Traditional Knowledge

[gaddeswarup]

Since I am relatively new to the forum, I might have missed similar topics discussed earlier. I wonder whether some facts and news about traditinal knowledge and wisdom can be collected without going too much in to, culture, religion and such. Here are a few articles that I noticed recently:
Varahamihira on earthquake prediction:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/a...ow/1259393.cms
Story of how a Thai tribe escaped devastation during the tsumani:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/...in667167.shtml
Recently, there is a highly praised book about the traditional wisdom of
Amazon tribes by David Campbell called "A land of Ghosts", Jonathan Cape, 2005. From a review:
""WHEN Dona Cabola wants to know where to plant her crops, she watches the bees. She has the jeito, wisdom accumulated over generations - and is just one of the entrancing characters we meet on David Campbell's expedition to record the plants in his Amazon study site."
More recently, there seem to be efforts to record many of India's traditional medicines.From:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4506382.stm
"The ambitious $2m project, christened Traditional Knowledge Digital Library, will roll out an encyclopaedia of the country's traditional medicine in five languages - English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish - in an effort to stop people from claiming them as their own and patenting them.


The tulsi (holy basil) plant has medicinal qualities


The electronic encyclopaedia, which will be made available next year, will contain information on the traditional medicines, including exhaustive references, photographs of the plants and scans from the original texts.

Indian scientists say the country has been a victim of what they describe as "bio-piracy" for a long time.

"When we put out this encyclopaedia in the public domain, no one will be able to claim that these medicines or therapies are their inventions. Till now, we have not done the needful to protect our traditional wealth," says Ajay Dua, a senior bureaucrat in the federal commerce ministry.

Putting together the encyclopaedia is a daunting task.

For one, ayurvedic texts are in Sanskrit and Hindi, unani texts are in Arabic and Persian and siddha material is in Tamil language. Material from these texts is being translated into five international languages, using sophisticated software coding. "

[Lambretta]

Interesting post, Swarup garu!
Esp. amazed to see mention of Tulasi in BBC news!
Is rightly said tat most of us don't know the value of our traditional medicines, despite the fact tat they r now being slowly recognised by other parts of the world! But at the same time, mere recognition doesn't help......our ppl. must know how to & be willing to apply this knowledge to the present-day scenario for the betterment of our society (which is where we differ from the West!)......or else it'll just end up as another news item!

[rajraj]

Swarup: Indigenous medicine is being neglected in India. There used to be a college for indigenous medicine in Madras. That was converted to a regular medical college offering MBBS. May be, it is time they reopened it.
I have personally seen indigenous medicine used in rural areas including surgery. In one of my visits to my mother's native village I saw a 'country doctor' (vaidyar) performing surgery on a 10 year old to remove a tumor in his calf without anesthetic. Two men held the boy down firmly and the doctor removed the tumor and put some leaves on the cut and a bandage. He was popular in that area and also travelled to nearby towns. When he died his son practiced the medicine for a while. Now, it is gone forever. That is the problem. The art is not passed on to the descendants for various reasons. The most striking example is carnatic music where the children of musicians were encouraged to go for other professions in the fifties and sixties.
L.Subramaniam went for medicine and came back to music. There are other examples too. Nadaswaram is another instrument fading away. Money talks! Unfortunately India does not have the type of philanthropists US has to promote such native arts and medicine.

[gaddeswarup]

Raj and Lambretta,
Thanks for the comments. Perhaps some of the members can record here whay they know or here. I have been out of A.P. for a long time and what all I know is what I read in newspapers. When I was in a.P. I used to hear treatments for jaundice and fixing fractures by using some herbs near Tirupati. Recently I read (in "Conversations in Tarangambadi") that sidhars used to emphasize on the health of body as well as mind. I read elsewhere, they experimented wit new medicines and treatments quite different from Ayurveda. Ayurveda itself seems to be still widely practiced in Kerala. In a different direction, here is an artcle from Indiatimes a few months ago about water conservation:
http://www.indiatogether.org/2005/aug/agr-dproof.htm
about recent uses of an old book:
This book, Krushi Jnana Pradeepike (KJP), now available in print, is unique. It was written based on the time-tested practical knowledge of farming. Ghanamatha Nagabhushan Shivayogi Swamiji, the author of this book, hailed from Daroor, in Andhra Pradesh. He had spent a good part of his life in northern Karnataka. The 350-page text is full of practical information to help farmers grow a variety of crops, to prepare manure and to conserve soil and water. Ten pages are allotted for soil and water conservation and drought-proofing. The book, in Kannada, was published only after Shivayogi Swamiji's death. So far, it has sold more than 40,000 copies. Says D.D. Bharamagaudra, a well-known organic farmer of Yelavatti, Karnataka, "KJP is the scripture for the farmers pursuing dry land agriculture in Karnataka. It is unfortunate that the book isn't known to many farmers even now."

[Lambretta]

Unfortunately India does not have the type of philanthropists US has to promote such native arts and medicine.

Raj,
unfortunately today, the "philanthopists" in India r more inclined to (financially) promote certain other things, which wudn't be beneficial to the general society!

[rajraj]

Swarup,
There is not much I can add about what is happening in India in alternative medicine. Like you I have been out of India for a long time (40 years).
I became interested when I came across a book by Dr.Andrew Weil, a Harvard MD turned natural healing/herbal medicine expert. The spices we use in Indian food have a lot of medicinal values. He talks about garlic. You might want to get some of his books.

Lambretta: I am fully aware of what you said. Giving back to the society is something we have to learn from the US !

[a.ratchasi]

I would like to share something here which is infact long overdue.
Months ago, one of the hubbers here mentioned about the medicinal value of black sesame seed in regulating the monthly menses cycle.

Menses irregularity seems to be a common issue among most women and is normally blamed on stress, hormonal imbalance and hectic lifestyles among others.

This embarked me on a small research which saw myself collecting info from various sources. These included articles to interviews with several senior citizens.

My friends and colleagues who have tried it are swearing about its effectiveness. Just for your info, these are the very ladies for whom modern medicine was of no help.

Thanks to Pradeep's knowledge-sharing, I found myself learning and researching more on other little known traditional remedies.

[pavalamani pragasam]

Gingelly oil(from sesame seeds) played a very important role in old paatti vaithyam rules for women right from puberty through delivery, after delivery etc. My grandma used to say it is best for toning the muscle. Recently in a book for improving memory power I read everyday raw gingelli oil must be added to our food.

[pavalamani pragasam]

"Idhayam nallennai" is widely advertising the innumerous benefits of mouth gargling with it to rid oneself of a lot of illnesses!

[Shakthiprabha.]

I would like to share something here which is infact long overdue.
Months ago, one of the hubbers here mentioned about the medicinal value of black sesame seed in regulating the monthly menses cycle.

Menses irregularity seems to be a common issue among most women and is normally blamed on stress, hormonal imbalance and hectic lifestyles among others.

This embarked me on a small research which saw myself collecting info from various sources. These included articles to interviews with several senior citizens.

My friends and colleagues who have tried it are swearing about its effectiveness. Just for your info, these are the very ladies for whom modern medicine was of no help.

Thanks to Pradeep's knowledge-sharing, I found myself learning and researching more on other little known traditional remedies.

Also BANANA FLOWER is supposed to control excessive bleeding during mensuration.

I am told, drinking the raw extract of banana flower early in the morning (add buttermilk and salt to beat the bitter taste) works wonders.