Ethnomedicine of Tetun ethnic people in West Timor Indonesia: philosophy and practice in the treatment of malaria

BACKGROUND: Interactions between humans and diseases for a long time have encourage people to construct concepts related to the disease and create strategies to prevent and treat the disease. The aim of this study is to document philosophy and practice of ethnomedicine of Tetun ethnic people in the prevention and treatment of malaria. METHODS: This research was a field study using ethnobotany and anthropology approaches. It was conducted among the Tetun people who settled in the Belu and Malaka districts from April to December 2017. A total of 94 informants consists of public healer, home healer and traditional medicine users were involved in semi-structured interviews and discussions. RESULTS: Tetun ethnic has local knowledge that malaria is caused by naturalistic factors that affect the hot–cold balance in the body. Prevention and treatment of malaria are intended to maintain and restore the hot–cold balance in the body. They use various local medicinal plants for the treatment of malaria, by drinking, bathing, massage, inhalation and cataplasm. Plants used have been proven scientifically to have pharmacological activity as true antimalarials and/or indirect antimalarials. CONCLUSION: Ethnomedicine practice of Tetun people on malaria is proven to contain scientific truth, although it is built on the basis of concepts that are different or even contrary to the true etiology of malaria.