexican culture for centuries, both in and out of the context of disease, with witches practicing either white or black magic. The most nationally recognized site for witchcraft is the city of Catemaco, Veracruz, on the Gulf of Mexico. The white…

  • A story of the oppressed

    Donia Khafaga Cairo, Egypt   A powerful representation of women’s oppression International Organization of Human Rights: www.ishr.org Writers often use their novels as a social commentary to criticize a certain cultural context and advocate for change. Today women are still trying to attain equality and freedom. In many Arab countries, men are endowed with freedom…

  • The evolution of attitude towards sexual health in the Netherlands

    Olga Loeber Nijmegen, Netherlands   Reprinted from brochure Middelen ter voorkoming van groote gezinnen Introduction The Netherlands is thought of as a progressive society compared to other countries, but this is actually a recent development. In 1885, the Neo Malthusian League (NMB) published a brochure titled: “Means to prevent large families.” Founded in 1881, NMB…