Almaty, Kazakhstan FOLK MEDICINE IN THE TREATISE “DASTŪR AL-‘ILĀJ” IN THE FOCUS OF MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Abstract

In the last century, a complex of scienific disciplines has been developing on a large scale - medical anthropology, which studies the sociocultural aspects of medical knowledge, medical traditions, practices and knowledge intertwined with the history of different peoples. Folk medicine, once considered in the field of ethnomedicine, is now considered in the field of medical anthropology, which has taken its place between interdisciplinary anthropology and medicine. Like the development of any scientific discipline, medical anthropology has evolved over the years and the scope of research has expanded. As a result, it has turned into a complex of scientific research, both in the interests of medicine and in other areas not directly related to it. Although the term “medical anthropology” is interpreted by researchers in different senses, scientists unanimously agree that the object of its study is the local culture and a certain intellectual context.

The article discusses the role of pets in the tradition of medicine, which is the main source of life support for the Turkic peoples through the medieval medical heritage “Dastur al-‘ilaj”. Based on the information found in the Chagatai and Persian versions of this work, we reflect on the sociocultural understanding of health and disease in the Middle Ages. Written in the first half of the 16th century, this work shows the widespread use in the healing tradition of domestic and wild animals, their bile, blood, bones, etc. There is a lot of interesting information about the preparation of medicines from their products. We decided to consider this information in the article not only as ethnographic materials, but also as valuable data in the field of medical anthropology.

Key words: medieval written medical heritage, Dastur al-ilaj, medical anthropology, ethnomedicine, folk medicine, place of the four products in folk medicine, camel, horse.