Inquiry Conference

During our Inquiry Conference, a student named Daniel Hansen conveniently spoke about medicinal treatments in Tonga. He compared traditional healing to the work that the doctors performed in hospitals. I was able to learn a lot about how natural healers function in society. Daniel said that the healers are usually women trained by their mothers and each family specializes in a certain malady. The people of Tonga believe that this power to heal came from God and should therefore be used with reverence. They also don't require any payment for their services. Some treatments are kept very secret because they are believed to be sacred. 

Daniel also talked about how westernized medicine worked in Tonga. There are hospitals dotting the islands with doctors who received their credentials elsewhere coming back to work at Tonga. The healthcare is free, so there is no controversy with cost when it comes to medicine. These doctors are considered by the people to have more qualifications and be more flexible when it comes to treatments. Oftentimes they have more concrete evidence and cures than the natural healers, who have to guess at the problem as well as the solution. Unfortunately, the doctors at the hospitals are not available 24/7 and therefore do not always receive every patient in the village. Overall, the people of Tonga have the opportunity to get two opinions on one issue, as well as two treatments. If one of the treatments doesn't work, they have a backup plan that probably will.

I was grateful for the opportunity to hear Daniel Hansen speak, because I now understand the role of a natural healer in society a little bit better. With something to base my research on, my research question becomes more narrow and focused. I still want to learn about natural healers, but I want the topic to be more focused on the plants and how they work.