The action or mission statement is curing and preventing diseases, in humans as well as plants. Leadership is in the hands of the paye, who controls the work of his helpers, and the oporo pisoa who helps patients to recover after the paye has extracted the 'insect' by giving them a massage and other treatments. The power at play is supernatural, secret and concentrated. There are a multitude of other actors, each specialized in certain diseases or spirits. Several actors have special knowledge of medicinal plant and animal products, ranging from medicinal properties to the location and ecology of the species.
Knowledge acquisition is slow, and takes the form of initiation rather than training and extension.
In addition, there is the example of the hospital. The field of action of the hospital is healing. It is organized hierarchically, with the hospital doctor as leader. The social organization includes health workers. Many of them do not have the necessary links with the existing indigenous health system.