Gadè deceptions and lies told by the ill: The Caribbean sociocultural construction of truth in patient-healer encounters

Abstract

A constructivist approach in medical anthropology suggests that the boundary between lies and truth in sickness narratives is thin. Based on fieldwork in the French (Martinique) and English (Saint-Lucia) Carribbean with gadé and quimboiseurs (local folk healers), this paper addresses the gap between naïve romanticism and radical cynicism in the anthropological analysis of patient-healer encounters. Is the sick person lying when she accuses evil spirits for her behaviour or sickness? Is the quimboiseur who is building a meaningful explanation or diagnosis simply a liar taking advantage of his client's credulity? The challenge for anthropology is not to determine whether or not a person is lying when attributing their ill fortune to witchcraft. Instead, in this paper, the author approaches lying as a language-game played by both patients and folk healers. Concepts of lying as games, tactical lies, pragmatic creativity, and constructive lies are introduced here as a perspective for a reconsideration of lying as a pertinent research object.

The Relationship Between Plant Use and Plant Diversity in the Bolivian Andes, with Special Reference to Medicinal Plant Use

“…It has been suggested that although theoretically all plants are potential sources of biologically active molecules (Fellows 1991), far from all plants used in traditional medicine have biomedical effects in humans (e.g. Davis and Yost 1983;Milliken et al 1992;Waller 1993;Rates 2001;Sumner 2001;Massé 2002). Davis and Yost (1983) stated that: "In no area of ethnobotany is the challenge greater than in the search for new medicines, for in no area is there a greater mixture of fact and fiction".…”

Medicinal Plant Use as an Adaptive Strategy in the Bolivian Andes: Evidence from the Quechua Community of Apillapampa

“…It has been argued that, although theoretically all plants are potential sources of biologically active molecules (Fellows 1991 ) , far from all plants used in traditional medicine have biomedical effects in humans (e.g., Davis and Yost 1983 ;Milliken et al 1992 ;Waller 1993 ;Rates 2001 ;Sumner 2001 ;Massé 2002 ) . Davis and Yost ( 1983 ) Girault ( 1984 ;Bastien 1987a ) .…”

Éthique pragmatique de la recherche anthropologique : le cas d’une étude de l’obeah à Sainte-Lucie

“…Dans la relation d'entretien, le mensonge peut souvent être vu comme le reflet de la qualité intrinsèque d'un phénomène ou comme une remise en cause des capacités du chercheur. Toutefois, plutôt que de juger la pratique du mensonge, il revient de se questionner sur sa signification, car le mensonge en tant qu'acte montre souvent la face cachée des relations sociales, et s'inscrit dans le rapport dialectique entre le caché et le révélé 56 . On peut alors s'aider de l'approche relativiste, selon laquelle le mensonge a un sens contextuel pour les acteurs qui l'emploient, et de l'approche constructiviste, telle que développée par Massé, Van Dongen et Fainzang 57 , qui amène à s'interroger sur l'interdépendance des concepts de vérité et de mensonge.…”