The Kingdom of Bahrain

Bahrain is an island Kingdom located in the Persian Gulf. Knowledge of herbal medicine in Bahrain is the result of thousands of years of practice.

Traditionally...

Herbs and minerals have been used to cure illness.

A specialist called a chawai treated jaundice, epilepsy, and back pains with hot nails.

Headaches, fevers, and dizziness were treated by blood-letting.

Illnesses were treated through rituals. In these rituals, a religious healer might:

• read the Quran over a patient
• give the patient water from a china plate on which Quranic verses had been written with saffron water
• read over a cup engraved with quranic verses and have the patient drink from it
• have the patient wear an amulet containing Quranic verses as protection

The Evil Eye

Some people still believe in an evil eye, which is a misfortune cast on someone if somebody envies his/her good fortune. It can result in sickness and even death.

One treatment is for the "eyer" to be located. Then, the spell can be removed by the sick person inhaling smoke from a burning cloth which belonged to the "eyer." Another treatment is to have the victim drink from the remains of water which the "eyer" had used.