The Origin and Growth of the Healing Art by Edward Berdoe

BOOK I.

_THE MEDICINE OF PRIMITIVE MAN._ CHAPTER PAGE I. PRIMITIVE MAN A SAVAGE 3 The Medicine and Surgery of the Lower Animals.—Poisons and Animals.—Observation amongst Savages.—Man in the Glacial Period. II. ANIMISM 7 Who discovered our Medicines?—Anthropology can assist us to answer the Question.—The Priest and the Medicine-man originally one.—Disease the Work of Magic.—Origin of our Ideas of the Soul and Future Life.—Disease-demons. III. SAVAGE THEORIES OF DISEASE 12 Demoniacal.—Witchcraft.—Offended Dead Persons. IV. MAGIC AND SORCERY IN THE TREATMENT OF DISEASE 26 These originated partly in the Desire to cover Ignorance. —Medicine-men.—Sucking out Diseases.—Origin of Exorcism.—Ingenuity of the Priests.—Blowing Disease away.—Beelzebub cast out by Beelzebub.—Menders of Souls.—“Bringing up the Devil.”—Diseases and Medicines.—Fever Puppets.—Amulets.—Totemism and Medicine. V. PRIMITIVE MEDICINE 33 Bleeding.—Scarification.—Use of Medicinal Herbs amongst the Aborigines of Australia, South America, Africa, etc. VI. PRIMITIVE SURGERY 40 Arrest of Bleeding.—The Indian as Surgeon.—Stretchers, Splints, and Flint Instruments.—Ovariotomy.—Brain Surgery.—Massage.—Trepanning. —The Cæsarean Operation.—Inoculation. VII. UNIVERSALITY OF THE USE OF INTOXICANTS 46 Egyptian Beer and Brandy.—Mexican Pulque.—Plant-worship.—Union with the Godhead by Alcohol.—Soma.—The Cow-religion.—Caxiri.—Murwa Beer.—Bacchic Rites.—Spiritual Exaltation by Wine. VIII. CUSTOMS CONNECTED WITH PREGNANCY AND CHILD-BEARING 51 The Couvade, its Prevalence in Savage and Civilized Lands.—Pregnant Women excluded from Kitchens.—The Deities of the Lying-in Chamber.