Wasm-An Ethnoveterinary practice of treatment of camels in Oman S.Mathan Kumar* E.H.Johnson, Mohamed H. Tageldin. Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, CAMS, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman *email: mathan@squ.edu.om Abstract This study was conducted to document the ethnoveterinary practice of wasm (hot iron cauterization), as a method of treatment of musculo-skeletal disorders of camels in the Sultanate of Oman. Three traditional healers from the Batinah region of Northern Oman were interviewed. The study describes the terminology of common clinical conditions of racing camels in the local language that are treated employing wasm and how wasm is applied. Most commonly, four signs are used: a straight line of variable length (-), a sign of a period (.), as a plus sign (+), and as a cross (X). The healers possess a wealth of empirical knowledge used to treat a variety of inflammatory musculo- skeletal ailments of camels with wasm, but rely on orthodox veterinary medicines to treat other medical conditions, such as trypanosomiasis and mange. Key words: camel, ethnoveterinary practice, hot iron cauterization, musculo-skeletal disorders, Oman, wasm. Introduction Camels are an important animal species that provide milk, meat and transportation for humans, and in recent times are used as sport animals. Ethnoveterinary medicine deals with folk beliefs, knowledge, skills, methods and practices pertaining to the health care and welfare of animals (Mathias-Mundy and McCorkle, 1989:3, Quiroz, Consuelo 1996). Wasm with a red-hot iron, stone, or potsherd is (McCorkle, C.M and Martin, M. 1998) an ancient practice and is utilized by experienced healers to treat a variety of camel ailments (Abbas et al 2002). As a healing art, it appears to be a routine and multi-purpose technique among all West African pastoralists (McCorkle, C.M. 1986). Cautery as a treatment modality for several human ailments is popular among Arabs. In Oman, it has been used for hundreds of years to treat a broad spectrum of human disorders. It is mentioned in the hadith, in a saying by the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) stating that cure lies in three: a mouthful of honey, scarification by a cupping expert and cautery by fire (Ghazanfar, 1995). In many ancient civilizations, hot-iron branding was employed as a means of individual animal identification (Bowling et al., 2008). The present study was undertaken to initiate the gathering of a body of information relevant to ethnoveterinary practices in Oman. Materials and Methods Information was collected from three traditional healers who have practiced hot iron wasm on camels to treat a number of musculo-skeletal disorders. Their experience with wasm varied from more than two decade to nearly five decades. The information was collected using a well-structured questionnaire, complemented through open-ended interviews that lasted approximately one to two hours. The three healers were from the Batinah region. Results The practice of utilizing wasm on camels is based on the religious belief of the healers and the traditional knowledge that they acquired from their fathers/ and forefathers. They treated on an average 10-15 cases a month, most of which occurred during the winter months when camel races were frequently held. A partial list of the types of conditions treated is shown in Table 1. They evaluated the animal’s condition by conducting visual assessment of the camel, while it was sitting, standing, walking, and during a slow run. Wasm was applied to the camels while being restrained in the standing, sternal or lateral recumbency positions. Camels of all ages, including, pregnant she camels were treated. They utilized thin metal rods that were pointed to varying degrees or blunt ended. The healers used a marker pen to draw actual sign on the skin prior to the wasm application. The coal burner was heated sufficiently to assure that the metal rods were red hot. Different signs and shapes were utilized for wasm based on the healer’s personal judgment of the severity of the inflammatory condition. Most often four signs were employed, such as a straight line of varying lengths (-), period (.), a plus sign (+), and a cross sign(X) (Table 1).Thereafter