Health care giving and treatment seeking behavior: Gender hierarchies’ among the Galesh Pastoralists of Iran

Pages: 1802-1811
Vajihollah Bagheri (Department of Anthropology, Panjab University, Chandigarh)

Traditional medicine and indigenous systems of cure have been practiced for centuries among the pastoral Galesh. These Galesh inhabit the mountainous regions of the Alborz in North Iran. The fascinating aspect of their curative systems, as practiced by the Galesh, who are following their ancestral occupation of rearing cattle, goats and sheep. The Galesh women are adept at looking after the health care needs of their entire stock. These women have been handed down the traditional medicines rooted in the ethno-botany and ecology of their surroundings. While shepherding of the animals has been as affirmed male bastion ascribed since ages, the Galesh women have the unique gender hierarchy of having the institutional knowledge of ancient curative systems. These medicines are based in the flora of the Galesh environment. The indigenous medicinal systems would, however, come into direct conflict with the newer systems of health care delivery being proposed for the people under the Department of Health of Iran. This paper attempts to examine the case fro the harmonization of the two different systems of medicine.