Abstract
With the increased acceptance of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) within society, new research reflects deeper folk health histories beyond formal medical spaces. The contested relationships between formal and informal medicine have deep provenance and as scientific medicine
began to professionalise in the 19th century, lay health knowledges
were simultaneously absorbed and disempowered (Porter 1997). In
particular, the 'medical gaze' and the responses of informal medicine
to this gaze were framed around themes of power, regulation,
authenticity and narrative reputation. These responses were emplaced and
mobile; enacted within multiple settings by multiple agents and
structures over time. The work is drawn from secondary material from
Ireland, which identify more indigenous narratives of health and act as
potential sources for medical humanities. While assumptions have been
made as to the place of folk-medicine
being essentially rural, evidence will be presented which shows a more
complex network of health beliefs and practices. The narratives of
informal practice and folk-medicine drawn from evidence from Ireland point to more fluid and hybrid relations with formal medicine
and suggest that the complementary nature of the two models reflected
wider cultural debates and models of belief (Del Casino Jnr., Health
& Place 10:59-73, 2004).
