Revisiting the Navajo way: lessons for contemporary healing

Given the paradox of the success of modern medical technology and the growing patient dissatisfaction with present-day medicine, critics have called for a reevaluation of contemporary medical practice. This paper offers a phenomenological analysis of traditional Navajo healers and their ceremonies to highlight key aspects of healing. A phenomenological view of medical practice takes into account three key features: the lifeworld, the lived body, and understanding. Because of their closeness to a phenomenological view, traditional Navajo mythology and healing practices offer insight into the healing process. Contemporary physicians can appreciate the phenomenological elements of Navajo healing ceremonies, including the Mountain Chant. Navajo healers help patients make sense of their illnesses and direct their lives accordingly, an outcome available to contemporary practitioners, who are also gifted with the benefits of new technologies. By examining scientific medicine, Navajo healing practices, and phenomenology as complementary disciplines, the authors provide the groundwork for reestablishing a more therapeutic view of health.