Julie Parle (2007): States of Mind: Searching for Mental Health in Natal and Zululand, 1868-1918 (Book Review‪)‬

Julie Parle (2007) States of Mind: searching for mental health in Natal and Zululand, 1868-1918. Pietermaritzburg: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press. In the mid-1960s while conducting anthropological research in the rural Philippines, I became involved with several spirit mediums who were successfully treating--with what are now called 'alternative' therapies--local men and women suffering from various physical and mental ailments. Having been introduced to the possibilities, techniques, and at times the curative power of non-biomedical practices, I was eager to read Julie Parle's recent volume, States of Mind: searching for mental health in Natal and Zululand, 1868-1918. I was looking for parallels and contrasts to my own much more limited research. I found a great deal more.