Sanitizers, antidotes and vaccines from ancient Tamilnadu

Vanakkam my dear friends, let us keep distance while, I talk!

Immunization / vaccination - antidote for virus and sanitizers - known in ancient tamilnadu !In our village side - even today, people sprinkle water mixed with fresh cow dung and then smear cow dung in the floor and thinnai (place where people sit and chat). This practice, it seems started during the AMMAI (small pox) out breaks and in south India we started having AMMAN, Kali amman Mari amman bhavathy amman...... as gods. Tender neam leaf extract is given as medicine and ...cow dung smearing and sprinkling became a practice to avoid the "evil spirits" entering home. Those days we used to have Patti maadu (100s of un tamed cattle) taken to forest for grazing and brought back, some are chosen to work in the field and OX cart pulling, rest just graze and reproduce. Humans and cattle were immunizing each other living closely. Along with these PPL avoid touching each other by wishing Vanakkam (Namaste) and avoid food touched by others, particularly from other clans who are not maintaining hygiene or live in mountains (could be the origin of untouchability!! which now in COVID times, all are following).  

So, my dear friends from the west, USA and Europe, stop laughing at Indian customs, you better follow them!!  

We know about keeping distance to avoid contagious diseases too!

These diseases were called "ottuvar otti" (if you mingle, it will cling to you), People used turmeric water as disinfectant and neem as broad spectrum antidote. Even today you might have seen TN police throwing turmetic water on PPL who are out during lockdown! Might sound funny - but that is how our ancestors somehow survived the outbreaks of small pox and plaque and we are here - living, probably we are the meaning of our ancestors life?