Rivalry and diversity among Thai curer-magicians

In central and southern Thailand neighboring practitioners of the same folk-medical specialties were found to be remarkably inconsistent in their diagnostic interpretations of similar afflictions. There appears to be little or no direct communication between local competitors among Thailand's traditional curers. Those in search of tutelage from an established practitioner must often travel long distances to find a willing tutor. What results from this pattern is a system of master-disciple networks through which curative knowledge and patient referrals flow across provincial boundaries. Rivalry among neighboring curer-magicians is so pervasive that diagnostic decisions sometimes depend in part on the relative status of previous healers on a case. The paper concludes with a discussion of the competition found among a specific group of curer-magicians, namely, Thai-Buddhist monk-practitioners. The latter rivalry may play an important role in social relations within and among Buddhist monasteries.