Abstract
During the Qajar era, Iranian society was facing a gradual transition from
tradition to modernity, especially in the field of health and treatment. Folk
beliefs, traditional Iranian medicine, and the early influences of Western
medicine played an influential role in shaping the public attitude towards
health and treatment methods. Foreign travelers' reports provide a striking
picture of Iranian society's approach to illness, treatment, and the concept of
health during this period, which shows a combination of individual
experiences, superstitious beliefs, and nascent efforts of modern medicine.
This study, using historical texts, examines the influence and spread of folk
medical beliefs, traditional Iranian medicine, Western medicine, and
superstitious elements in Qajar Iranian society. During this period, people had
diverse attitudes toward the causes of diseases and treatment methods, which
were often based on traditional medicine, individual experiences, or
institutionalized beliefs. This research, using a historical method and
analyzing data extracted from reliable sources, explains historical statements
related to healing in popular beliefs. The main question of the research is what
factors were influential in the promotion and growth of folk beliefs in the
treatment and medicine practices of the Qajar period, and what position did
folk beliefs have in the medical practices of the Qajar period? The findings
show that individual attitudes and acquired group experiences played a
significant role in explaining the causes of disease and choosing treatment
methods. Folk medicine and modern medicine were present in society at the
same time, but the resistance of a large part of society to modern treatment
methods, due to the weakness of health facilities, specific climatic and social
conditions, and the lack of public awareness of modern medicine, contributed
to the spread of folk healing beliefs in the Qajar era.