1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910298387503321

Autore

Gupta Pankaj

Titolo

Healing Traditions of the Northwestern Himalayas [[electronic resource] /] / by Pankaj Gupta, Vijay Kumar Sharma, Sushma Sharma

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New Delhi : , : Springer India : , : Imprint : Springer, , 2014

ISBN

81-322-1925-2

Edizione

[1st ed. 2014.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (157 p.)

Collana

SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science, , 2191-5547

Disciplina

615.882

Soggetti

Public health

Anthropology

Culture—Study and teaching

Public Health

Regional and Cultural Studies

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references at the end of each chapters.

Nota di contenuto

Prologue -- Chapter 1. The Bountiful Himalayas -- Chapter 2. Health and Folk Medicine -- Chapter 3. Ethnic Food as Medicament -- Chapter 4. Mystic Healers -- Chapter 5. Traditional Herbalists -- Chapter 6. Indigenous Materia Medica -- Epilogue.

Sommario/riassunto

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.