Treating infants with frigg: linking disease aetiologies, medicinal plant use and care-seeking behaviour in southern Morocco

• DOI: 10.1186/s13002-016-0129-4
• Publication Date: 2017-01-13T14:47:18Z
• Authors: Irene Teixidor-Toneu; Gary J. Martin; Rajindra K. Puri; Ahmed Ouhammou; Julie A. Hawkins
• Keywords: Ethnobotany; Ethnomedicine

Although most Moroccans rely to some extent on traditional medicine, the practice of frigg treat paediatric ailments by elderly women healers known as ferraggat, has not yet been documented. We describe role these specialist healers, document medicinal plants they use, and evaluate how why their is changing.Ethnomedicinal ethnobotanical data were collected using semi-structured interviews observations medical encounters. Information was from namely patients, herbalists public health professionals. Patients' healers' narratives about medicine analysed plant lists compiled herbalists. Plants used collected, vouchered deposited in herbaria.Ferragat remain a key resource infant rural High Atlas, because mothers believe only can what are perceived be illnesses with supernatural cause. Ferragat possess baraka, or gift healing, mainly three folk ailments, taqait, taumist iqdi, which present symptoms similar those ear infections, tonsillitis gastroenteritis. Seventy species but emphasis may recent substitute for treatments that primarily wool blood. This change materia medica shift objects cultural meaningfulness response increasing influence orthodox Islam state-sponsored modernisation, including healthcare schooling.Religious other sociocultural changes impacting ways ferraggat practice. Treatments based no-longer accepted symbolic elements have readily abandoned substituted licit remedies, plants, play legitimisation frigg. However, beliefs ailment aetiologies, well lack difficult access biomedical alternatives, still underlie need healers.