Towards an ethnography of Indian homeopathy

Abstract

Despite its large number of practitioners, medical anthropology has given little attention to Indian homeopathy. In historical accounts, homeopathy's popularity is explained by its position as a modern, yet non-colonial form of medicine, which became indigenized during the last 150 years. Other scholars argue that homeopathic concepts converge with Indian ideas on healing. However, few empirical data have been gathered on homeopathic practice in contemporary India. In this paper, we explore the perspectives of college-trained homeopaths in urban West Bengal. How strongly do they feel indebted to classical and canonical homeopathic writings? Can we observe attempts of indigenizing homeopathy by blending it with common ideas of Indian medical culture? While the homeopaths in our study report practising an orthodox version of homeopathy, we can also identify creative solutions when they are responding to their patients' expectations: conforming to the idea of single-remedy prescription by simultaneous use of placebos, short-cut homeopathic anamnesis, complementing homeopathic drugs with therapeutic nutritional advice, and developing a system of seasonal drugs are all evidence for silent hybridization of homeopathic and local ideas. In the homeopathic consultation, time pressure becomes a significant challenge and Bengali homeopaths grasp the most important homeopathic symptoms quickly.

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