Lay reflections of health experiences and Sinhalese medicine in Sri Lanka

Abstract

This report analyzes how lay reflections of health have been integrated into context-specific traditional medical systems in Sri Lanka. Interviews, focus group discussions, and case studies with people practicing traditional medicine and patients treated with it have shown how health is a socio-cultural experience embedded in Sinhalese culture. Sinhalese medicine as a major traditional medical system in the country has corresponded to laypersons’ reflections of health, thereby reforming its structure so that it can provide a more reliable service to those who are in need. Compared to the allopathic medical system, this report argues that Sinhalese medicine in Sri Lanka is capable of accommodating lay reflections more precisely, since it is a culturally responsive medical system in the country.

Keywords:

• Sri Lanka
• Sinhalese medicine
• allopathic medicine
• lay reflections of health

Notes

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to editor Gordon Mathews and the anonymous reviewers for their generous and thoughtful comments. I also wish to acknowledge Dr. M.G. Manuratne, Dr. Vijitha Nanayakkara, and Prof. Kalinga Tudor Silva for their help and encouragement in improving this piece. Lastly, I deeply appreciate the generosity and hospitality of all those who shared their stories with me.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Jeewaka was the major physician and the personal doctor to the Lord Buddha and his disciples. Jeewaka appears in Poojawaliya, another influential writing describing an ideal doctor who contributed his abilities to the Lord Buddha and the monastic community. .

2 King Buddhadāsa was a great doctor who studied both Ayurveda and Local Medicine according to ancient legends in the country..

3 Chakkupala Bhikku is a story depicted in the Dhammapadattakatha and the Sadhdharma Rathnawaliya, two highly influential writings in Sri Lanka. It tells of a Buddhist monk who was blind due to a non-meritorious deed performed in his previous life as a doctor..

4 Sinhalese medicine has been highly influenced by Ayurveda, so that some doctors employ the humoral theory of illness (thun dos) borrowed from Ayurveda when they diagnose an illness. Thus, some diseases are considered to be caused by humoral imbalance, and treatments are for rebalancing the basic constituents of body humors such as vāta (wind), pita (acidity), and sema (phlegm).

5 Bali Shanthikarmaya is a ritual involving ceremonial dancing prevalent in rural Sri Lanka. This ritual is performed in order to have blessings and happiness from local deities. Berava (one of the low castes) are given the responsibility to organize the ritual and perform it.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Samitha Udayanga

Samitha Udayanga is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka. His research interests include medical anthropology, Southern theory, religion in Asia, social development in developing countries, and issues in South Asia.