How do people experience illness in the Indonesian Muslim community? : The Constructions of Communality in Relation to the Experience of Illness

Humanity constructs experiences using words and this is also the case in terms of illness. Modern medical words define our illnesses as diseases, which substantially form themselves within the closed precinct of our bodies and not beyond. Modern minds have seemed to accept the definition. Yet, some anthropological analyses are ready to prove otherwise: we experience illness at the very junction of words, images and social relations. Herein lies the significance of communality. In every society, potential healers strive to prove their potency by displaying their knowledge of illnesses while potential patients critically weigh whose treatment is worth paying for. Within this dynamic negotiation of determining what is ailing and who is to aid, religion, nation, science, tradition and life history may play important roles; hence the formation of being sick in the same way or the communality of the experience of illness. For the purpose of understanding the relationship between Islam and health-related behavior in contemporary Indonesia, this article examines the discursive endeavors by multiple agencies to create communalities that inform an individual’s experience of illness within a community.論文/Article