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Description:
The article attempts to explore interpretations and beliefs about the causes of illness. It is based on fieldwork carried as a part of a UNFPA project in 1983 among the Newars of Kirtipur, Nepal. The nature of community reactions and management of illness are the areas of interest on which the whole subject matter of the paper rests. The article explains that illness interpretation in Kirtipur can be divided into two broad causation levels, the natural and the supernatural. The people of Kirtipur believe that numerous illnesses are caused by the attacks (lageajwima) of supernatural forces. It is argued that the intervention of such forces while trapped inside a human body can cause illnesses. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-01-29)
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