中国の民族と医療

―西双版納タイ族における多元的医療体系を事例として―

抄録

　This paper is to focus on the treatment practices of Dai medicine of the Dai people living in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, China. I discuss the Medical Pluralism in the area by examining the treatment methods and contents of Ethnic medicine, the relationship between ethnic doctors and patients, the purpose of their visits and reasons, through field research. Besides, I considered the meaning and significance of ethnicity for those who practice ethnomedicine.

Through this paper, I found that the people who use Dai medicine do so for economic, linguistic, geographical, and cultural reasons; that it is used not only by the local Dai people, but also by Dai, Han, and other ethnic groups in other regions, as well as people outside the country and that it is used in a complex, multidisciplinary manner. I have pointed out that people who use ethnomedicine are not concerned with which ethnicity the medicine is from, but rather with its therapeutic effects.