La pharmacopée comme expression de société. Une étude himalayenne

Pordié, Laurent

doi:10.4000/books.irdeditions.7224

Cited by 20 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…Note 6 Writing about a Chinese minority nationality traditional practitioner and seller of natural pharmaceuticals in China, Judith Farquhar and Lili Lai (2014: 21) remark that -in the free-wheeling market environment of China today, any sort of expertise can be a commodity, and its vendor has a near-inviolable right to make money from it‖. (Besch 2007, Blaikie 2009, Pordié 2002. What is more, in the Ladakh region these practitioners are generally perceived by their fellow citizens according to idealistic models, with emphasis on qualities such as honesty, sincerity, and compassion (Besch 2006: 102-110, Kuhn 1994, Pordié 2007) -standards which must disqualify some of them.…”

Section: Making Money In Tibetan Medicinementioning

confidence: 99%

The Vagaries of Therapeutic Globalization. Fame, Money and Social Relations in Tibetan Medicine

Pordié¹

2016

International Journal of Social Science Studies

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Studies of the international diffusion of Asian medicine tend to overlook the social mechanisms involved in the transnational circulation of therapists. This article, built around the biography of a female practitioner of Tibetan medicine, demonstrates that upward social mobility gained through individual involvement in the NGO sector allows for the mobilization of transnational networks which sometimes offer travel opportunities in return. In the Himalayan region of Ladakh, the main reason that practitioners travel the world is through projects aiming to improve the local conditions of Tibetan medicine. Contrary to common assumptions, these journeys abroad do not primarily consolidate social status, economic capital and medical legitimacy for Asian medical practitioners; they also bring in their wake ambivalence in individual status.This is because, in the cultural context of Ladakh, gaining fame and money too rapidly or too visibly is seen as deeply problematic. This article examines these tensions and opens up research paths on the social logics and local implications of both regional development and therapeutic globalization.

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Section: Making Money In Tibetan Medicinementioning

confidence: 99%

The Vagaries of Therapeutic Globalization. Fame, Money and Social Relations in Tibetan Medicine

Pordié¹

2016

International Journal of Social Science Studies

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“…Rationality, homogeneity, and professionalism were thus 'selectively accentuated' (Pordié 2008b), while the plurality that actually characterised the tradition on the ground was consistently obscured (see Besch 2007;Blaikie 2011;Pordié 2002). This amounted to a strategic denial of Sowa Rigpa's multiplicity in order to achieve the goal of recognition.…”

Section: Recognition and Professionalisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Loss of social status, competition with biomedicine, lack of income and facilities, weak institutions, and the absence of state support were the most commonly cited causes of Sowa Rigpa's decline in Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh (Besch 2007;Blaikie 2011;Kloos 2004;Kuhn 1994;Pordié 2002Pordié , 2003. Survival for Himalayan amchi was thus much closer to the existential, absolute meaning of the word and formed part of a very different framing narrative: reversing stagnation and decline rather than facilitating further progress and expansion.…”

Section: Recognition and Professionalisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positioning Sowa Rigpa in India

Blaikie¹

2016

MAT

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The years leading up to the recognition of Sowa Rigpa (Tibetan medicine) by the Government of India in 2010 saw unprecedented interaction between various branches of the tradition and the state apparatus. These interactions grew particularly intense during March 2008, when two conferences focusing on related issues took place. The first referred to 'Tibetan medicine' and was organised by Tibetan exile institutions, while the second spoke of 'Sowa Rigpa' and was hosted by a coalition of Himalayan Indian associations. Through detailed ethnography of these events, this article examines the way in which a medical system was discursively constructed and positioned on the brink of state enfranchisement. It shows how 'discourse coalitions' and antagonisms formed during these events, and enquires as to the implications of these for the balance of power in Sowa Rigpa and for its positioning in relation to the Indian state, technoscience, and the growing market for traditional medicines.

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“…The advent of rapid development and modernization in Ladakh has increasingly displaced the subsistence economy and reciprocal forms of exchange and has led to the growth of a culture of individualism and a reliance on a cash economy. A number of studies have documented the ways in which this has precipitated a crisis in the position of the amchi in Ladakh (Kloos forthcoming; Besch and Guérin forthcoming; Pordié 2002). With the erosion of the reciprocal system that provided the economic foundation of the amchi system, there has been a corresponding decline in amchi practice.…”

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confidence: 95%

“…In India, biomedicine is commonly referred to as "allopathic medicine," a term we use in this article when discussing data from Indian reports or surveys. 2 Other works of note in this area arePordié 2002Pordié , 2008aPordié , 2008bKloos 2004Kloos , 2010Besch 2006; and Blaikie forthcoming. 3 Further details about this campaign and about the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Council can be found invan Beek (1999).…”

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The Preservation and Development ofAmchiMedicine in Ladakh

Smanla¹,

Millard

2013

East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Jo

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This article is about the preservation and development of the localized form of Tibetan medicine known as amchi medicine or Sowa Rigpa in the Himalayan region of Ladakh. The article discusses the traditional position of the amchi, the practitioner of this system of medicine, and how that position has changed over time. The rapid development of Ladakh in the last few decades has brought about fundamental changes in traditional social and economic patterns. These changes have led to challenges for the amchi system and various responses to overcome these challenges. The article focuses primarily on the work of one amchi, Tsewang Smanla, who is also a coauthor of the article. Smanla's training and practice are discussed, along with the various projects he has directed that aim to support and develop the amchi tradition in Ladakh. Keywords Tibetan medicineÁLadakhÁmedical pluralismÁmodernityTraditional medical practitioners in the Himalayan region of Ladakh are known as amchi (am chi). The system of medicine they practice is a localized form of Tibetan medicine, referred to in Ladakh as "amchi medicine" or by the Tibetan name Sowa Rigpa (gso ba rig pa), "the science of healing." The prestige in which the medical system and it practitioners are held is reflected in the meaning of the word amchi, which is derived from the Mongolian am-rjay, meaning "superior to all." This article has two authors: Tsewang Smanla, a Ladakhi amchi, who alongside his own work as a practicing amchi has spent the last twenty-seven years working on various projects to support and develop amchi practice in Ladakh, and Colin Millard, a medical anthropologist. Millard first met Smanla in 1991 when he was carrying out research on amchi practice in Ladakh for his undergraduate dissertation in anthropology at Edinburgh T. Smanla (*) Yuthog Foundation, Smanla

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La pharmacopée comme expression de société. Une étude himalayenne

Cited by 20 publications

References 1 publication

The Vagaries of Therapeutic Globalization. Fame, Money and Social Relations in Tibetan Medicine

The Vagaries of Therapeutic Globalization. Fame, Money and Social Relations in Tibetan Medicine

Positioning Sowa Rigpa in India

The Preservation and Development ofAmchiMedicine in Ladakh

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