Publication Date

12-1991

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Michael Ann Williams, Lynwood Montell, Erika Brady

Degree Program

Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology

Degree Type

Master of Arts

Abstract

This study in folk medicine focuses on a modern magico-religious folk healer named Jack Epperson, who utilizes the principles of bioenergetics or placing hands on an ill person's body and directing healing energy into blocked channels to heal, in the context of the small Alaskan community in which he lives and practices. The thesis is divided into seven chapters preceded by an introduction and followed by a conclusion.

To fit Jack Epperson into the full spectrum of folk medicine, it is necessary to comprehend fully the two categories of folk medicine: herbal or natural medicine, and magico-religious healing or shamanism. The first chapter defines these categories, places Epperson within the realm of magico-religious healing, and describes the community in which he lives. In the second chapter, a thorough description of Epperson's emergence as a healer and subsequent training with his mentor, a woman named Patricia Sun, is given. This chapter also contains extensive biographical information which relates his life experiences to his decision to become a healer.

As Epperson continued on his path into magico-religious healing, he took many physical and spiritual journeys venturing into the occult. Chapter Three describes these journeys and provides case studies on healing situations. Chapter Four continues with case studies in curing but limits these memorates to Epperson's experiences in Homer with his patients. Chapter Five establishes Epperson as a modern shaman within the traditional background of shamanism in other cultures. The next two chapters describe the role of the patient in folk medicine providing interviews with two of Epperson's patients as well as the researcher as patient. Motives for enlisting the aid of a magico-religious healer are examined in these two chapters as well. The concluding chapter focuses on the importance of Jack Epperson and modern folk healers like him in our society.

The prevailing question throughout the research and writing concerned the reason why such healers are reemerging in an increasingly technologically advanced society. With the strides the conventional medical establishment have made, it is important to understand why people are returning in increasing numbers to magico-religious healers. Healing is a profoundly cultural activity and research into folk healers provides information about human behavior and thought processes that occur when faced with traumatic illness or injury.

Disciplines

Anthropology | Folklore | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Download

Included in

Folklore Commons

Share

COinS