Abstract
以往許多研究者對民俗醫療進行療效評估時，未針對收集到的藥物使用與 療效事實進行童乩治療病因學、診斷學與藥物學的探討，同時對於療效來 源也一直侷限在心理與社會的療效探討。這樣的侷限來自於以往研究者對 療效的看法；也就是以疾病與不舒服的分類加諸在生物醫學與民俗醫療的 治療領域上，因此在多元醫療體系裡，民俗醫療便被定位為只能針對不舒 服，對患者的治療僅能產生心理與社會療效。本文透由民俗藥物學的取向 追蹤十五個個案，以童乩診斷、藥物使用、問乩者症狀與療效自評三個項 目，分析神明單藥物的實際應用情形。結果發現童乩所開的神明單不僅能 治療疾病，且治療的範圍相當廣闊甚至包括許多特殊症狀，此外童乩的診 斷具有中醫病因學與診斷學的概念，神明單藥物也具有中醫藥物學中的配 伍與方劑概念，而且診斷、病因解釋與用藥在大部分例子裡皆能針對問乩 者的症狀與治療需求。本文針對神明單產生、使用與治療脈絡進行追蹤， 並以民俗藥物學的觀點突破社會與心理療效的評估方式，對於台灣民俗醫 療研究言而，除了開拓研究領域與越接近真實地呈現醫療過程之外，也修 正以往將生物醫學與民俗醫療定位於治療疾病與不舒服的研究架構，這些 貢獻皆有助於台灣醫療人類學更朝向文化與生物學的結合。 The paper provides a perspetive on Shen-ming-dan, god's prescription make from tangki's (shaman's) divinatory process in Taiwan, from medical anthropology's point of view. While most studies of folk medicine tend to take efficacy for granted, the auther take a quite different view of efficacy that view the the formation of the content of efficacy as a social, psychological, pharmacological efficacy, which are conditioned and formed by certain therapeutic process. In the process, the auther argues that there is a problematic framework,the differentiation of disease and illness correspond to the category of efficacy of biomedicine and folk medicine. The framework restrict the other reachers appraise the efficacy of folk medicine,even the efficacy of medicaments. From the case study of Hsinchu's two temples and fifteen patients, the auther find that, in therapeutic process, Shen-ming-dan usually accord with tangki' s diagnose, the symptom of patients and the medicaments of prescription. That is, Shen-ming-dan usually suit the remedy to the cases.