Cult Med Psychiatry. 1991 Mar; 15(1): 45-68.

Pluralism, performance and meaning in Taiwanese healing: a case study.

Harrell S.

Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.

A case of presumed psychosis in a 16-year-old Taiwanese girl is examined to show the role of performance in creating meaning in a plural medical system. The case illustrates that there is no necessary correspondence between diagnoses, authorities, and therapies; that consensus, if achieved at all, is tenuous and context-dependent; that meaning is created by performance, rather than the other way around; and that understanding of how therapies work depends on their efficacy.