Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Proposals/Traditional Medicine

Description
To add ethno medical and anthropological references to traditional medicine topics. This will include the organisms used, the cultures that use those organisms and the diseases those organisms are believed to treat. For example under this proposal the article for addiction would now include a reference to the Bwiti and Pygmy peoples use of Ibogane, though it would not make clinical claims to the efficacy of Ibogane treatment. The goal of this project is to increase understanding of the ways in which other cultures treat illnesses, and to encourage the conservation of those organisms and the conservation of their natural habitats. Ideally this project should be lead by a diverse array of researchers including, zoologists, botanists, mycologists, bacteriologists, medical professionals, anthropologists and the leaders of those communities engaged in these practices. CensoredScribe (talk) 18:34, 3 September 2013 (UTC)


 * List of important pages and categories for this proposed group
 * category name (number of pages in the category: )
 * category name (number of pages in the category: )
 * category name (number of pages in the category: )
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 * List of WikiProjects currently on the talk pages of those articles
 * Please invite these and any other similar groups to join the discussion about this proposal. See WikiProject_Council/Directory to find similar WikiProjects.



Although wikiproject alternative medicine does include articles on Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayuvedric medicine, the project does not cover the traditional medicines of most other cultures. The project covers mostly topics of non traditional alternative medicine; which would be of little interest to anthropologists. Compare the page on Traditional Chinese Medicine with the page on Mayan Medicine and you will see a large discrepancy in coverage between the two. I recently added a reference to the traditional Mayan usage of Brachypelma Vagans for Cardiac Arrhythmia and Atrial Fibrilation and to the spiders page; though I would prefer that this information be on the page for Mayan medicine as well as for the diseases mentioned. At the very least this is of cgreat cultural value. Vast improvement to traditional medicine coverage is needed to create a more educated and multicultural world. I believe the difference between medicines used traditionally and alternative medicines developed recently is great enough to warrant these being two separate projects.

Support
I will support this project.
 * 1) CensoredScribe (talk) 18:34, 3 September 2013 (UTC)