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Health and Folk Medicine

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Healing Traditions of the Northwestern Himalayas

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science ((BRIEFSENVIRONMENTAL))

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Abstract

The effort to realize and uphold an optimum state of health has always drilled the minds of men and as a result, a number of healing systems have evolved around the world. Communities have devised systems to alleviate the tiresome condition arising out of illnesses using their own technique, which vary from one community to another. Each culture has set outlook regarding the disease causation and these are rooted in their belief systems. There are several theories which not only explain the cause of disease but also community’s health care seeking approach. Archaeological and existing genetic facts state that human population voyaged to the Indian subcontinent and their familiarity with herbs and other naturally accessible material is as old as human civilization.Folk medicine includes healing practices and ideas on health care which are limited to a particular group in a culture, and are generally transmitted orally or word of mouth. In India, folk medicine is highly conditioned by the impact of folk deities and, sometimes it is so deep rooted that medicine and folk deities become an integrated whole. Across the whole Himalayan Region, folk healers have a remarkable knowledge of herbs, accumulated through generations and they have been developing the health care traditions through constant experimentation and years of experience which is rooted in understanding and realistic considerations.

…Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity...

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Pali is a literary language belonging to Prakrit language family and was initially written down in Sri Lanka during the 1st century BCE.

  2. 2.

    Rasashastra literally means the “Science of Mercury”.

  3. 3.

    Sowa-Rigpa is traditional art of healing common in Tibetan communities.

  4. 4.

    Yoga is a generally known generic term for physical, mental, and spiritual disciplines which got evolved in ancient India.

  5. 5.

    Tantra is a style of religious ritual and meditation that originated in medieval India.

  6. 6.

    Nighantu is ancient pharmacology book written between the 12th and 14th centuries.

  7. 7.

    Yin Yang represents the ancient Chinese perceptions of how things work.

  8. 8.

    Amchi is the traditional Tibetan doctor.

  9. 9.

    Hakims is the traditional Unani physician.

  10. 10.

    Vaidyas is the folk herbalist.

  11. 11.

    Atharvaveda is a sacred text of Hinduism and is one of the four Vedas, often called the ‘fourth Veda’.

  12. 12.

    Talam is the process of applying medicated paste on the forehead of the patient.

  13. 13.

    Chakra Basti is the process in which the Bastior the pot is applied to body’s chakras, for instance, umbilical region.

  14. 14.

    Greeva Basti, in Sanskrit the word Greeva refers to neck and Basti stands for a pot. So the process, in which lukewarm medicated oil is allowed to stand on back of neck, is called as the Greeva Basti. The process is very useful in maintaining normal structure and working of neck region.

  15. 15.

    Netra Dhara is a special cleansing method of pouring herbal decoctions in eyes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Integrated Himalayan Studies, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

    Pankaj Gupta & Vijay Kumar Sharma

  2. Department of Biosciences, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

    Sushma Sharma

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  1. Pankaj Gupta
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  2. Vijay Kumar Sharma
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Correspondence to Pankaj Gupta .

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Gupta, P., Sharma, V.K., Sharma, S. (2014). Health and Folk Medicine. In: Healing Traditions of the Northwestern Himalayas. SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1925-5_2

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