Soc Sci Med. 1984 ; 18(2): 139-46.

'Mother Needles': lessons on inter-ethnic psychiatry in Malaysian society.

Provencher R.

Details of curing rituals symbolize social traumas. Western based psychiatrists are often not very successful in treating Malay patients because of the difficulty of understanding the ritual signs. This paper focusses upon cultural details as they relate to a curer. The paper begins by discussing 'medical pluralism' and proceeds to a consideration of one local healer.