An Indologist Looks at Siddha Medicine in Tamil Nadu

This is a working paper based on my two-month study of Siddha medicine at the IFP. It takes the form of a presentation of the problems with studying Siddha medicine and the basic principles and practices of Siddha medicine based largely on secondary literature, conversations with scholars working with Siddha and my own limited observations. My approach to the subject is that of a philologically trained historian, rather than a fieldwork anthropologist. However, it has been my experience over the many years of studying the textual history and practice of Ayurveda, that fieldwork is crucial for the correct understanding of such a technical knowledge-system as medicine. Therefore in 1997, I underwent six months of training in Ayurveda at BHU, which has been an invaluable source of supportive information for my textual and historical studies. Using the knowledge gained in the field and through reading and studying Ayurvedic texts, I explore the development of Siddha medicine in Tamil Nadu with an eye towards its relationship to other systems of Indian medicine, but especially to Ayurveda.

My work at the IFP in the Programme Societies and Medicines in South Asia, is part of a larger project under the auspicious of the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen. The project involves different studies related to the former Danish colony of Tranquebar (Tarangambadi), located some 120 kilometers south of Pondicherry. My study is entitled “Traditional Indian medicine surrounding Tranquebar.” A description of the project and a series of reports on my work thus far can be found via the home page of the project.

Speaker

Dr. Kenneth G Zysk, University of Copenhagen

Organisers

Department of Social Sciences, French Institute of Pondicherry

Venue

Jawaharlal Nehru Conference Hall, French Institute of Pondicherry, 11, Saint Louis Street, Pondicherry - 605 001

Time

16h30

See also : Societies and Medicines in South Asia programme page.