Medicine
Medicine & Health in Shem Shemite medicine is in a horribly primitive state. Neither urban nor nomad Shemites have much in the way of physical theories of disease. Fate and gods determine all, so all disease is a punishment for shameful behaviour, usually caused by a demon. Medicine, therefore, is simply a means to absolve the shame and purify the soul.
Diet The Meadow Shemites and Pelishtim eat millet, barley and wheat, along with vegetables such as chick peas, beans, onions, garlic, cucumbers, leeks and lettuce. In Pelishtia, truffles are a special delicacy. Typical meals include some sort of barley meal with onions and beans. It is usually washed down with beer. Fish is often served, as is grilled goat, mutton and pork. Tough and stringy beef is popular in the urban centres if one is wealthy enough to afford it. The nomads eat an almost monotonous regimen. Usually they eat wheat, barley or rice cereals with a bit of dried fruit. Milk, yoghurt and cheese, because of their herds, are a staple diet for the Shemite nomads. Mutton, or any other kind of meat, is a luxury and is usually only enjoyed during festive periods or when cooking for guests. Guests usually get to eat a meal of rice and meat (usually mutton) cooked with yoghurt and pine nuts. The nomads only eat twice per day – once at breakfast and once again in the evening.
Medicine Meadow Shemites: The big difference between Aquilonian, Nemedian or even Zamorian medicine when compared to Shemite medicine is the basic belief system of the fatalistic Shemites. The Shemites believe the body is attacked by a demon, which was created by sin on the part of the ill person, some violation of the civilised code of honour. The demon becomes trapped and must eat its way out. This is painful for the owner of the body, so the demon must be tricked or persuaded to leave the body. Since the body is being eaten, the Shemite healers try to make the body distasteful to the demon. This is done through medicine. Medicine can help to absolve the black sin. If the person does not get well or dies, then the person must have offended the gods greatly
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and the punishment of the gods was inevitable. In other words, he was doomed or fated to die from the start. Meadow Shemite and Pelishti medicines tend to be laxatives, purgatives and diuretics created by Asu healers. They maintain complex recipes for their secret salves and miracle medicines. For example, by mixing urine, lime, ash and salt, the Shemite healers can create a concoction that can now be mixed with all sorts of herbs and ingredients, such as milk, turtle shell, cassia, thyme, willow, fig, date or even snakeskin. These are then mixed with wine to make an unguent to be spread over a wound or external illness, or this mixture can be combined with beer to make an oral medicine. These often darksome recipes are kept strictly confidential and it is against the law for a non-physician to even read a medical recipe. The Asu also encourage frequent cleansing in water to keep the demons at bay, for they prefer the dingy and dirty. Shemites as a whole tend to be well-groomed and clean because of the efforts of the Asu healers. The Asu healer can also set broken bones or perform minor surgeries. He usually maintains maximum ranks in Heal and Craft (herbalism) with high ranks in Bluff, Diplomacy and Gather Information, which help him determine an appropriate diagnosis. A second type of healer is also available, an Ashipu, or exorcist, who uses incantations to drive the demon off. Of course, disembodied demons are no fun either, so an Ashipu healer places a lamb or pig near the sick person so the demon can enter the animal. The animal is then slaughtered and the demon destroyed. If an animal is not available, then a statue is kept near the diseased individual so that the demon can occupy that. If the demon takes up residence in the statue, the statue is covered in bitumen and buried. He maintains high or maximum ranks in Knowledge (arcane) and Knowledge (religion), with high ranks in Perform (ritual), Bluff, Diplomacy and Gather Information. The Baru is a ritual diviner as well as a healer, using hepatoscopy, or the art of reading omens from animal livers. Healers are thus consulted by kings and priests for their diplomatic or military needs, as well as by commoners for more medical matters. Of course, the patient wanting a reading has to provide the sheep or goat to be slaughtered, so the need must usually be great for the healer to be so consulted. He
