The Commonwealth of Dominica is an island nation with a history of conquest and
colonization. This complex history has been instrumental in the creation of a unique relationship
between the people and the land. Harsh colonization, as well as the country's limited
infrastructure and mountainous topography, have forced people to create highly localized
medical practices emphasizing self sufficiency (Honychurch, 1994). Due to historical, cultural,
and environmental factors, a complex system of medical pluralism has been created. Pluralism is
used here to describe the competing and overlapping medical systems present in Dominica.
There is no single medical system in practice, but rather an integration of biomedical and
ethnomedical. People blend knowledge passed down from African practices, Indigenous
Kalinago/Carib rituals, and the relatively recent influx of biomedicine. Local ethnomedical
knowledge has been adopted from various traditions and it is not static, rather it continues to
develop and transform. Individuals may primarily use biomedicine, ethnomedicine, or some
combination of the two in different proportions. In this context, the research seeks to answer
three primary questions: How are ethnomedicine and biomedicine currently conceptualized and
understood? What sociocultural factors relate to the preference and utilization of ethnomedicine
versus biomedicine? What are the issues of access to both biomedicine and ethnomedicine and
how do these issues impact medical use?
Dominica is a member of the Lesser Antilles located in the Eastern Caribbean (Figure 3-
1). It is the only Caribbean island with a formally recognized native territory. The 3,000 acre
territory was officially established in 1903, although it is estimated that different groups of
Amerindian people have lived here for several thousand years. The Kalinago's continual
occupation of this territory has allowed for a strong influence of Amerindian tradition on the
wider Dominican culture, with profound impact upon medical practice and knowledge. The
transfer of knowledge of medicinal plants from the Kalinago population to the wider population
is particularly important. This research focuses on the use of ethnomedicine across the island.
The medical systems that Dominicans use incorporate Kalinago and African ethnomedical
knowledge into one system, alongside biomedical practice. This research focuses on individuals 2
from both Afro-Caribbean and Kalinago heritage, and their understandings and uses of
ethnomedicine and biomedicine and how these two medical systems are used. Similar to the
blending of ethnomedical practice between African and Kalinago peoples, individuals blend the
practice of ethnomedicine and biomedicine. Many Afro-Caribbean Dominicans have some
Kalinago heritage, and many Kalinago have some Afro-Caribbean heritage. This blending of
cultures has resulted in a pluralistic medical system that provides Dominicans with an
extraordinarily high level of vibrancy in an era a biomedical dominance.