QATAR: Popularity of traditional medicine increases in Qatar

The practice of traditional and herbal medicine is gaining ground in Qatar. Passed down from tribal bedouins, traditional forms of treatment can be placed into two different categories, 'fire cupping' and 'herbalism'. Traditional Arab folk medicine is making a comeback in the Gulf region, particularly in Qatar. Passed down from tribal bedouins, traditional forms of treatment in the Arabian Peninsula are generally divided into two categories: herbalism and fire cupping. The former consists of the employment of indigenous desert herbs such as AgnusCastus, Cassia Italica and Citrullus Colocynthis for the remedy of various diseases. Herbs were and are still largely preferred as a means of medical therapy by the indigenous people of the Arabian Peninsula. Arab traditional therapists used to believe that only very few diseases could not be treated with herbs or herbal extracts. "Residents of the Gulf all understand and know the different uses of different herbs. If one has pain in his stomach or if one suffers from diabetes, one says 'give me sage'. If one is constipated one says 'give me carob'. In the old days we didn't have doctors we all used herbs. Nowadays people have started using herbs again, even more than before," said a herb shop owner, Ahmed Jassim Mohamed Bin Abas al-Khuza. Fire Cupping or 'Hijama', the second branch of traditional healing involves placing suction cups made from wood, copper or glass on select areas of the human body. The heated cup is left on the skin after which a tight seal is created using a pump. The cup is then lifted off and a couple of very small incisions are made on the skin. The cup is placed once more on the same area, extracting blood from the incisions until it is full. "The people who use fire cupping, 'Hijama' more than anyone else are the Gulf Arabs, besides some of the residents of the Gulf who learned this method of healing from the local people. The bedouins are of course the ones who use this more than others because they are used to it from in old days'', said fire cupping practitioner, Abu Hamam. Like herbalism, fire cupping, it is also believed, can cure most illnesses and Hamam says that he can cure most ailments, including asthma, blood pressure, knee pain, back and shoulder pain and colon diseases. However, he is yet to conquer diabetes. Hamam also says that he has developed new ways to cure depression and psychological illnesses. Alternative medicine in the Gulf is also drawing from the traditional forms of treatment of other countries, particularly India and China. This alternative approach prefers to treat not just the symptom but more so the cause of the symptom, taking a holistic overview of the individual's ailments. Practices such as acupuncture and various therapeutic massages are also gaining enormous popularity in the region.

ITN Source | July 27, 2007

Tags:. .drawing. .individuals. .lifted. .pump. .desert