Namalo-Traditional Healer In Batak Toba: Community Knowledge and Herbs for Medicine

Abstract

Traditional medicine is an alternative medicine that can be chosen by the community besides medical treatment. Traditional medicine is a treatment that has been known since ancient times and it has become a culture in every society and even in every country. One treatment method known from the process of traditional medicine is the use of herbal ingredients. This paper uses a qualitative and quantitative approach to 12 traditional healers (Namalo) and 117residents of Humbang Hasundutan District and Toba Samosir District to find out the types of plants used by traditional healers and the reasons of the community, especially the Batak Toba ethinicty, to choose this treatment. The medicinal plants used byNamalo in the treatment process are plants obtained from the surrounding environment. The plants used by Namalohave been known to be able to cure diseases since a long time ago. The knowledge of these medicinal plants and their properties are obtained from the ancestors of Namalo. Some of theplants are guavaleaves, purbajolma root, galinggang, sijukkot, kecibling, salagundi leaves, and others. Many aspects influence people to choose this treatment, for instance, because herbal ingredients do not cause side effects, the price is cheap andbecausethis treatment has been known for a long time and has been used for generations in the community.