An Assessment on Fundamentals of

Sociology and Anthropology

SUBMITTED TO:
Asst. Professor Ramesh Sigdel
Department of Community Medicine and Family Health
Maharajgunj, Kathmandu

SUBMITTED BY:
Upendra Dhungana,Roll No.290
Vishnu Sapkota,Roll No.291
BPH,19th Batch
IOM, Maharajgunj Campus
Maharajgujnj, Kathmandu
 An Assessment on Fundamentals of Sociology
and Anthropology

A. Ethnomedicine
Ethnomedicine is a subfield of medical anthropology and deals with the
studies of traditional: not only those that have relevant written sources (e.g.
Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda), but especially those, whose
knowledge and practice have over centuries only orally transmitted.
In the scientific arena, ethnomedical studies are generally characterized for
having a very strong anthropological approach, more than a biomedical one:
the focus of these studies is than the perception and context of use of
traditional medicines, and not their bio-evaluation.
Ethnomedicine refers to those beliefs and practices relating to diseases
which are the products of indigenous cultural development and are not
explicitly derived from the conceptual framework of modern medicine.

B.Ethnopsychiatry:
It is the concepts of disease causation with tribal and peasant societies
differ and that characterize scientific medicine. The belief system are
manifested in the context of acute ,infectious ,debilitating diseases that
have taken the greatest toll of the world's populations.Ethnomedicine also
includes the study of traditional societies view and deal with mental
illness.Ethnopsychiatry is a part of ethno medicine relating to "transcultural
psychiatry" or mental illness, called "ethno psychiatry"

Ethno psychiatry relates with normal and abnormal and mental illness,
physical illness, cultural modes and cures, demography of mental illness,
psychic condition, etc. to study and remove the problems of it.

Ethno psychiatry is today a contested field in which concepts and terms

such as ethnicity, identity, culture, citizenship, traditional therapies or
symbol efficacy are used in very controversial ways. Recent accusation of
'racism' against some ethnopsychiatrists has contributed to making more
obscure the deep root of these issues and controversies. Little attention has
paid to analyzing the complex legacy of colonial psychiatry, as well as

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relationships among current definitions of 'culture' and 'belonging', post
colonial subjectivities and migration it is argued 'generative' and community
based ethno psychiatry can challenge the hegemony of western psychiatry
and improve the quality of therapeutic strategies.

C.Conflict
It is the overt struggle between individuals or groups within a society , or
between nation states. In any society conflict may occur between (for
example ) two or more people , social movements ,interest groupings, classes
,genders, organizations, political parties, and ethnic, racial, or religious
collectives.

Conflict often arises because of competition over access to ,or control over,
scarce resources or opportunities.

Social conflict is an important aspect of social power. Sociologists however

differ in views whether social conflict is limited to hostile or antagonistic
opposition and whether it is a clash of coercive powers or of any opposing
social powers.

Social conflict theory is a Marxist-based social theory which argues that

individuals and groups (social classes) within society have differing amounts
of material and non-material resources (the wealthy vs. the poor) and that
the more powerful groups use their power in order to exploit groups with
less power. The two methods by which this exploitation is done are through
brute force and economics. The theory further states that society is
created from ongoing social conflict between various groups.

The following are four primary assumptions of modern

conflict theory

1. Competition: Competition over scarce resources (money, leisure,

sexual partners, and so on) is at the heart of all social relationships.
Competition rather than consensus is characteristic of human
relationships.

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 2. Structural inequality: Inequalities in power and reward are built into
all social structures. Individuals and groups that benefit from any
particular structure strive to see it maintained.
3. Revolution: Change occurs as a result of conflict between social class'
competing interests rather than through adaptation. It is often
abrupt and revolutionary rather than evolutionary.
4. War: Even war is a unifier of the societies involved, as well as war may
set an end to whole societies.

D. Ethnicity
 Shared racial linguistic or national identity
 Ethnic groups possess their own culture, custom, norm, beliefs, and traditions
 Two key elements for any group to be an ethnic group viz.
• Shared cultural values
• Group awareness
 Ethnic group membership is acquired by
• Birth
• Marriage
• Adoption
• Other socially sanctioned routes
 The term Ethnic group is always confused with
• Races
• Caste
 Ethnicity can further be divided as
• Cultural ethnicity
A belief in a shared language, religion,and other such
cultural values
• Political ethnicity
Political awareness or mobilization of a group on a ( real or
assumed ) ethnic basis

 A suitable example of an ethnic group is

Ktm valley having different racial groups
(indoaryan, mangolian observe common festival dashain, tihar
etc likewise they have common languages, common patterens
life styles, common livelihood. Such community of same ethnicity.

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 Culture, custom, norms, beliefs, ans
traditions

Brings about changes in way of

living

Bring about chasnges in physical, biological

and social aspect of human life

Brings about different patterens

of health outcomes

fig. Diagrammatic representation of how different ethnic groups

bringabouts different pattern of health outcomes

 Significance of ethnicity in public health

• It explores the different types of health problems in a community
• Helps identify the type of programme has to be carried out to
address that problem.
• Acculture ansd enculture the good practices to health.
• Prioritize the programme on the basis of magnitude of problem in
different ethinic group.

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 E. Ethno-history
 It is the study of progressive change ethnographic cultures and
indigenous historical records through historical records.
 It can be called the scientific study of development of cultures
through historty.

It is the gradual change in cuture and other

characteristics of an ethinic group through te process of acculturation and
enculteration which takes hundred years or more.

culture
Cultur
histor

Moder
e in

-----------------------
y

n
Acculturation and
enculrteration

acculturation
a process in which contact between different cultural groups
leads to the acquisition of new cultural pattern.

Enculturation
The informal and formal acquisition of cultural norms and
practices.

Historical development of ethinicity is due to gradual development of

cultures. This is due to
• Increased competition for living
• Increase diseases burden
• Adaptation to unfavorable environment
As the result of which acculturation and enculturation of
different foreign and local cultures took place. This phenomenon brought
about culture and hence in ethnicity.

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 F. Self medication
It was mentioned that more than 50% of health problems never reach to
the health services. They are treated through the system of self care
of self medication, which may be based on home remedies, commercial
scales of traditional and modern medicine. There are various studies
alone in the field of traditional medicine which shows these all self
medication practices are closely related to cultural and behavioral
aspect of human beings.
In context to Nepal, there are many self medication practices
related to maternal and child health.
These self medication practices may be:
• Just psychological treatment by traditional healers
• Effective treatment such as, Feeding of “Tulsi” leaves to the
children suffering from ARI
• Sarpagandha to hypertension patient
• “Ghiukumari” to the patient with jaundice.

Prepared by: Upendra Dhungana 290 & Vishnu Sapkota 291 BPH 19th Batch 7