This is especially so in locales that have not been exposed to modern medicine. It is difficult to trace the causes of most illnesses, and traditionally indigenous people saw these as a function of spirits or ancestral souls. This is why, explains anthropologist Juan Chang-jui, "Over time, the treatment of illness became the main job of the shaman."
尤其「只要是人都會生病」，在現代醫學尚未傳入之前，大部分的疾病無法追溯出原因，被原住民視為鬼神祖靈的作用，因此「治病成了巫師的主要工作」，甫由省立歷史博物館人類學組退休的阮昌銳說。