THE WORLD OF MAGIC IN ROMANIAN FOLK MEDICINE. A COMPARATIVE APPROACH
THE WORLD OF MAGIC IN ROMANIAN FOLK MEDICINE. A COMPARATIVE APPROACH

Summary/Abstract: The link between the magic and folk medicine is obvious for the researcher of traditional comunities. Folk or traditional medicine is, for the traditional people, a way of interpreting the world, includind thus its reactions and attitudes towards natural events and towards the harmful actions of other people. Magic had also an important role in the field of medicine, because the disease and the health were explained by external factors – entering the body, they produced the illness. According to the laws of folk medicine, the illness could reffer to four aspects: the patient world – is concerned with illnesses caused by factors that the patient has some control over, such as diet, smoking, drinking, and other lifestyle behaviors; - The natural world includes problems related to animate and inanimate factors, including those caused by microorganisms and viruses; animal bites; and environmental factors such as pollution, pollens, poisons, and natural disasters - The social world covers interpersonal conflicts, including conditions caused by physical injury inflicted by one person on another, the stresses of daily living, and witchcraft and sorcery The supernatural world includes illnesses caused by spirits, ancestors, or gods who have been offended through

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