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Siddha Medicine
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Objectives
The Siddha medical system could not be ignored by the programme ‘Societies and Medicines in South Asia’ coordinated by the Department of Social Sciences at the French Institute of Pondicherry, right in the middle of Tamil culture. Siddha medicine, one of the medical systems legally recognized and supported by the Government of India, is, however, little known outside Tamil Nadu and its practice limited mainly to the Tamil populations of India and overseas. Moreover, it has received scant attention from the social sciences to date.
The organization of this workshop on Siddha medicine has therefore met with an initial drawback: the shortage of social sciences researchers on this field. Nevertheless, in India as well as in some countries abroad, the renewed interest in this medicine that we may observe allow us to foresee an increase in studies, to which this workshop, certainly the first to explore this medicine through the social sciences, may contribute.
While Siddha medicine shares many of the concepts of Ayurveda and uses a lexicology in a tamilized form of Sanskrit, this medical system also has its own technical and social specificities. These will be explored by bringing together researchers on Siddha from various disciplinary backgrounds.
More specifically, this workshop aims to study aspects of the historical development of Siddha medicine, the place of this medical system in the pluralistic medical landscape of Tamil Nadu, the social dimension of Siddha practices in a variety of settings (regional diversities, institutional vs. non-institutional), and its relation to Tamil identity and culture (invented tradition, historical facts and historical claims, political discourses). If the priority has thus been to favour the historical and sociological approaches, other areas of research closely related to Siddha medicine have found their place on this workshop. Issues pertaining to materia medica, the preservation and digitalisation of its knowledge, and the manufacturing and marketing of its products will be examined at length.
Programme
Day 1 - 23rd August 2007
| 09.15 | Tea and welcome to the participants |
| 09.45 | Welcome Address Jean Pierre Muller, Director of FIP |
| 09.55 | An overview: ‘Societies and Medicines in South Asia’ Laurent Pordié, Head of the Department of Social Sciences, FIP |
| 10.05 | Presentation of the workshop Brigitte Sébastia, researcher in FIP |
| Session 1 - Siddha medicine in the texts | |
| 10.15 | Body and self: non-dualism in Siddha medicine
V. Sujatha (Jawarlal Nehru University, New Delhi) |
| 11.00 | The Tamil Siddha medical tradition: a biographical note on Pōkar, the alchemist Kanchana C.V. Natarajan (University de Delhi) |
| 11.45 | A Pathway to Eternal Bliss: Kāyakarpam in Siddha Medicine S.Jega Jothi Pandian (CRIS, Chennai) |
| 13.15 | Lunch |
| 14.15 | A Few German Diary Reports on Siddha medicine in the Halle Mission Archives C.S. Mohanavelu (U.G.C., New Delhi) |
| Session 2 - Siddha medicine and its materia medica | |
| 15.00 | Cittarkal and ancient rock-cut caves of Saduragiri Hills, Western Ghats S.P. Anandan (Dt Pharmacy, MSU, Srivilluputur) |
| 15.45 | Tea Break |
| 16.15 | Systematization and identification of botanical materia medica of Siddha medicine Sources, methods and implications J. Soundrapandi (PhD Christian College, Tambaram) |
| 17.00 | An effective tool in organising digital knowledge on Siddha medicine G. Gnana Sekari (CRIS, Chennai) |
| 20.00 | Cocktails and dinner will be served in garden of the FIP |
Day 2 - 24 August 2007
| Session 3 (a) - Siddha medicine in practice | |
| 09.15 | Varmakkalai: A historical perspective P. Jeyabalakrishnan (Annamalai University, Chidambaram) |
| 10.00 | Varma point induction experiences with traditional practitioners - Concepts of varma points presented through two medical cases T. Rajendran (Siddha practitioner, KK District) |
| 11.15 | Tea Break |
| 11.45 | Traditional Siddha practitioners in Tirunelveli : their strategies, techniques and experiences M. Ramakrishnan (Manonmanian Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli) |
| 12.30 | Siddha practices in Kongu region, Tamil Nadu R. Maruthakutti (Manonmanian Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli) |
| 13.15 | Lunch |
| Session 3 (b) - Siddha medicine in practice | |
| 14.15 | The transformation in the practice, education and research on Siddha system of medicine consequent of the social changes T. Anandan (CRIS, Chennai) |
| 15.00 | Social use of materia medica in Siddha system of medicine G Veluchamy (Director of CRIS) |
| 15.45 | Tea Break |
| Session 4 - Siddha medicine and the manufacturing and marketing of its drugs | |
| 16.15 | Manufacturing Siddha Medicines: Issues in Standardisation and Procurement N. Lalitha (GIR, Ahmedabad) |
| 17.00 | A clash of practices: Siddha medicine exportation and foreign laws on drug quality Brigitte Sébastia (IFP/EHESS Toulouse) |
| 20.00 | Conference closes with cocktails and dinner in the FIP garden |
Organisers
Department of Social Sciences, “Societies and Medicines in south Asia” programme, French Institute of Pondicherry (FIP)
Coordinator
Participants
- S.P. Anandan (Dt Pharmacy, MSU, Srivilluputur)
- T. Anandan (CRIS, Chennai)
- G. Gnana Sekari (CRIS, Chennai)
- S. Jega Jothi Pandian (CRIS, Chennai)
- P. Jeyabalakrishnan (Annamalai University, Chidambaram)
- Kanchana C.V. Natarajan (University of Delhi)
- N. Kannan (Manonmanian Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli)
- N. Lalitha (GIR, Ahmedabad)
- R. Maruthakutti (Manonmanian Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli)
- Laurent Pordié, Head of the Department of Social Sciences, FIP
- T. Rajendran (Siddha practitioner, KK District)
- M. Ramakrishnan (Manonmanian Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli)
- Brigitte Sébastia (FIP)
- J. Soundrapandi (PhD Christian College, Tambaram)
- V. Sujatha (Jawarlal Nehru University, New Delhi)
- G. Veluchamy (Director of CRIS)
Venue
Jawaharlal Nehru Conference Hall, French Institute of Pondicherry, 11, Saint Louis Street, Pondicherry – 605001
Latest addition : 7 May 2008.