Online archive of American folk medicine

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This web site contains material from the UCLA Archive of American Folk Medicine established by Wayland D. Hand in the 1940's. The term "folk" medicine includes a variety of beliefs and practices such as home remedies, the activities of traditional healers (e.g., burn doctor, curandero, traiteur, powwower, and wise women), and many therapies that fall under the rubric of complementary and alternative medicine including herbals, laying on of hands, prayer, etc. About 10% of the entries derive from unpublished interviews. The majority of the records were extracted from thousands of published works, both popular and scientific. The collection contains data from European, African, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American populations. Approximately 1,000 medical conditions and 80 kinds of traditional healers are represented. The website provides basic and advanced search options.