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Oman is one of the few Arabian Gulf countries in which traditional medicine (native plants, aromatic gums, heavy metal preparations, honey, wasm or kaii (kowie), hijama, religious therapy and Prophetic Medicine) has survived modernization. Because of its geographical location at the apex of major Arabian Gulf sea routes, Oman has a diverse medical history, having been influenced by Indian Hakim and Ayurvedic therapeutics, African ritual, and Perso-Arabic Islamic medicine, as well as Portuguese Galenic-Hippocratic humoralism (16th century). Oman now possesses two medical schools teaching western allopathic medicine, and Traditional Medicine / Complementary and Alternative Medicine (TM/CAM) has been recognized and officially regulated in Oman since 2001. Based on anthropological field research, literature review of medical case studies, and unpublished archival material held at the Sultan Qaboos College of Medicine and Health Sciences library in Muscat, this contribution surveys the historical, biomedical, and cultural aspects of traditional folk medicine in Oman.
Keywords: Oman, Traditional medicine, TM/CAM, Cautery, Hijama, Herbal medicine - Arabian Gulf.
INTRODUCTION: SULTANATE OF OMAN
The country of Oman has a long and varied history due to its location along trade routes connecting Africa, India and the Arabian Peninsula. Paleolithic finds indicate that the original inhabitants may have been of African continental origin. The Parthians and Sassanids (Persian dynasties) ruled Oman as Mazun from the 3rd century B.C. until the advent of Islam in the 7th century A.D. Arab tribes migrated into the area from the north and accepted Islam early on in the expansion of the first Caliphate. The majority of Omanis belong to the Ibadhi sect of Sunni Islam, characterized by its elected Imam. During the Middle Ages, Oman fell under the dominion of the Qarmations, Seljuks, and from 1515-1650 the Portuguese controlled Muscat.
Oman has experienced significant migration from Balochistan, Persia, India and Pakistan, and these influences are apparent in the use of such medical practices as hot Turmeric plasters, probably introduced from Ayurvedic medicine by Pakistani or Indian Hakims.
The Al Bu Said dynasty has ruled Oman since the 18th century, and acquired colonial East African possessions such as Zanzibar, Zanj, Mombasa, and Dar es Salaam in the 18th-19th centuries. Slaves from Zanzibar introduced medicinal spices, and such practices as Zar possession rituals (exorcism), which are possibly of Sudanese...