Hand Trembling, Frenzy Witchcraft, and Moth Madness: A Study of Navajo Seizure Disorders

The various tremulous and dissociative disorders have fascinated human societies and labeled individuals within these societies for eons. In this anthropological monograph, the authors have pursued a dual approach in the study of these disorders by utilizing the epidemiologic methods of modern anthropology in parallel with the diagnostic acumen of Western medicine. The uniqueness of this particular study is its documentation of the clinical and social course these individuals followed historically over the 20-plus years of the study. Because of the comprehensive nature of health care provided by the Indian Health Service and the social and geographical isolation of the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, and the Tewa-speaking Pueblos of Arizona and New Mexico, this is a unique study, perhaps never to be repeated. The computerization of the Indian Health Service medical record system in 1977 helped identify patients from these tribes who had grand mal epilepsy, hysterical disorders, and a variety