Final answer:
Anthropologist W.H.R. Rivers documented an indigenous health practice in the Solomon Islands as a 'true therapeutic measure,' illustrating the principle of cultural relativism in medical anthropology.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to anthropologist W.H.R. Rivers, who conducted fieldwork in the Solomon Islands in 1913, he observed that the indigenous health system was a 'coherent social institution' and identified an indigenous health practice involving the massaging of someone's abdomen to relieve constipation as a 'true therapeutic measure'. This observation highlights the medical anthropological concept of cultural relativism, where health practices and treatments are understood within the context of each culture's unique perspective. Such practices may differ from conventional Western medicine, but they are often rooted in the culture's historical and environmental circumstances and their understandings of health and the human body.
Indigenous health practices such as the one Rivers observed can be highly effective within their own cultural contexts. Additionally, these indigenous methodologies often emphasize preventive measures, holistic health, and the integration of community and social norms into healthcare, contrasting with the pathogen-focused approach of biomedicine that became prevalent with colonial expansion. The research and documentation of such practices contribute to a broader understanding of health and healing across cultures, and the value of respectful cross-cultural comparison and ethnographic research methods in the study of human health.