Healing traditions of the northwestern Himalayas / Pankaj Gupta, Vijay Kumar Sharma, Sushma Sharma.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gupta, Pankaj, author.

Sharma, Vijay Kumar (Sociologist), author.

Sharma, Sushma (Of Himachal Pradesh University), author.

Contributor:

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Series:

SpringerBriefs in environmental science 2191-5547

Springer briefs in environmental science, 2191-5547

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Medicine, Ayurvedic.

Materia medica.

Mountain people.

Traditional medicine.

India.

Traditional medicine--Himalaya Mountains Region.

Mountain people--Health and hygiene--Himalaya Mountains Region.

Materia medica--Himalaya Mountains Region.

Himalaya Mountains Region.

Medical Subjects:

Medicine, Ayurvedic.

India.

Physical Description:

xxii, 149 pages : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

New Delhi : Springer, [2014]

Summary:

This book discusses the perception of disease, healing concepts and the evolution of traditional systems of healing in the Himalayas of Himachal Pradesh, India. The chapters cover a diverse range issues: people and knowledge systems, healing in ancient scriptures, concept of sacredness and faith healing, food as medicament, presumptions about disease, ethno-botanical aspects of medicinal plants, collection and processing of herbs, traditional therapeutic procedures, indigenous Materia medica, etc. The book also discusses the diverse therapeutic procedures followed by Himalayan healers and their significance in the socio-cultural life of Himalayan societies.The World Health Organization defines traditional medicine as wisdom, skills, and practices based on theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, used in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness and maintenance of health. In some Asian and African countries, 80% of the population depends on traditional medicine for primary health care. However, the knowledge of these conventional healing techniques and traditions associated with conveying this knowledge are slowly disappearing. The authors highlight the importance of safeguarding this indigenous knowledge in the cultural milieu of the Himachal Himalayas.This book will be an important resource for researchers in medical anthropology, biology, ethno-biology, ecology, community health, health behavior, psychotherapy, and Himalayan studies.

Contents:

1. The bountiful Himalayas

2. Health and folk medicine

3. Ethnic food as medicament

4. Mystic healers

5. Traditional herbalists

6. Indigenous materia medica.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

ISBN:

9788132219248

8132219244

OCLC:

879246449

Publisher Number:

99959741216