Blood and Ink: Treatment Practices of Traditional Palestinian Women Healers in Israel

Author(s): Ariela Popper-Giveon and Jonathan J. Ventura

Source: Journal of Anthropological Research, Vol. 65, No. 1 (Spring, 2009), pp. 27-49
Published by: University of New Mexico
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25608147
Accessed: 28-05-2015 18:15 UTC
REFERENCES
Linked references are available on JSTOR for this article:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/25608147?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents
You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

University of New Mexico is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Anthropological
Research.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

BLOOD AND INK

Treatment Practices ofTraditional Palestinian
Women Healers in Israel
Ariela

Popper-Giveon

Department of SocialWork, Ben Gurion Universityof theNegev

13/7 Bourla

St., Jerusalem,

Israel. Email:

93714,
Jonathan

arielapo@netvision.net.il

J.Ventura

Department of Sociology andAnthropology,Hebrew Universityof Jerusalem

6Windham

Dids

St., Jerusalem,

93106,

Israel. Email:

Jonathan.Ventura@mail.huji.ac.il

keywords: Israel; Palestinians;Traditionalhealing;Women healers

This article addresses the treatmentpractices of traditional Palestinian women
healers in Israel. It begins with a presentation of the treatmentpractices utilized
bywomen healers and continues with a description of the changes such practices

are currently undergoing. The research indicates that some women healers?in
particular, those residing inmixed Jewish-Arab cities in the country 'scenter?are
slowly adopting treatmentpractices identifiedas masculine: theyare abandoning

the treatmentof problems attributed to natural causes and taking up the treatment
ofproblems attributed to supernatural causes, incorporating treatmentpractices
of a magical or even a religious nature. These tendencies reflect theirdesire to

attain thepower and prestige ascribed to theirmale counterparts. Thus, in this

community, the boundaries betweenfeminine and masculine traditional healing,
as well as thepolarization between the little tradition and the great tradition
(sensu Redfield) are not clear-cut, binary, or occurring in a vacuum, but rather

contextual,
Traditional

dynamic,

hazy,

women

and

healers

elusive.
who

practice

within

Palestinian

society

in

Israel are known by a number of different terms (sheikhah, darvishah, hajjah,

fattahd). They are by and large of middle age, mothers, and of low and middle

socioeconomic status. Traditional women healers mostly work tomeet the needs
of women in their communities (Popper-Giveon 2007). They deal with ailments
thatare not properly addressed by conventional medicine, such as certain chronic

diseases, pain, and in particular, complaints of psychosomatic origin. They treat

problems typical of childhood, sexual difficulties, infertility,and complications
relating to childbirth.Traditional women healers also treatmental problems, such
as depression and anxiety, and life challenges: economic concerns;
interpersonal,
family, and spousal conflicts; and various other crises. Often, the traditional
Palestinian women healers explain these problems as a direct result of supernatural
occurrences. They relate them to the evil eye (ein el-hasood) or witchcraft
(sihr)
and, less frequently, to thework of a demon (jinn) who has frightened the patient,
Journal

Research,

of Anthropological

vol.

65, 2009

Copyright? by The UniversityofNew Mexico

27

This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

28

JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL

RESEARCH

harmed her body, or possessed her soul. Despite the fact that these problems are
related to supernatural events, their roots lie, for themost part, in themodern
lifestyle.Hence, the patient turns to the traditional healer because of the lack
of appropriate modern medical treatment options. While conventional medical
solutions, which are by and large designed for the Jewish population, may offer
some relief for acute physical and emotional problems, they do not assist in

coping with the blurring of concepts derived from the changes in the traditional
Palestinian lifestyle and in particular with problems related to the familial and
spousal hardships which accompany the aforementioned transformation.
When asked about the differences between treatmentpractices of men and
women traditional healers, Jamiya?a young woman living inLod, a mixed Arab
Jewish city in Israel's center?responded:
The man

is always different than thewoman, and this difference is also

reflected in these sorts of things. ... I believe thathealers who read from
theKoran are better than thewomen in that they are purer. A woman is
. . .Amongst us,
always influenced by Satan; Satan always controls her.
there exists a way by which an individual may be healed. If one is seated

is read for his benefit and he is prayed for, then he will be

healed. He believes that through thesemeans he will be healed; through the
ways of theKoran and prayers toGod. Therefore, if the individual believes
thathe will be healed, then even without all the bullshit and all the other
stuff,he will be healed. ... I am saying that thewoman always possesses
more than theman. The man's character is always
some degree of impurity,
and theKoran

stronger than thatof thewoman.

From Jamiya's response, it is apparent that significant differences exist between

the treatmentpractices used by traditional Palestinian healers in Israel as well as
with regard to the value ascribed to these practices. Treatment through the use
of theKoran is associated with men healers, whereas women's healing practices
are identified as "bullshit" or simply as "stuff." The men healers are depicted as
pure and effectivewhile women healers are described as impure and dangerous.

The men healers are portrayed as having a strong character,whereas their female
counterparts are depicted as easily subjected to influence and manipulation.
Finally, while men healers are identifiedwith the righteous path of God, women

healers are identifiedwith theways of Satan.

The present article, focusing on traditionalPalestinian women healers in Israel,
begins with a review of theirmost common treatmentpractices. Narratives of the
women healers who participated in this study reveal changes that are occurring in
these practices, and thatsome of thewomen healers are adopting practices which are
traditionally identifiedwith men healers. This articlewill discuss the adaptation of
such treatmentpractices using Robert Redfield's (1941) "great and littletraditions"
concept. The paper formulates a new perspective regarding the various dynamics
at play within the Islamic world and particularly among Palestinians in Israel.We
hope thatour findingswill be useful in studies of other societies experiencing similar
processes of change and thus will increase the knowledge regarding traditional
healing practices at the onset of the thirdmillennium.
This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TRADITIONAL

PALESTINIAN WOMEN HEALERS

29

METHODS
This paper is part of a more comprehensive study focusing on traditional
Palestinian women healers in Israel.1 This study included two distinct population
and patients. The healers were defined as women known by
groups?healers
their communities as traditionalwomen healers; patients were defined as women
who reported having been treatedby a traditionalwoman healer. Twenty Muslim
Palestinian women respondents participated in the study:2 half reside inmixed
Jewish-Arab cities in the center of Israel (Yafo, Lod, and Ramla) and half belong to
theBedouin Arab community situated in Israel's southern region, theNegev (the
towns ofRahat and Tel Sheba and two unrecognized villages, Wadi El Naam near
the city of Beersheba and Bir Hadadg near Kibbutz Revivim).3 See Figure 1.

Figure 1.Map showing the studycommunities.

This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

30

JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL

RESEARCH

The informantswere contacted using the "chain sample" method. Two close
acquaintances of the first author, a Bedouin man, a resident of an unrecognized
village in theNegev, and a Bedouin woman, a resident of a culturallymixed town
in Israel's center, provided an initial list of patients. They, in turn, led her to the
healers who treated them and to other patients among their acquaintances. This

way, gradually, the informants' circle grew.

The fieldwork, which included in-depth interviews and observations, was
carried out in two stages in 2002-2003. In the first stage, ten traditionalwomen
healers were interviewed about theirtrainingand practices. In the second stage, ten
women patients were interviewed regarding their reasons for seeking the services
of a healer, the treatmentprovided to them, and the treatment's effectupon them.
Interviews were conducted inHebrew, mostly at the participants' homes. The
recordings were transcribed inHebrew and analyzed in two contrasting ways.
The firstmethod is deconstructive and based on carefully dissecting the textwith
regard to "meaning units": word combinations, phrases, or single words (Tutty,
Rothery, and Grinnell 1996). The second method is holistic and tries to draw

out central, content-related pivots from the text (Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiach, and
Zilber 1998). Taken together, thesemethods provide an analysis of both details
(micro) and context (macro), enabling the construction of a complete picture.
Both researchers are Israelis and Jews. Although both the healers and the

patients are Israeli citizens, the fieldwork was heavily influenced by the political
reality in the region. It can be thus assumed that the research was affected by
methodological problems characterizing studies conducted in the wake of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Rabinowitz 1998). Among Palestinians, Israeli men
in particular are most often associated with the violent conflict. Furthermore, it
is inherentlydifficult for a male researcher to penetrate the feminine sphere of
Palestinian society. In order tomitigate some of these challenges, fieldwork was

carried out by thefirst author, a woman.

Much of the literatureon ethnographicmethodology considers the researcher's
positioning as an outsider or insider and assesses various implications of this
study,positioning
bipolar positioning (Weiner-Levy 2009). As inWeiner-Levy's
of the researcher in the current study was not fixed. Although the first author
can be viewed as an external researcher, she found herself shifting from internal
to external position according to the interview topic. In some cases she was an
outsider, not fully understanding the culture and religion. At other times,when
was
topics such as motherhood and parentingwere discussed, the researcher (who
an
as
insider.Moreover, the researcher's
visibly pregnant at the time)was treated
(2009), apparently enabled
being an outsider, as pointed out by Weiner-Levy
in
their society and to expose
to
the
difficulties
about
freely
speak
participants
their innerworlds without apprehension over their community's reaction.

Focusing on traditionalPalestinian women healers in Israel, this essay strives

to examine the traditional masculine and feminine healing practices. These
to as the great and
practices articulate, respectively, what is frequently referred
little traditions.While previous anthropological research dealing with these and
similar concepts focused on theoretical discussions (structuralism, functionalism),
more recent studies emphasize praxis (de Certeau 1984; Schwarz 2003; Sahlins
This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TRADITIONAL

PALESTINIAN WOMEN HEALERS

31

1976). Both perspectives contain drawbacks?the first lacks foundations and the
second lacks depth. In addition, in the dual process whereby the researcher flows

from theory to praxis and then back to theory, the danger exists of distorting
"real" knowledge during the process of transferringthe researcher's knowledge
and thatof the subjects. The researcher, being theory-driven,needs tomediate and
transferhis or her own knowledge on both tangible and intangible levels with data
collected in the field. At the same time, the respondent attempts to "market" to
the researcher his practical, social, and culturalworld views in themost attractive
manner (Bourdieu 1977). In our opinion, it ispreferable to forego the two previous
processes for a third approach that integrates theory and praxis (Kozaitis 2000).
According to such an approach, one should commence with a description of the
praxis and use it in order to illuminate, to support, and to deepen the discussion's

more theoretical aspects. In this paper, by means of an inductive, "bottom-up"

researchmethod we will gain a better understanding of individual women healers.
Through thewords of these healers we can identify"cracks of resistance" in the

dominant social and cultural norms and ideologies and, thus, discover processes
of change invarious religious, cultural, and social frameworks (Flueckiger 2006).
This research, focusing on theworld of traditional Palestinian women healers in
Israel, should enable us to challenge the normative view of culture and point to
the dynamic foundations and the potential for change in their community. The
observance of theirprivate worlds will enable us to abandon the frozenmodel of
cultural preservation and adopt a dynamic model that focuses on theworld of the
individual and derives from itbroader sociocultural theories.
TRADITIONAL

PALESTINIAN

WOMEN

HEALERS

AND THEIR TREATMENT PRACTICES

From thenarratives of the traditional Palestinian women healers who participated

in this research, itbecomes apparent that theyutilize a wide variety of treatment
practices, themost popular ofwhich is the amulet (hijab). The amulet is primarily
used to treatproblems caused by the evil eye orwitchcraft: frustration,depression
and anxiety, spinsterhood, infertility,childhood ailments, and problems related to
economic livelihood. The amulet contains a piece of paper with the name of the
patient, hermother's name, and a combination of letters,geometric forms, signs,
numbers, and verses from theKoran. The completed amulet is placed in a leather
or cloth pouch, hung on the patient's body, placed inher purse or inher bed, or at

times, the paper is burned and the smoke is inhaled.

The second most popular treatmentpractice involves the use of theKoran
and is also used to treatproblems deriving from the evil eye orwitchcraft.
During
treatment, thewoman healer recites Koranic verses above the patient's body or
her belongings, as described by theurban patientNasra:

Someone from the family cursed my son with the evil eye. Some girl
wanted thathe marry her and he wasn't willing. Ever since then,he hated
the entire family, he hated me and he hated his sister and he didn't talk to
me. . . .Then she [thewoman healer] toldme to
bring what she asked for
This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

32

JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL

RESEARCH

from his clothing. I brought the items to her and then she performed from
theTorah [scriptures],4 took from the scriptures and spoke on his clothes.
She said she will do thatuntil he will calm down and once again become
"real" [himself].

Witchcraft-based treatmentpractices are also popular incases of interpersonal

strife,fertilityproblems, and concerns related to sexual relations and love. In such
cases, most witchcraft is considered to be "love magic" that aims to increase the
man's lust or to preserve thewife's loyalty, as described by the urban healer
Basma:

I am leftwith no choice then I tell him [the patient] to bring me

his urine so I will create a potion from it. She [hiswife] will drink it and
become sick [crazywith love] for him.

When

Witchcraft's main ingredients include body parts and excretions: items such
as blood and substances, which may be found on themargins of the body or are
excreted by it (nails, hair, urine, etc.). These are brewed during thenight and for
themost part cunningly inserted into the victim's food. At times,witchcraft also
includes animal parts such as dog hair or sheep's blood. Acts of witchcraft are

based on twomain principles. The first,sympatheticmagic, assumes thatwhen an

item is brought togetherwith another item, the connection and themutual effects
remain even when they are not "together." Thus themixing of a man's urine
intohis wife's food strengthens the relationship between them and instills in her
heart love toward him. The second principle, homeopathic magic, assumes that
similar objects affect one another.Witchcraft performed in the image of a rooster,

symbolizing vitality,will affect the vitality of the victim, and harming the image
will cause him harm. Because of the strong religious and social condemnation of
witchcraft,many women healers deny that theyuse it,although they claim to be
able to diagnose and cancel out its force, as described by the urban healer Ida:

It is forbidden to perform evil. Understand what Imean, forGod gave this

... in thepower ofGod himself. However, we, human beings are forbidden
to destroy. Thus, this is absolutely forbidden. I just remove it.
In practice, there is a fine and quite blurred line between the actual use of
witchcraft and the canceling of evil spells.Women healers claim that theyare able
to diagnose witchcraft and cancel spells using the same means by which spells are
cast. Therefore, these practices are in greater use thanwe initiallybelieved.
The thirdmost popular treatment practice involves the use of medicinal
cure childhood illnesses,
plants, primarily to mitigate aches and pains, and to
lack of vitality, and fertility problems. Medicinal
plants are collected by
the healer, purchased in special stores in themarkets, or imported fromArab

countries. Treatment mostly involves cooking them,mixing themwith honey,

and subsequently ingesting them or applying them to the skin.
therapy is used to ease aches and pains, particularly of the limbs;
Massage
This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TRADITIONAL

PALESTINIAN WOMEN HEALERS

33

often using
fertility problems; and childhood illnesses. Massage,
a
a
It
effect.
the
has
both
and
heating
realigns
patient's body
calming
special oils,
parts, thus expressing the essence of healing?the returningof order previously
disturbed. As described by theBedouin healer Majda,

women's

The womb occasionally becomes misaligned and so I rub over itoils and
return it to itsplace. If it is up high, I lower it. If it is low, I raise it. If it is
on the side, I bring itback to itsplace.
Inmany cases, themassage isaccompanied by other treatmentpractices, particularly
the use ofmedicinal plants. These two treatmentpractices, requiring knowledge
of anatomy and botany, provide naturalways of treatingproblems whose cause is

natural, as opposed to treatmentpractices characterized by the supernatural.

Other, less popular treatmentpractices involve incense (al-bakhoor),5 which
is known for itspurifying and calming affects and is used for treatingheadaches
and stress; crystals {shebbdf are used for curing headaches and animal diseases;
and finally, a cupping glass is used forwomen's fertilityproblems. In addition,
the narratives indicate the healers attempt to soothe and comfort the patient. The
healer offers the patient a warm drink upon her arrival, promises shewill be able
to provide relief, and encourages her thatwithin a short time her situation will

improve. She relates to the patient in a warm and supportingmanner, not very
differentfrom a mother-daughter relationship. This attitude allows the patient to
find serenity and assistance and to solve problems which conventional medicine
often does not take into account, as described by the urban healer Ida:
If a young woman isn't calm and she doesn't have a medical problem then
we tryto calm her so that she isn't too stressed ... and then she'll become
pregnant, understand? This is the point. For instance, she doesn't have a
medical problem but shewants verymuch to be pregnant. As each month
passes her stress levels increase and increase and she needs something to
calm the situation so that the stresswill pass.

From the respondents' statements, it becomes apparent that treatment

practices employed by traditional Palestinian women healers in Israel have three
characteristics: they are eclectic, they occur in the domestic sphere and relate to
the female body, and thus they seem attractive to thewoman healer's patients,
most oftenwomen themselves.
First, thewomen healers who were interviewed employed a wide variety of
treatmentpractices in a practical and pragmatic way. As described by the urban
woman healer Zarifa, they trya specific type of treatmentmethod, and if itdoes
not bring about the desired result, they develop an alternative hypothesis and
attempt different treatmentpractices until success in healing is reached:
I do all these things,whatever I see as good for the patient ... if the
medicines heal or if they don't hurt. I start something new and if it isn't
effective, I trysomething else.
This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

34

JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL

RESEARCH

The treatmentpractices employed bywomen healers are not only eclectic but also
inclusive because their commitment to the community's religious codes ismore
open thanmen's. Since women healers are not held to a particular tradition and,
at times, even directly deviate from orthodox Islam and its commandments,7 they

have greater freedom in choosing to adopt various treatmentpractices.

Second, thewoman healer's activities take place within thedomestic sphere?
within her house.8 Often, thewaiting area is not separated from the treatmentarea,
and in addition to the patient other women in the house are also involved. The
woman healer's entire house becomes the treatment area, including the objects

and activities within it. She uses materials identifiedwith housekeeping, such
as coffee and olive oil, and medicinal herbs such as saffron and sage, which are
also used as spices.9 These materials are used by many Palestinian women in

Israel; hence they are accessible for traditional healers as well. Cooking, which
is perceived as a housekeeping activity, is also central in thework of thewoman
healer. Often, the treatment takes place in the kitchen and the materials used
resemble those used in recipes. Among the Israeli Palestinians, cooking is one

of themain activities that is under the control of women and throughwhich they
are able to influence theirhousehold members, to guarantee theirhealth or to cast
a spell. They are able to influence themen in their families, even without them

being aware of it,as described by the urban healer Basma:

There are those who say that it's witchcraft, that they are afraid to give
theirhusbands from themenstrual flow. But you don't give him from your
menstrual flow, because I take out the poisons. Imake it taste like coffee,
Nescafe, chocolate milk, whatever flavor you like.He doesn't feel it,no
taste, no

smell,

nothing.

The treatment takes place in the domestic sphere, among women. It employs
items identifiedwith this sphere; involves activities belonging to this sphere; and
tends to take place during hours when women are relatively free in theirhomes,
such as themorning. Thus, thewoman healer's practice emphasizes the familial
context. She recognizes the effects of social relations, inparticular of the family,
on the patient's welfare and strives to strengthen the latter through her control
over the domestic sphere and theunderstanding of itsmeanings.
Third, women healers' activities have great affinity to the female body. In

many cases, thewomen healers hide an amulet within thepatient's brassiere, close
toher heart and breasts, and through theirwitchcraft theyconcoct brews using hair,
nails, urine, blood, andmenstrual flow. Body parts, and secretions inparticular, are
thought to possess great powers. They are considered to have the power to create

or destroy life and, therefore,to affect social relationships and especially spousal
relations. For themost part, thewomen healers do not utilize the body parts of the
men whom they try to influence but rather achieve their aims through the body
parts and secretions of women. The women's parts and secretions are associated
with particularly potent powers which are identifiedwith the potential life force
ofwomen and their sexuality. Once hidden in themen's food, they can influence
theirbehaviors. The women healers who utilize female body parts transform the

This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TRADITIONAL

PALESTINIAN WOMEN HEALERS

35

body intoa battlefieldwhere thewar between the sexes takes place (Few 2002). In
the natural plane, men's position is superior,while women's bodies are subdued
and defeated, in the supernatural one, thewomen's position is superior. Through
manipulating body parts and secretions,women healers transformtheprivate body
into a public battlefield and act as a catalyst to enhance change in the relationship
between the genders, in favor of thewomen.
From the above survey of treatmentpractices utilized by traditionalwomen
healers, taken from the respondents' narratives as well as from the research
literature,itbecomes apparent thatwomen healers utilize typical treatmentpractices
thatdifferfrom the ones utilized by themen healers in the same communities.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MASCULINE AND

FEMININE TRADITIONAL HEALING
The research literature rarely compares treatment practices used by women
and men healers (e.g., Basilov
1999 [1975]; Glass-Coffin
1976; Blacker
Even
the
Winkelman
literaturewhich focuses
1998; Humphrey 1996;
1992).
on traditional healing in theMuslim world tends to neglect this topic. A few
researchers (Al-Krenawi 2000; Gorkin and Othman 1994; Srour 2001) ignore
this topic despite the fact that they studywomen as well as men healers. Others
have described the tendency of women to experience possession within theZar

cult of Ethiopia and Sudan (Boddy 1989; Lambek 1993; Morsey 1993; Sengers
2003) ,but the contribution of theirfindings to the present study is limited since
most traditional Palestinian women healers in Israel do not take part in this ritual.
and Baron 1994; Rothenberg
Very few researchers (Doumato 2000; Massalha
2004) relate differences between the treatmentpractices used bywomen and men
healers, but they do not reach an unequivocal conclusion. Only one study,which
focuses on Tuareg culture inNiger (Rasmussen 1998, 2006), addresses these
differences indepth. Although her distinctions are not simplistic or clear-cut, she
differentiates between women healers, who treat physical problems caused by
nature with medicinal herbs, and men healers, who treatmental problems caused
by the supernatural with Koranic amulets.
In thepresent study, thewomen healers who were asked about the differences
in the treatmentpractices theyused and those employed by theirmale counterparts
were careful in theirresponses, perhaps owing to theirfears of
irritatingthemen
healers. They claimed the act of healing is of a personal nature, as indicated by
Ida: "Everyone and theirmethod. ... I know what my method is. I don't know
his. . . .Everyone works according to his own ways, everyone and his method."
Other women healers claimed that healing is not gender-related, as explained
by theBedouin healer Layili: "There is no difference between a clean and a pure
person ... it is of no significance if it is a man or a woman."
Even though treatment practices of women and men healers play such
a marginal role in the respondents' narratives and in the relevant literature,
an examination of these sources documents the existence of such differences.
The respondents indicate that the practices employed by traditional Palestinian
women healers in Israel differ from those employed by Palestinian men healers,

This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

36

JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL

RESEARCH

as described in the literature(Al-Krenawi and Graham 1999;Massalha and Baron

1994; Rothenberg 2004). As one can clearly see in the above-mentioned literature,
the traditionalmale healer (sheikh, darvish, moalj bei Koran) often diagnoses
his patients (male or female, the lattermost often escorted by male relatives)
using theKoran or other books with astrological and destiny calendars based on
numerological attributes of the patient's name and his/hermother's name. Often,
the healer diagnoses by means of an object belonging to the patient, by placing
his hand on the patient's body, by observing oil or ink signs, or with the help of
demons with whom he connects during prayer. As a result of his diagnosis, the
healer understands the core of the patient's problem, which for themost part is

due to possession by a demon or is a result ofwitchcraft.

Possession, usually considered as the result of neglecting religion and its
commandments, is addressed by the healer attempting to exorcize the demon
from the patient's body. During the exorcism, the healer first prays, then
communicates with the demons and identifieswhich of them is responsible for
the patient's suffering.He demands an explanation from the bothersome demon
(Why does ithurt thepatient?), subdues it,and finally, banishes it.This procedure
is accompanied by readings from theKoran, drumming, and if the demon refuses
to accede, even physically beating the patient. At times, the healer may step on
the patient's body and forcefullymassage him while spittingon him so thepower

of the Koran may be transferred from his mouth to his hands. In his attempts
to eradicate thewitchcraft, the healer identifies thewitchcraft bundle with the
assistance of his helping demons and cancels its effects. Such an annulment
is achieved by exposing the bundle, burning it,or writing a protective amulet
including passages from theKoran. At times, the healer may sacrifice a chicken
or a goat, which is eaten by those present during the treatment,or he may require
the patient to spend the night inhis home so he can read passages from theKoran
over him during the night. On other occasions, the healer encourages the patient
tomake changes in his lifestyle, such as to follow the religious commandments

and to strengthenhis belief inGod.

In contrast tomale healers' diagnosis and treatmentvia theKoran, women
healers often diagnose using coffee or palm readings and, more often than the
male healers, use medicinal herbs for treatment.As noted above, women healers
as coffee and olive
regularly utilize materials identifiedwith housekeeping, such
are
and
men
whose
tools
books, papers,
healers,
writing instruments.
oil, unlike
women
not
witchcraft by
eradicate
men
do
healers
healers,
Differing from
its
effects
through casting stronger spells. Thus,
exposing it but rather oppose
unlike men healers who destroy witchcraft through exposing the "truth" known
only to them,women healers attack itwith witchcraft different from but similar
to the original spell. Aiming to influence the supernatural entities,women healers
often use the power of chanted invocations while men healers use thewritten
word of the Koran, related to the monotheistic power of God. For the most
or exorcise evil
part, women healers do not undo the spells cast on the patient
not
treatment
is
their
demons. Likewise,
accompanied by practices associated
as
animal
with exorcism such
sacrifice, physical beatings, or direct
drumming,
are
common
in the practices of men healers.
which
contact with the demons,

This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TRADITIONAL

PALESTINIAN WOMEN HEALERS

37

The treatmentpractices employed by women healers are not only eclectic but
also inclusive since their commitment to the religious codes ismore flexible than
that of men healers. Their activities take place within the domestic sphere and
not in a separate room or in a separate house, as is often the case among men
healers (Massalha and Baron 1994). Unlike men healers' treatment,which for

themost part derives itsauthority and skills?even while treatingpsychosocial or

nonorganic personal problems?from extrafamilial institutionsand mores rather
thanfrom the intimateknowledge of family relations, women healers' practices
take place within theirhome and emphasize the familial context.

These differences between themasculine and feminine treatmentpractices of

traditionalPalestinians healers in Israel echo a wider distinction in the literature:the
distinction between great and littletraditions. In thepast, themosaic of differentand
separate traditions in the Islamic world was often classified according to opposites,
dichotomous pairs, such as great versus little tradition, formal versus popular,
urban versus tribal, universal versus local, and so on (Antoun 1968; Eickelman
1966; Gellner 1969; Gilsenan 1973; Von Grunebaum 1955;Waardenburg 1979).10
Islam's inherentdualism, as evident in the literature, is expressed through two
complementary types of practice. The first is identifiedwith the officialMuslim

doctrines and the orthodox establishment, the urban elite, and the educated.
The second, in contrast, represents the ideas and practices prevalent among the
wider population, changing from place to place and from time to time. The two
traditions, polar opposites, have been described in the literatureas a structural
system of dichotomous perspectives thatmake up social life.They reflectnot only
differentversions of understanding Islam, but also a much broader?sociological,
division. For a long time this division has been
geographic, and gender?social
considered as contributing to the categorization and interpretationof societies in
theMuslim world, even those thatdiffered greatly from one another.
The distinction between the great and little traditionsmainly relates to how
religion is regarded and implemented; it isnotmerely theological but also includes
the way traditional healing is categorized and valued. In general, traditional
healing has a number of characteristics which identify itwith the little tradition:
the absence of canonized texts and of official routes of initiation and an intensive
focus on healing. Nonetheless, there are perceived distinctions between men and
women traditional healers. Male healers are identified as
belonging to the "great
Men
tradition,"whereas women healers are identifiedwith the "little tradition."11
healers are considered as part of the religious establishment and as emissaries
of God. Some of them claim, legitimately or not, to possess religious education,
and some even undertake religious positions within the community. Thus, they
represent the social order and itsmoral values and enjoy high social status. In
contrast, women healers are afforded a marginalized position by the religious
establishment. Their training is informal and, while some inherit their practice
from theirmothers, others claim to be recruited by the supernatural.Women
healers are less identifiedwith theuse of holy writings, andmost of their treatment
practices have an oral and magical nature. They are viewed as representatives
of the feminine, popular, and oral traditions, deviating from the official written
ideologies and thus considered inferiorand marginal.
This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

38

JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL

RESEARCH

In recentyears, though, the structuraland judgmental characters of the research

have somewhat faded. The early dichotomous perspective was abandoned in
favor of a new, holistic one maintaining that these two traditions intermingleand
complement one another. This new approach abandoned the focus on the orthodox

Islam that characterized the earlier research, which was historical, oriental, and
theological and, for themost part, commissioned bymale researchers. It adopts an
anthropological viewpoint and concentrates on thedynamics between the traditions

indifferentcultures (Boddy 1989; Lambek 1993; Rothenberg 2004; Sengers 2003;

Tapper and Tapper 1987). A few Arab women researchers (Abu Lughod 1986;
Abu Zahra 1997) also adhere to thisperspective, learning beliefs and ceremonies
thatwere ofFlimits tomale scholars. In thepast thesewere interpretedas deviations
from the great tradition,but currently they are perceived within thewider social

context. Following this tendency, the next section of this article will view these
transformations in treatmentpractices of traditional Palestinian women healers,

which reflect the currentdynamics in this society.

TRANSFORMATION IN THE TREATMENT

PRACTICES OF WOMEN HEALERS
In addition to the described differences between the treatmentpractices ofwomen
and men healers, the respondents' narratives indicate thata change is taking place
in the treatmentpractices and roles of women healers. Traditional Palestinian
women healers are abandoning the treatmentof naturally caused problems and
increasingly tending to treatproblems whose cause is considered supernatural;
they are also exchanging natural treatmentpractices for those characterized as
supernatural or even religious. Furthermore, they are slowly adopting treatment
practices identified as masculine.
These tendencies aremore evident among theurban healers. The narratives of
theBedouin women healers indicate thatmost of them still tend to treatphysical
ailments, in particular fertilityproblems and childhood diseases; they continue
to explain many problems as deriving from natural causes and to use natural
treatmentpractices. In contrast, the narratives of thewomen healers residing in
culturallymixed cities indicate thatthey rarely treatphysical and mental problems
but ratherfocus on life's hardships. They concentrate on treatingproblems whose
causes are considered supernatural, utilizing supernatural treatment practices
and tend to adopt masculine treatmentpractices more often than theirBedouin
counterparts. The differences between the urban and theBedouin women healers

point to the different levels of change present in the treatmentpractices described.

Therefore, itcan be assumed that it is originated bywider processes thataffect not
only traditional healing but rather thePalestinian society in Israel in general.
Owing to advances inand increasing access to biomedicine by thePalestinian
population in Israel, especially in themixed Jewish-Arab cities in the country's
center, the use of traditionalmedicine for the treatmentof physical ailments is
decreasing. Healers who treatphysical ailments such as bone setters and those
who treat snakebites (Al-Krenawi 2000; Havakouk
1985) are disappearing;
these problems, like many other characteristic of childhood, are increasingly
This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TRADITIONAL

PALESTINIAN WOMEN HEALERS

39

treated by allopathic medicine.12 Nonetheless, the literature indicates thatmental

health concerns still fall under the purview of traditional medicine, although

the respondents' narratives indicated that those coping with mental illnesses,
especially in the cities, are also increasingly turningto allopathic medicine.13 Thus,
the change marking the traditional Palestinian woman healer's activities may be
summed up as a decrease in her involvement with physical and mental ailments
and an increase inher involvementwith life's hardships, particularly in the realm

of romantic problems. Her activities in the physical realm are being pushed aside
in favor of biomedicine, and her activities are increasingly based, instead, in the
supernatural realm. Gradually, theweight of naturally caused problems (climate
and dietary concerns) is reduced while thewoman healer, especially the urban

one, is perceived as someone who almost exclusively treatsproblems caused by

the supernatural,which allopathic medicine fails to diagnose and heal.
In dealing with such problems, thewoman healer, particularly in the urban
context, abandons the naturally based treatmentpractices (medicinal herbs and
massage) and adopts supernatural treatmentpractices such as amulets and spells.

These tendencies reflectwider processes occurring among Palestinians in Israel

today. The government's relocation of Bedouins to permanent settlements in the
Negev and the increased urbanization in the country's center contributed to the
transformation in the economic roles ofwomen. The abandonment of herding and
agriculture, inwhich women in the past took part,mostly owing to the Jewish
expropriation of Palestinian lands, and the fact that increasing numbers of men
participate inwage labor have in fact quarantined women into their homes. As
a result,much of the popular knowledge about medicinal herbs has been lost.
This process is taking place at a slower pace in the Bedouin society and at a
relatively fast pace in the country's center, to the point where one of the urban
woman healers, Zarifa, who acknowledges using medicinal herbs, claimed to

have learned about themfrom books.

The above-mentioned change in the treatment practices of traditional
Palestinian women healers in Israel is not limited to the transformationfrom the
natural, physical realm to the supernatural one but also involves the adoption of
treatmentpractices conventionally identifiedas masculine. From the respondent's
narratives, it becomes apparent that this phenomenon has three expressions,
manifested more frequently among the urban women healers.
Most of thewomen healers claim, similarly tomen healers, that theybelieve in
theMuslim God, depend on him for theirhealing, and work as his representatives.
They present their initiation revelations as if they had occurred during a dream
or through supernatural entities, described as positive angels rather than
negative
demons.14The women healers describe themselves asMuslim believers who abide
by the religion's commandments and, in particular, the duty to pray and to fast
during Ramadan. One woman healer described herself as someone who "prays
constantly"; another claimed she has carried out theHaj Commandment seven
times,while otherwomen healers, who have not yet achieved theHaj, hope to do
so in the near future.Furthermore, traditional Palestinian women healers who do
not carry out the religious commandments still claim to believe in and abide by
themoral commandments of Islam.Most of themdeny practicing witchcraft, even
This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

40

JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL

RESEARCH

though theirnarratives indicate they are well versed in itsways. They deny any
activities considered irreligious or immoral and present themselves as working in
healing as a result of a divine calling or altruistic reasons.
healers often situate theMuslim God in the center of the discourse
their
work andminimize the contacts theyhave with other supernatural
concerning
as
described
entities,
by theBedouin woman healer Majda:
Women

IfGod allows me to tell, I speak. Ifhe doesn't, I can't. I don't know what is
written,what iswritten in the coffee_At
night I ask God to allow me to
I
From
If
derive my intuition. I see theperson, I know what
succeed.
God
his problem is. From God, I look and know what his problem is.

Moreover, women healers claim, similarly to theirmale counterparts, that they

heal with the help of theKoran. Nonetheless, in contrast tomen healers, whose
associations with the body of texts are the result of years of study,women healers,
and particularly those who are illiterate,base their affinitywith the texts on an
alternative basis, which is less religious and more magical. They chant theholy text
frommemory, scribble onto amulets faultywords and passages, or literallyembody
the textusing theirown bodies, as described by theBedouin woman healer Nora:

I remember, I have images, but I

I speak with my lips but I can't write....
I
can't write them.... My problem is that I can speak but I can't read....
also can't write so I only remember the book.
The women healers frequently mention the phrase "to read" and describe
how they chant verses from theKoran over the patients and command them to
swallow, inhale, or to anoint themselves with water inwhich the verses were
dissolved. Some of thewomen healers also claim that theyuse, similarly tomale
healers, magic formulas written in special books. Although these formulas are
not religious per se, they enjoy the special value attributed towritten texts.The
women healers primarily use them for amulets whose purpose is to treat serious

problems derived from witchcraft. Importantly, although they themselves often

chant rather than read texts during healing, women healers adopt the popular
belief that the influence of thewritten text is stronger than that of chanted text
and thus that thewrittenword provides themost appropriate medium for esoteric

knowledge and actions.

are
Writing of amulets, reading the Koran, and using witchcraft books
so
Bedouin
women
their
less
and
healers
urban
the
among
among
very popular
counterparts in theNegev, most ofwhom are illiterate. It can be thereforeassumed
that the increased level of education and access to secular and religious texts
contribute to the changes in treatmentpractices. Among the Palestinians in Israel,
similar to otherMuslim societies (Eickelman 1992; Horvatich 1994; Starrett 1998),
there is increased access to education for bothmen and women, primarily inurban
centers. Since thedefinitions of thegreat and littletraditionsrelate to thedistribution
of religious knowledge and written texts,where there is an increase in the number
of educated individuals, the distinction between the two becomes blurred.
This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TRADITIONAL

PALESTINIAN WOMEN HEALERS

41

Traditional Palestinian women healers' narratives indicate that they adopt

treatmentpractices similar to those utilized bymen healers?reliance on God and
theuse of theKoran, and additional texts identified as religious. This can also be
seen as part of the Islamization process which has characterized many Muslim
societies during the recent decades (Eickelman and Piscatori 1996) and influences
Palestinians in Israel as well. Subsequently, healers who are identified as Koranic
healers are increasingly popular and enjoy greater prestige (Beckerleg 1994;

Rothenberg 2004). In lightof these changes, traditionalPalestinian women healers

in Israel, particularly in theurban centerswhere these processes aremore strongly
evident, integrate an increasing number ofMuslim religious characteristics into
theirwork. This religious knowledge enjoys widespread validity, and only a few
arewilling to speak out against it. It casts on thosewho use ita moral aura, power,
authority, legitimacy, and prestige, all traits towhich women healers aspire.
in urban centers?consciously
Thus, the women healers?especially
break away from the little tradition, identified as feminine, and enter the great
tradition, identified as masculine. Nonetheless, thewomen healers do not adopt

themasculine treatment practices in their entirety but rather choose practices

and their relevant applications. For example, some place God at the discourse's
heart, yet, in contrast tomen healers who emphasize His monotheistic, distant,
and restrained nature, thewomen healers have a personal, direct, and intimate

contact with Him. God is perceived by women healers as an entity that is present
and influential, and they connect with Him on a regular and frequent basis.
This relationship has such an intimate character that it is possible to see in it an
imitation of or compensation for their relationships with their spouses or others
in theircommunity, as pointed out by theBedouin woman healer Nora:
Of course I speak toGod. He is constantly there.... God opened the door
forme today. He hears me and of course he answers. Whenever I speak,
he hears everything.

Therefore, although some of women healers cross the boundaries of the little
tradition, their penetration into the world of masculine healing is not a total
"crossing of the lines." According to social norms, no woman, not even an
extremely powerful woman healer, can serve as a Koranic healer. This title is
dependant upon acquiring religious knowledge and obeying the strict rules of
ritual purity and is thus limited tomen. Women healers, even those adopting
"masculine" treatment practices, still care mostly for women patients and
continuously concern themselves with the domestic realm and the female body.
Nonetheless, women healers are drawn to the "great tradition" and to theprestige
attributed to itand adopt some of itsprinciples and methods, while doing it their
way. Women healers bring the practices traditionally used exclusively by men
healers in the public sphere into the domestic sphere, combining the previously
separated practices, such as use ofKoranic verses and menstrual blood. They use
the one not in order to eliminate the other (as men healers do) but rather in order
to amplify its strengths,as well as itsprestige. This
flexibility?combining what
has been recognized as differentand separate?is possible since theprinciples and

This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

42

JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL

RESEARCH

practices of traditional healing are not gathered in canonical books or officially

defined as being identifiedwith any particular gender, but rather are founded on
oral traditions.

The emerging picture of the changes in treatment practices of traditional

Palestinian women healers in Israel demonstrates their reactions to the criticism
directed against them.The strongest opposition towomen healers is derived from
identify themselves with orthodox Islam. They oppose the use
ofmagic, which is identifiedwith popular Islam, and reject thewomen healers'
reliance on the supernatural (angels and demons) for the healing of disease and
fortunetelling.Attributing powers to the supernatural is perceived as a dangerous

Palestinians who

heresy threatening monotheism, the absoluteness of God and His powers.

Healing practices using theKoran are considered to be genuine Muslim healing,
and therefore,men healers, and in particular theKoranic healers, are attributed
with a religious aura. In contrast, thewomen healers, similar to other women
in the society, are considered as having littleknowledge about holy texts and

traditions and theirmorality is questionable. Their activities are classified as part

of popular Islam, and powerful women healers are considered as having derived
theirabilities from a dangerous pact with supernatural powers.
The women healers who stood in the apex of this researchwere not indifferent

to the antagonism against them. In contrast to theTuareg women healers, who try
not to be perceived as a threat to or compete with men healers (Rasmussen 2006),
traditional Palestinian women healers in Israel often attempt to "Muslimize"
their activities owing to the intrinsicvalue and power attributed toMuslim texts
and to the healers who use them. In otherwords, they adopt treatmentpractices
identifiedwith men healers, the official religion, and the great tradition. They
attribute importance to thewrittenword and color theiractivities with an allegedly

accepted Muslim hue. In addition, they relate theirpowers toGod and describe
Him as someone who appointed them and provided themwith the healing powers
they possess. They describe themselves as Muslim believers who observe the
commandments of the religion, deny any irreligious or immoral activities, and
present themselves as those whose mission in life is to assist humankind, even
without receiving payment. This way, inboth practical andmoral terms, traditional
Palestinian women healers wish tomodel themselves according tomen healers
and thus attain some of the social legitimacy and prestige granted to the latter.

The women healers' adoption of "masculine" treatmentpractices and their

penetration into the "great tradition" stimulate intense opposition. In Palestinian
society in Israel, women are supposed to obey key patriarchal figures (father
and husband) and not voice commandments received directly from God or
other supernatural entities. In addition, traditional Palestinian women healers

are commonly ascribed physical problems, whereas the treatment of spiritual

problems is considered to fall into the realm of men healers. The infiltrationof
in urban centers?into the realm of religious healing
women healers?especially
constitutes a breach of the traditional contract between men and women and
between men healers and their female counterparts. In addition, the penetration
of women healers into the "great tradition" is not supported by formal training
and is often considered by those who oppose it as unprofessional. Some of the
This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TRADITIONAL

43

PALESTINIAN WOMEN HEALERS

women healers' chanting of Koranic verses may contain mistakes as the verses
are scribbled in a faulty and illegible manner. Although in theMuslim tradition
thewriting ofmagical words in a mysterious manner is an unofficially accepted
practice (Sengers 2003), from the viewpoint of their opposition, traditional
Palestinian women healers take on themselves forbidden authoritywhile dealing
with such sacred realm and thus,ridicule the holy.

Nonetheless, despite thevoices opposing thebreakthrough ofwomen healers

into the great tradition,hardly any active resistance has taken place. Apparently,
women healers in culturallymixed cities,where the change in treatmentpractices
ismost evident, prosper. This transformationmay be possible because women
healers' entering the great tradition is also perceived as contributing to their

weakening. The adoption of religious knowledge and symbolism may provide

women healers with prestige and authority but at the same timemay erode their
autonomy and undermine theirprestige and authority. Such adoption subordinates
them to a strictmoral framework, forces them towork in its spirit, and subjects
them to harsh criticism if they digress from its path (Lambek
likely that thewomen healers' reliance on theKoran?popular

1993). It is also
and accessible

textual knowledge?in
fact reduces the value of the knowledge they possess.
As long as women healers rely on oral and magical sources, their knowledge
is considered exclusive and valued. Through the introduction of religious
knowledge, supposedly accessible to all, women healers' unique knowledge

is considered less exceptional. In addition, it is likely that women healers,

including thosewhose treatmentpractices are undergoing change, are perceived
as a conservative force within the society. Some of them present themselves
as sickly and weak and, therefore,unable to affect their own situations and the
situations of others. Some claim tactically that they are merely "fortunetellers"
or "diagnosticians." Such claims perpetuate their accepted traditional feminine
role and place them in a passive position inwhich they do not try to influence

reality and take responsibility.Women healers present their actions as limited to

the domestic sphere inwhich they enjoy relative independence and legitimacy.
Instead of infiltratingthe public sphere, women healers invite patients to their
domestic sphere where the healing takes place. Thus, their activities do not
challenge theworld of men and particularly of men healers but, rather, occur
parallel to it.
Women healers also aim to present their success in filling the traditional
gender roles ofwives and mothers. They emphasize the nurturing nature of their
work and present themselves as modest and respectable women who wish to
preserve the accepted behavioral norms. In response to accusations claiming that
they use theirpowers to instigate social disorder, thewomen healers argue that
theyuse theirpowers to promote order and stability.They present themselves as
loyal to the status quo and to thepatriarchal order and as merely tryingto improve
theirpatients' and theirown situationwithin thisframework. They attempt to be
perceived not as challenging the existing social order but rather as contributing
to its stability and itspreservation; as someone who connects the
patients to the
traditional gender roles and abides by the traditionalmores, and perpetuates them.
In otherwords, while the adoption of "masculine" treatment
practices seems to
This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

44

JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL

RESEARCH

indicate a change occurring among traditional Palestinian women healers in

Israel, it does not imply a revolution. This change is not radical and does not
involve the shattering of important social foundations. At first glance, itmay
seem as ifwomen healers are challenging the existing social order and traditional
gender roles; however, in fact they are preserving them and contributing to their
strengthening.Therefore, their status is not undermined but, similarly to the social
order, is preserved.

CONCLUSIONS
This article describes the ongoing change in the treatmentpractices of traditional
Palestinian women healers in Israel. Gradually, some of the women healers,
particularly those residing in Jewish-Arab mixed cities in the country's center,
adopt treatmentpractices identifiedwith men healers. Findings indicate thatamong

contemporaryMuslim Palestinian society in Israel the little and great traditions

do not exist as polar or dichotomous approaches, but rather as a continuum.
On this continuum, differentbeliefs and practices that can be attributed to both
traditions exist. It is importantto note that thispicture does not display thewaning
of the little tradition in favor of the great tradition, or vice versa. Rather, this

model offers a balanced alternative to the vertical view of past research. From
this balanced viewpoint, which examines the two traditions and emphasizes the
correlation between them, itbecomes apparent that these traditions are not static
and do not exist in a vacuum. They react to the social context as well as to the
transformation itundergoes, and the borders between them are hazier and more
elusive than ever.
The transformation in the healing practices of traditional Palestinian women
in Israel described here is not unique.15 Furthermore, the process of
blurring theboundaries between the traditions, evident among Palestinian women
healers in Israel, can be found in other societies experiencing similar changes
regarding education, urbanization, modernization, and acculturation. This article
claims, similarly to Rasmussen (2006), that the structural and dichotomous
discourse regarding themanifestations of traditional healing is futile.16Binary
and supposedly universal standpoints about traditional healing which often
characterized past research?women versus men, the public versus the private
sphere, religion versus heresy, God versus Satanism, and of course, the great
versus the little tradition?are less and less relevant in a world which is not

healers

a
binary but rather sequential, not vertical but ratherhorizontal. In such world, the
discourse regarding the "right"way to know the real, the authentic, the pure, and
the known while rejecting the false, the distorted, the impure, and the different is
dissolving. It is replaced by theblurring of categories and the ambiguity of terms.
In the absence of the ability to distinguish between truthand falsity (and as a result
to develop clear-cut sources of knowledge and power) the differences between
masculine and feminine traditional healing, between high and low culture, and
between the great and little traditions disappear. These terms are rooted inEuro
American researchers' classifications and are less often (or never) used in the
specific local context. The binary approach

is replaced by cultural relativism

This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TRADITIONAL

PALESTINIAN WOMEN HEALERS

45

which better describes the crossing from one culture to another, the flowing from
one tradition to another, and the disruption of traditional hierarchy. This situation
can be considered as blurred, unclear, ambivalent, and unstable but itcan also be
perceived as creative and dynamic, allowing for change and freedom of choice.
The continuum discussed in this article fluctuates between themasculine
and feminine; between the traditional, themodern, and thepostmodern; between
social change and status quo. However, the boundaries separating these various
fields are not rigid. In lightof the research findings and thepostmodern discourse,
we, as researchers, should abandon tendencies to divide theworld according to
cultural, ethnic, social, or other boundaries. Such boundaries have been crossed,
and various social actors, such as traditional Palestinian women healers who
utilize masculine healing practices but "return" to the sphere of feminine healing,
have infiltrated them.We therefore recommend abandoning the poststructural
perspective which analyzes the hierarchal discourse and adopting a perspective

that emphasizes the variety of social and cultural standpoints that exist within
each society (Wilce 1998). In anthropological research ingeneral, and in research
of Islam in particular, the society will be understood in a more comprehensive
manner ifwe forego the reductionist perspective and replace itwith amulticultural

and multi-voiced one. We hope that the feminine praxis discussed in this article
enabled us to conduct the same negotiation between the meanings given to
religious or other practices (healing, for instance) by the research participants,
and to identifythe links between thesemeanings, the research methodology, and
the various theorieswe presented.

NOTES
1.This researchwas made possible throughthe supportof theDepartment of Social
Work, Ben-Gurion University of theNegev; the JoeAlon Center; and Yad Isaac Ben
Zvi. This articleprofitedfrom the constructivecriticismsof earlier draftsby threeJAR
reviewers
and by the Editor. We would
like to thank the anonymous
contribution.
journal staff for their helpful remarks and professional
2. This research focuses on the Palestinian Muslim
population

Palestinian
Statistics
and

also includes Christians

and Druze.
The
population
indicates that there are 1,140,000
Palestinian Muslims

119,000

Christians

3. Those

residing

readers,

in Israel,
Israeli National
in Israel,

editor, and
though
Bureau

115,000

the
of

Druze,

from 2004-2006;
(data collected
http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader).
in mixed
Jewish-Arab
cities in the center of Israel are identified

as "urban"; those living in theBedouin communities of theNegev are identifiedas

"Bedouin."

4. It is interestingto note thatsome of thewomen healers referto theKoran as the

"Torah"?the

Jewish

holy

assume

books. We

that this term was

used

in an attempt

to

please or to bettercommunicatewith the Jewish interviewerand does not reflectuse of

non-Moslem

texts by the women

healers.

5.A mixture of incenseofwhich themain ingredientis resinof thebenzoin tree.

6. Shebba

is a saltstone

composed

of potassium

sulfate and aluminum

sulfate. After

and itssigns can be read.

being tossed intoa burningfire, thecrystal is transformed
7. Inclusivity

is a clearly

feminine

trait. In contrast,

it is evident from the descriptions

of

Muslim men healers hold an exclusive attitude.

Sengers (2003) andRothenberg (2004) that
They commence treatment
by discardingobjects given to thepatientby otherhealers.
This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

46

JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL

RESEARCH

on theMiddle East
8. There is a vast and steadilygrowing anthropological literature
that cautions

the simple

against

dichotomy

vs. "women-private

"men-public"

or domestic

sphere" (Hegland 1991; Nelson 1974; Shami 1997). Our findings show thatwomen's
activitiesmay takeplace predominantlyinprivateplaces but theydo have consequences
that realm.

beyond

Other

researchers

have

reached

similar

For

conclusions.

example,

women oftenengage in local politics during theirvisits and receptions(Aswad 1974), and
women's allegedly "private"parties and religiouspractices oftencontributedecisively to
therise and fall of families ina local hierarchy(Meneley 1996).
9. The more
serious

problems

and rarer spices such as saffron are used to treat relatively

expensive
common
causes
are considered
In contrast, more
whose
supernatural.

and less expensive spices such as sage andmint are used to treatproblems perceived as
less serious and as having a naturalorigin.
10. These polarities echo a similardebate inLatin American studies.Lewis (1951)
argues thatthemethodological orientationof the anthropologicalstudy should combine
thehistorical, the functional,and theconfigurationalpoints of view. The anthropologist,
therefore,should extendhis study to broader issues ("great tradition")emanating from
his fieldwork.The fieldworkis not an alienated, bounded, or secluded sphere?aiming
at ideationand isolationof the cultureat stake ("little tradition")?as Redfield supposed
but a context-dependent

(1941),

vortex

and dimensions.

of ideas, meanings,

11.Most of the early literaturetook a polar attitude and recognized the "great
tradition"as masculine and the "little tradition"as feminine.This literature(Beck 1980;
Betteridge 1989; Doumato 2000; Dwyer 1978; Femea and Femea 1972;Gilsenan 2000;
Mernissi 1989;Werbner 1988) described how Muslim women, excluded from public
that
create an alternative
framework
life because
of gender-based
segregation,
religious
inmourning
for example
meets
their needs. This framework?expressed
rituals, Sufi rites,
as a feminine and private alternative
to themasculine
and possession
ceremonies?serves

identified,public mosque and provideswomen with access to religious knowledge and

holy benevolence

to them within

not available

sanctify the feminine

the orthodoxy. Women

experience throughthe"domestication"of ritualsderivingfrom theorthodox traditionin

a manner

that satisfies

formation

and preservation

and social
their unique
personal
of interpersonal
relationships.

needs,

such

as fertility and

the

andmidwifery,
is takingplace in thefields of fertility
12.A similar transformation
which are also undergoinga rapidprocess of biomedicalization (Kanaaneh 2000).
13. The

explanation

for this gap may

lie in the fact thatmany

researchers

are mental

for
healthprofessionals (Bilu andGorkin, forexample) and thusfocus on the intervention
mental

problems.
14. The women

in this research

healers

do not use

trances,

as

that term has

been

described in the general literature.

Rather, thewomen describe a state similar to the
"autonomous imagination"coined by Stephen and Suryani (2000).
15. Similar trends are documented in relation to traditionalwomen healers
throughouttheMuslim world (Bilu 2005; Flueckiger 2006; Kenyon 1991; Rasmussen
2006; Sengers 2003).
16. This is in linewith the broader critique against the structural,binary, and
dichotomousdiscourse (Di Leonardo 1990).

REFERENCES CITED
Abu

Lila.

Lughod,

1986.

Veiled

sentiments:

Berkeley:UniversityofCalifornia Press.
Abu

Zahra,

N.

1997.

The pure

and powerful:

Honor
Studies

and poetry

in a Bedouin

society.

Muslim

society.

in contemporary

This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TRADITIONAL
Berkshire:

PALESTINIAN WOMEN HEALERS

47

Garnet.

Al-Krenawi,

Alean.

Al-Krenawi,

A.,

2000.

the Bedouin-Arab

among

Ethno-psychiatry

of the Negev.

Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad. (inHebrew)

and J. R. Graham.

International

Work

Social

1999.

work

Social

and Koranic

mental

health

Tel

healers.

42:53-65.

Antoun, R. T. 1968.On themodesty ofwomen inArab Muslim villages: A study in the

of tradition. American

accommodation

Anthropologist

70:671-97.

Aswad, B. C. 1974.Visiting patternsamongwomen of the elite in a smallTurkish city.

47:9-27.

Anthropological
Quarterly
V.
1976. "Shamanism

in central Asia,"

Basilov,

and audiences.
L.

Beck,

1980. "The

societies.

in The

realm of the extra human: Agents

The Hague
and Paris: Mouton.
inWomen
in contemporary Muslim
London: Associated
Press.
University

by A. Bharati, pp. 149-57.

lives ofMuslim
women,"
religious

Edited

by J. L. Smith, pp. 27-60.

Edited

Beckerleg, S. 1994.Medical pluralism and Islam in Swahili communities inKenya.

Medical AnthropologyQuarterly 8:299-313.
vows of urban Muslim
in Iran," in Unspoken
Betteridge, A. H. 1989. "The controversial
worlds. Edited by N. A. Falk and R. M. Gross, pp. 134-43. California: Wadsworth.
2005. The saints'
healers and holy men in Israel's
Bilu, Yoram.
impresarios: Dreamers,

urbanperiphery.Haifa: UniversityofHaifa Press, (inHebrew)

Blacker, Carmen. 1999 [1975]. The catalpa bow. Richmond: Curzon Press.
Boddy, Janice. 1989.Wombs and alien spirits:Women,men and theZar cult innorthern
Sudan.

Madison:

ofWisconsin

University

Press.

Bourdieu, Pierre. 1977.Outline ofa theoryofpractice. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity

Press.

De Certeau,Michel. 1984.Thepractice ofeverydaylife.Berkeley:UniversityofCalifornia

Press.

Eleanor.

Doumato,
Di

A.

2000.

ear:

God's

Getting

Islam

Women,

and

Leonardo,

ed.

Micaela,

1990.

Gender

at

the crossroads

of knowledge.

UniversityofCalifornia Press.
Dwyer,

D. H.

1978. "Women,

Sufism

and decision

making

in Saudi

healing

Arabia and theGulf.New York: Colombia UniversityPress.

inMoroccan

Berkeley:
inWomen

Islam,"

in the
Muslim world. Edited by L. Beck andN. Keddie, pp. 585-98. Cambridge,MA:

Harvard

-.

University
F. 1966.

Eickelman,

D.

Eickelman,

Dale.F.,

Press.

"The Islamic attitude towards spirit possession,"

in Trance
and
states. Edited by R. Prince, pp. 189-92. Montreal:
Buck Memorial
possession
Society.
1992. Mass
and the religious
in contemporary Arab
higher education
imagination
19:643-55.
society. American
Ethnologist
and

Press.
University
Fernea, R. A., and E. W.

James
Fernea.

Piscatori.
1972.

1996. Muslim

"Variation

politics.

in religious

Princeton:

observance

Princeton

among

Islamic

since 1500. Edited

women," inScholars, saints and Sufis:Muslim religious institutes
byN. R. Keddie, pp. 385-401. Berkeley:UniversityofCalifornia Press.

Few, Martha.
Flueckiger,

-.

2002.

Women

Burkhalter

who

J. 2006.

live evil lives. Austin:

In Amma's

healing

University
room: Gender

of Texas

Press.

and vernacular

Islam

in

South India. Bloomington and Indianapolis: IndianaUniversityPress.

Gellner, Ernest. 1969.Saints of theAtlas. Chicago: UniversityofChicago Press.
Gilsenan,Michael. 1973.Saint and Sufi inmodernEgypt.Oxford: Clarendon Press.
2000.

Journal

Signs of truth: Enchantment,

of the Royal Anthropological

and the dreams

modernity
Institute (n.s.) 6:597-615.

of peasant

women.

Glass-Coffin,Bonnie. 1998. The giftof life:Female spiritualityand healing innorthern

This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL

48

RESEARCH

Peru. Albuquerque: UniversityofNew Mexico Press.

Gorkin,M., andR. Othman. 1994.Traditionalpsychotherapeutic
healing and healers in the
Palestinian

Israel

community.

Journal

and Related

of Psychiatry

Science

31:221?31.

Havakouk, Jacob. 1985.Life in thecaves ofMount Hebron. Tel Aviv: Ministry ofDefense
PublishingHouse, (inHebrew)
Hegland, M. E. 1991. "Political roles ofAliabad women: The public-privatedichotomy
in Women

transcended,"

inMiddle

Eastern

history:

in sex and

boundaries

Shifting

gender. Edited byN. Keddie andB. Baron, pp. 215-232. New Haven: Yale University
Press.
and elders: Experience,
1996. Shamans
Press.
Oxford: Clarendon
Mongols.
Islam. American
1994. Ways
of knowing
Ethnologist

Caroline.

Humphrey,

and

knowledge

power

theDaur

among
P.

Horvatich,

21:811-26.

Kanaaneh, R. 2000. "New reproductive

rightsandwrongs intheGalilee," inContraception
across

constraints.
E. Sobo,
Edited by A. Russell,
choices,
Technologies,
pp. 161-78. Oxford and New York: Berg.
Thompson,
in central Sudan.
Culture
1991. Five women of Sennar:
and change
Susan M.
cultures:

and M.
Kenyon,

Press.

Clarendon

Oxford:

Kozaitis, K. A. 2000. The rise of anthropologicalpraxis.NAPA Bulletin 18(1):45?66.

Michael.

Lambek,
Lewis,

inMayotte:
Local
discourses
and practice
1993. Knowledge
of Islam,
of Toronto Press.
Toronto: University
spirit possession.
Urbana:
Restudied.
1951. Life in a Mexican
University
village:
Tepoztl?n

and

sorcery
Oscar.

of IllinoisPress.

Lieblich,

Rivka

Amia,

and Tamar

Tuval-Mashiach,

Zilber.

research.

1998. Narrative

London:

Sage.
K., and B. Baron.

Massalha,

in narrow

1994. Souls

healers

lanes: Popular

Arabs. Institutefor IsraeliArab Studies, (inHebrew)

Anne.
1996. Tournaments
Meneley,
of Toronto
Toronto: University
F.

Mernissi,

1989.

Falk

and R. M.

1:551-63.
Ethnologist
2007.
Traditional
Ariela.

American
Popper-Giveon,

in their society.

empowerment

Arab

Ph. Dissertation,

(inHebrew)
Rabinowitz,

Danni.

Rasmussen,

Susan

1998.

Belmont,

in rural Egypt.

women

women

trees: Medicine

-.

know

worlds.

Westview

their ways

of

University

of the Negev.

Rana'ana:

Institute

the Palestinians.

and

and

healers

Ben Gurion

Anthropology

Oxford:

town.

in theMiddle Eastern world.

IsraeliArab Studies, (inHebrew)

J. Only

in Unspoken
CA: Wadsworth.

in Morocco,"

pp. 112-24.
and healing

1974. Public and private politics: Women

Nelson, C.

in a Yemeni

and hierarchy

Sociability

sanctuaries

Gross,

sickness

1993. Gender,

Soheir A.
Morsey,
Press.

and

saints

"Women,

by N. A.

Edited

of value:
Press.

Israeli

among

women

and

for

the role of herbal

healing inTuareg culture.Journal ofAnthropologicalResearch 54:147-71.

2006.

Those

who

women

medicine

touch: Tuareg

in anthropological

perspective.

DeKalb: Northern IllinoisUniversityPress.

Redfield, Robert. 1941. The folk culture of Yucatan. Chicago: University of Chicago
Publications
Rothenberg,
Oxford:
Sahlins,

Celia

inAnthropology,
E. 2004. Spirits

Books.
Lexington
1976. Culture
Marshall.

Social

Anthropology
Gender,
of Palestine:
and practical

reason.

Series

I.

society
Chicago:

and

stories

of the Jinn.

University

of Chicago

women

ceremonial

Press.
Schwarz,

Maureen

Trudelle.

2003.

Blood

and

voice:

Navajo

This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

TRADITIONAL
practitioners.
2003.
Sengers, Gerda.
Boston:
Brill.
Shami,

S.

1997.

Organizing

of Arizona

University
and demons:
Women

"Domesticity
women: Formal

49

PALESTINIAN WOMEN HEALERS

Tucson:

Cult

Press.
in Islamic

healing

reconfigured: Women
and informal women's

Leiden

Egypt.

and

in squatter areas of Amman,"

in
in theMiddle
East. Edited

groups

byD. Chatty andA. Rabo, pp. 81-100. Oxford: Berg.

Srour, H. A.
and

2001.

healers

and treatments of mental

illness: Folk healing
concepts
Arabs
Palestinian
thesis, Hebrew
living in Israel.
Psychology

Traditional
among

University.
to work:
1998. Putting
Islam
and
Education,
Gregory.
politics,
religious
inEgypt. Berkeley:
of
Press.
California
transformation
University
and autonomous
Stephen, M., and L. K Suryani. 2000. Shamanism,
psychosis
imagination.
and Psychiatry
24:5-40.
Culture, Medicine
Starrett,

Tapper,N., and R. Tapper. 1987. The birthof theprophet:Ritual and gender inTurkish
Islam. Man
(n.s.) 22:69-92.
Tutty, Leslie M., Michael
Rothery, and Richard M.
for social workers. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Grinnell

Jr. 1996. Qualitative

research

Von Grunebaum, G. 1955. "The problem: Unity in diversity," inUnity and variety in
Muslim civilization.Edited by G. Von Grunebaum, pp. 17-37. Chicago: University
of Chicago

Press.
J.D.

Waardenburg,

J. 1979. "Official

and popular

religion

as a problem

in Islamic

studies,"

inOfficialandpopular as a themein thestudyof religion.Edited by P. H. Vrijhof and

J.Waardenburg,
P. 1988.

The Hague: Mouton.

pp. 340-86.
the Quran:
and
"Sealing"
Offering
Cultural Dynamics
1:77-97.

Werbner,

migrants.

sacrifice

among

Naomi.
2009. When
the hegemony
studies the minority?An
Weiner-Levy,
researcher studies Druze women:
Transformations
of power, alienation

Pakistani

labor

Israeli

Jewish

and affinity in

thefield.Qualitative Inquiry, inpress, doi: 10.1177/1077800408330343.

Wilce, M. J. 1998. The Kalimah in the kaleidophone: Ranges of multivocality in
Bangladeshi
Winkelman,

Muslim's

Michael

discourses.

J. 1992.

magico-religiouspractitioners.
State University.

Shamans,

Ethos

26:229-57.

priests

Anthropological

and witches:
Research

cross-cultural

Papers

44. Tempe:

study of
Arizona

This content downloaded from 91.139.203.231 on Thu, 28 May 2015 18:15:33 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions