By Chenmiki Laloo
Our mothers would apply lime to our stomach drawing a very visible plus sign if we are suspected to be suffering from stomach discomfort (sabuit sakai). She would apply a chewed beetle leaf to our wounds if we fell down or met with a minor accident. She even made us drink a mixture of water and salt as a replacement for ORS when we are down with loose motion. There are several examples of remedies that are highly effective and curative. Well, who invented all these remedies? I would ask my mother this question. She says she learnt it from her mother and likewise her mother got it from our ancestors. Oral communication passed down by our ancestors continues to sustain the traditional wisdom of our indigenous people.
The first modern medicine (morphine) was developed in 1804 by a German scientist Friedrich Serturner. Prior to that invention there were traditional medicine practitioners who were the caretakers and healers of the society; they were pioneers in treating, diagnosing, and preventing illnesses in order to maintain well-being. By definition, traditional medicine refers to health practices, approaches, indigenous knowledge and cultural beliefs incorporating plant, animal and mineral based medicines, spiritual healing and manual techniques of birth attending. The practice of traditional medicine and traditional healing still plays a pivotal role in our society, however they are more relevant in villages and inaccessible areas where development has bypassed them. A pregnant woman in labour has to climb 4000 steps to reach the main road and then catch a public transport to get to the hospital is an ideal example of how traditional medical practitioners are needed in these areas.
On March 2, 2011, the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council passed an act for promotion and protection of the Khasi Traditional Medicine. The Act received the Governor’s assent on September 22, 2011. The Act defines Khasi traditional Medicine as the comprehensive wisdom, knowledge, skills and practices in the broad context of holistic wisdom including philosophy, theology, social customs and traditions, diets and foods, folklore and legend, sacred sites and space, traditional social lifestyles and community relationships, home remedies, spiritual and psychological healing, chants, prayers and invocations; that are practiced, performed and used by Khasi traditional healers, priests, elders, housewives and other practitioners throughout Khasi society. Now who is a Khasi traditional medicine practitioner? The Act defines him/her as someone who is highly-learned in the knowledge, skill and practice of Khasi traditional medicine. After commencement of the Act, the KHADC constituted a Commission known as the Khasi Traditional Medicine Commission. The major functions of the Commission are to educate, train, promote, protect, formulate policies, encourage documentation and research, ensuring they have knowledge of their rights, coordination with various government and civil agencies and to manage finances for the protection and promotion of Khasi Traditional Medicine.
The United Nations General Assembly, which adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples in September 2007. Article 24 of the resolution states that the ‘Indigenous peoples have the right to their traditional medicines and to maintain their health practices, including the conservation of their vital medicinal plants, animals and minerals’.
On May 28, 2022, Grassroots – an indigenous rights-based organisation committed to working for community development from an indigenous and gender perspective organised a one-day session titled “Bridging intergenerational gaps and promotion of traditional wisdom through storytelling” at Khrang, Laitkroh block. The program was conducted in collaboration with Nangkyrsoi secondary school and youths from the village. The session is also a component of the project ‘Kyrsiew Ia La Ki Tynrai’ supported by Pawanka Fund. We might wonder, why storytelling? In the past storytelling was used as a medium that shaped our moral and cultural values and customary laws. The famous Khasi anthology “Sawdong ka Lyngwiar Dpei” interprets that these stories were mostly told around the hearth. Another advantage of storytelling is that it draws family and friends closer. However, the art of storytelling is a forgotten art in this fast-moving world. Grassroots organized this programme to bridge the intergenerational gap between the traditional medicine practitioners and the younger generation through storytelling. It was aimed at disseminating information on the knowledge and wisdom of traditional medicinal practice. Students and teachers of Nangkyrsoi secondary school, youth groups from Khrang and Kongthong, village organisations and traditional medicine practitioners were participants amongst others. Four prominent traditional medicinal practitioners were invited to share stories about their journey, challenges and intergenerational traditional wisdom. Klonnel Khongrymmai- a Shaman narrated how he uses the power of spoken words to fight illnesses. He negotiates with the divine power to heal the person. He has the ability to feel the illness inside a person with his fingertips. He emphasized on healing through the power of faith. Another healer was Prisca Lynrah- a massage therapist who is visually impaired. Her recognition for traditional healing by the general masses began in 1995 when she healed her own husband. The mystery of healing was sensory – by feeling with the hands. She helped several women conceive through her massage. She is also assisted by her husband when she needs medicines to be extracted from plants, bees, etc. The third practitioner Darmasius Rani, a traditional herbal medicine practitioner emphasised that his expertise lies in helping accident victims with wounds and broken bones, etc. He vividly explained while displaying the plants he uses for blood clotting and other remedies. He is an orphan whose gifts were visible since he was young. His first clients were his own brothers and himself. He credited his knowledge to his elders. The last practitioner who shared his story was Andreas Sohkhlet- who is close to 90 years but still has lots of patients seeking his expertise. He started his journey of traditional healing in 1963 when he had enough of cremating dead bodies especially those of children every day. “Those days we cremated dead bodies and every week I cremated 5-6 children”. With the help of his elders, he started experimenting on herbs and when people healed, he started gaining ideas on the mixture and components of the medicine. With his experiment, he would give these herbal mixtures to people and children and then noticed that the number of deaths decreased. He continues with this practice till date. Memorial Khongkai shared a meaningful story from the Lepcha community that was told to her by her friend Minket Lepcha’ through puppeteering exhibiting the story of a plant called ‘Oroxylum indicum’ locally known as ‘ Pagoreep ‘ which has its significance in human rites and rituals and is used as a medicinal plant for healing. In this age of technological advancement, it is imperative to revisit our roots and bridge intergenerational gaps by tapping on traditional or non-traditional media so that stories such as these carrying meaningful insights about our society are not lost. A famous American author Ursula K. Le Guin once said, “There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories”