Ethnographic Field Data on Folk Medicine Gathered in Kartli in 1948

The study of traditional medicine always had an important place in anthropology. With due respect, important field data had been gathered first by the Georgian public figures and then by ethnologists. Rich field ethnographic data is gathered, saved and archived in the Archive of the Iv. Javakhishvili Institute of History and Ethnology. Today the group of anthropologists led by Nino Mindadze successfully continues gathering the folk knowledge on indigenous medicine and investigates the gathered data. The medical society also paid great importance to the folk medicine. Medical practitioners works are also important for the investigations in this sphere, especially today, when the use of natural products during the medical treatment became very popular.
In this article we introduce to the broader audience the ethnographic field data gathered by Nami Alaverdashvili (during 1948-1950) at that time a young medical practitioner who participated in the ethnographic expedition led by prof. Vera Bardavelidze and gathered ethnographic data on traditional medicine. This data in Kartli in 1948 is valuable for certain reasons: it already belongs to the past and is gathered by a medical practitioner under the guidance of prof. Vera Bardavelidze. The field data include such themes as the treatment of different sorts of injuries, skin diseases, the infectious diseases of children, injuries, bruises, bone
fractures, wounds, etc. In these reports one can find descriptions of plants and medicines recommended for various diseases which were useful for inner and outer uses, etc. Despite the fact that the gathered data is not vast, it will be useful to learn the offered ethnographic data especially for those who are involved in such questions.