Traditional healing practices

Traditional medicine is a collection of skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures across the world. Among the many ,Indian and Chinese traditional medicines are practiced the most. Sitting in the thought bar this week it is about some not very common traditional healing practices that we indulge in.

Even before medical knowledge was codified into texts of Ayurveda, healing was practiced by people from all levels of society who live and work in the local prevailing environment. They range from home remedies related to nutrition and treatment for minor illnesses, to more sophisticated procedures such as midwifery, and treatment of snake bites and mental disorders. Traditionally Sanskrit based Ayurvedic practice was limited to certain segments of society, folk healers came from all levels of society, knowledge was spread in many languages, Unani in Urdu and Persian, and Siddha medicine in Tamil are the notable ones.

MOST COMMON ONES

Castor Oil, Cloves and Turmeric are ?the world's oldest and most valuable herbal remedy. In some communities, after a bath, a baby is slowly moved back and forth over aromatic smoke coming from incense?sambrani dhoop?on coal that is burnt in a clay pot on the floor, It's believed that this dries any damp parts on a baby’s body and helps to sleep well.

BLOOD TRANSFUSION

The surgical removal of some of a patient's blood for therapeutic purposes commonly known as bloodletting was carried out by Leeches sucking the blood ( see pic below of a leech put on a mans hand)

Healers used a variety of modalities from botanicals ( Garlic, Ginger ,Ginseng, Tulsi ) below is a photo of a Indian ?house with the Tulsi plant in the centre of the house . Hoodoo is a healing practice evolved from various traditional African religions, some say Hoodoo practice is superstitious see an artist illustration of Hoodoo practice

CHINESE TRADITIONAL MEDICINE ( TCM)

China has one of the world's oldest medical systems. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal remedies date back at least 2,200 years, The five main branches of TCM are acupuncture, herbal medicine, diet, movement, and manual therapy see pic of a TCM shop in Singapore,

In ?the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), five elements ?theory outlines the relationship between the different elements of ?nature and the life force, or "qi," that flows through them. The elements ?are Fire ,Water , Wood , Metal or Gold and Earth or Soil.

TCM uses many uncommon ingredients some of them are Human body parts human feces, dried human placenta, finger nails, child's urine, hair, dandruff and earwax. Some other concoctions of TCM include, Flying squirrel excreta, Scales of pangolins, horn of a rhinoceros, testicles of male tigers, Snake oil, secretions of various species of toads and turtle shells

Indians use Cow’s Urine (see pic below)

Tigers Teeth, Elephant’s Hair

Deer Skin, Tiger Skin, Fox Face, Elephant poo, Cows’ poo as medicinal ingredients most common of them being a coat of cow dung in front of the house and decorate it with Kolam or Rangoli like in the photo below.

Some other traditional Indian rituals include, fasting ( Karvachauth), ear piercing, walking bare foot on fresh grass with dew drops on it, drinking water from copper utensils, eating with your hands on silver plates and Surya Namaskar are practiced?for thousands of years in the Indian subcontinent.