Themes
tribal healing practices
Healing Practices of Adi Tribe, arunachal pradesh
Medicinal plants are used extensively to treat diseases by the Adi people. They have a vast database of information about the indigenous flora and decide on plants based on their curative properties. The plants are then used in forms ranging from decoctions to pastes and infusions to treat diseases such as fevers, wounds, digestive issues, and more, offering the best and natural treatments.
Healing in the Adi tribe mostly comes through magico-religious ceremonies by priests or shamans. Shamans or priests use intricate rituals to cure ailments, remove evil forces, and normalize equilibrium. They perform chants, dance, and present sacrifices during these rituals as part of belief in the existence of supernatural healing and fusion of body and spirituality approaches.
Conventional bone-setters from the Adi tribe use ancient practices in setting broken bones and dislocations. Conventional knowledge transmitted from generation to generation includes massage, splinting, and herbal use. These skilled practitioners provide satisfactory relief from pain and healing without the amenities of modern medicine, demonstrating the traditional medical abilities of the tribe.
The Adi tribe also possesses unique practices for the management of poisonous bites and insect, snake, and other animal stings. These include the use of herbal poultices, sucking out venom, and rituals. These practices reflect their total knowledge of natural remedies and effective first-aid in emergency situations.
Healers therefore are very important to the members of a specific community in the context of the Adi tribe as they balance all the spiritual energies, cure the various manifestations of psychological disturbances, and procure blessings from deities through some additional rituals. They do work in prayers and meditative practices and other ceremonial activities in which healing is regarded as a totality by focusing on the mental, spiritual, and physical aspects associated with it.