HEALTH and ILLNESS in the American Indian and Alaska Native Population ■ 215
cover their bodies with red ochre. Members of the Navajo nation believe that “witchcraft exists and that certain humans, known as witches, are able to inter- act with the evil spirits. These people can bring sickness and other unhappiness to the people who annoy them” (Bilagody, 1969, p. 36).
Traditionally, the Navajos see ILLNESS, disharmony, and sadness as the result of one or more combinations of the following actions: “(1) displeasing the holy people; (2) annoying the elements; (3) disturbing animal and plant life; (4) neglecting the celestial bodies; (5) misuse of a sacred Indian ceremony; or (6) tampering with witches and witchcraft” (Bilagody, 1969, p. 57). If dis- harmony exists, disease can occur. The Navajos distinguish between 2 types of diseases: (1) contagious diseases, such as measles, smallpox, diphtheria, syphi- lis, and gonorrhea and (2) more generalized ILLNESSES, such as “body fever” and “body ache.” The notion that ILLNESS is caused by a microbe or another physiological agent is alien to the Navajos. The cause of disease, of injury to people or to their property, or of continued misfortune of any kind must be traced back to an action that should not have been performed. Examples of such infractions are breaking a taboo and contacting a ghost or witch. To the Navajos, the treatment of an ILLNESS, therefore, must be concerned with the external causative factor(s), not with the ILLNESS or injury itself (Kluckhohn & Leighton, 1962, pp. 192–193).