| Description |
Ap (Sr. citizen) Thukten from Eusa is well-known (locally) for fixing the broken legs and dislocated joints in the village. He has been practicing for more than 40 years. Bhutanese people in the past have to travel as far as Tibet to learn, and get trained on healing of joint disorder. Nevertheless, few people in the community still possess the skills of healing, and one of them was the father of Ap Thukten from whom he inherited the knowledge on healing.
He was a self-taught man who observed, and learnt the skills when his father was healing the joint disorders of the people in the community. Currently, he treats 10-15 people annually, and his services are always appreciated. He happily renders the service for free, as a form of kindness, where he heartily contributes to the benefit of the people. The healer said that it is easier to treat younger people than the older ones. It takes less time for the children to recover from the treatment, unlike the adults who takes more time (even a year) for the severe injury. Whenever patients visit him, he used to find the possibility of the treatment by studying their age, nerves and identify the severity of the problems.
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| Social and cultural significance |
During the healing of disorders, the patients visit the healer and offer some gifts (Cha-jey) and keeps the relationship stronger in the community. The healer could help the community people with his knowledge, skills and therefore enhance the bond and respect for each other in the community. The healer wishes to help his people whenever his service is required and he wishes to impart or teach his skills to the younger generations. |
| Transmission method |
The youth today show less interest in learning traditional methods due to the advancement of technologies, and availability of modern health services. However, the knowledge on the benefits of herbal plants, and identifying the herbal plants are imparted to the people from their young age so that they can preserve and value those plants. There will be a point of time when such practices would be faced out from the community because the younger generations do not show any interest in learning those things, and moreover there are very few people living in the villages according to Ap Thukten. |
| Community |
Few elderly people in the community are the bearers of this practice. All of them are self-taught who didn’t attend any training institute and inherited the skill from their parents or elder people in the community. The practices are on the verge of disappearance from the community and even from the country.
Data collected by: Ms. Kelzang Delkar, Teacher, Taktse Higher Secondary School, Trongsa |
