Tibetan Medicine in the Contemporary World: Global Politics of Medical Knowledge and Practice
Year: 2008
Type: article
Abstract: (ebk)Th is edited volume on Tibetan medicine stands on a par with the recently published volume Soundings of Tibetan Medicine, edited by Mona Schrempf (2007), although it is not based on conference proceedings.Th e papers are of a great variety, incorporating views from the practical clinical side of Tibetan medicine (Tokar) as well as contemporary anthropological studies.Th e studies range from Ladakh (Pordié), Nepal (Craig, Aumeeruddy-Th omas and Lama), Mongolia (Janes and Hillard), China (Hua), the Tibet Autonomous Region (Adams and Li), the UK (Millard), to the USA (Vargas).Th e variety of papers refl ect the position that Tibetan medicine has attained over the past decade, that of an expanding Asian medical system with an international and plural character.Th e articles are well framed by an interesting introduction by the editor and a thoughtful summary and concluding notes by Geoff rey Samuel.Th ese two pieces place the presentations in a broader context, which adds much value to the book.In his introduction, Pordié not only critically contextualises what we call 'Tibetan medicine' or 'Sowa Rigpa' (Science of Healing), but also proposes a descriptive model, namely 'neotraditionalism', as an analytical tool.For him, neo-traditionalism marks those new Tibetan medical practitioners who are open to innovation, are usually part of urban institutionalised medical structures, and apply their 'traditional' knowledge in innovative and accentuated ways on a global scale.His model remains somewhat isolated since none of the other authors directly take up the editor's analytical perspective on neo-traditionalism (in fact the term does not appear in any of the chapters until Samuel's conclusion on page 255).Nevertheless, the ethnographic contributions elucidate the various issues that Pordié outlines in his introduction as being an integral part of a neo-traditional movement in Tibetan medicine.Samuel picks up the thread again in the conclusion of the book, not to elaborate further on neo-traditionalism, but to sketch the more global perspective of the entire situation of Tibetan medicine.His main question is how and in what way Tibetan medicine can be a meaningful object of study.He critically points out how Tibetan medicine has often been perceived as isolated from the larger context of Tibetan culture and reduced to 'Rgyud bzhi medicine', in which textual medical knowledge as taught at a medical institution is seen as central to the know-how of Tibetan medicine.He elucidates the confl icting discourse between amchi (Tibetan medical practitioners) and anthropologists, in which ethnographic studies of amchi medical practices on the village level are seen by institutionallytrained amchi as a 'waste of time'.Th e current volume off ers views that contrast with what many Tibetan medical practitioners believe is 'real' Tibetan medicine.A number of the papers draw detailed pictures of diverse and complex social and political landscapes in which Tibetan medicine is practised today, often in non-institutional settings.To bridge the gap between amchi and anthropologists, most of whom do not have the time and opportunity to study Tibetan medicine in depth, the perspective of a Tibetan practitioner would have added valuable balance to the volume.Tokar, a Westerner trained as a Tibetan medical practitioner, off ers refl ections 'from the inside' (Chapter 10), but as a New York-based practitioner trained privately with senior Tibetan amchi, he has a unique standpoint, which might not necessarily be shared by other Tibetan amchi.Th e diff erent views presented make the book an interesting read.Th e three main parts of the book cover modern institutionalisation, the politics of knowledge, and the relationship between Tibetan medicine and the West.Each part covers diverse practices of Tibetan medicine in several countries.
Source: Asian Medicine
Author: Barbara Gerke
Institution: University of Oxford
Language: English
Topic: History of Medicine Studies
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2042699578