Indigenous Healing Practices of Mental Illness in Southern Punjab

Abstract

Culture encompasses a person's lifestyle. Cultures vary greatly in their views on ideas, beliefs, customs, and practices. However, the cultural view of illness is a strong weapon that may be used to develop a belief about the etiology of any illness or disease. The study aimed to see the indigenous curing process of Mental Illness in Jalalpur Pirwala, Southern Punjab. The researcher chose to conduct her study in the developing region of Jalalpur Pirwala in Pakistan to see the cultural beliefs held by families in an area where people have a greater tendency to believe in saints and superstitions. From a personhood perspective, there is limited research on adulthood mental illness in Pakistan; this phenomenological study is a contribution to the anthropological inquiries being conducted in a specific subfield of anthropology known as Psychological Anthropology. People with mental illnesses who were between the ages of 18 and 60 were the focus of the study. Various techniques of data collecting were used, such as unstructured interviews with practitioners (spiritual bhoopa/healers), observation, and in-depth interviews with carers of mentally ill individuals. Caretakers and practitioners were selected through snowball sampling. Document and thematic analysis were used to enhance the reliability and validity of the qualitative research. According to the findings, cultural beliefs about mental illness are tied to the divine or supernatural in which preference of healing for mental illness is associated with bhoopa (Traditional practitioner) with indigenous rituals of healing. Carers of mentally ill persons prefer traditional, spiritual, or faith healing rather than westernized psychological treatments.