One of the most important achievements of Mongolian culture is its traditional medical treatment of domestic animals. Mongolians engaged in animal farming for many centuries and accumulated a great deal of experience that it transmitted to younger generations orally. The oriental sutra "Nei-jin" says: 'The northern country is cool and cold. Cold diseases are frequently occurred. So, they cure cold diseases by cauterizing. They cure hot diseases by bleeding. It is evident that during the Hunnu period there were two popular treatments: cauterization and bleeding. A Mongolian traditional medical treatment of the most ancient origin, which does not demand elaborate schooling, includes the Mongolian folk medical treatment of the domestic animals. Livestock breeders treat their animals (if those diseases are non-infectious) by fumigating, bathing, sweating, applying a poultice, covering with warm cloth or felt, setting bone, cauterizing, scorching, bloodletting, lancing, shaking, massaging and stinting.

Kyrgyz people worshipped natural objects from antiquity, deeming that it is in the nature the visible and invisible worlds may coexist harmoniously. One of such practices is the Obo ceremony. It is a worshipping practice that was spread in a pre-Islamic period, when people equally worshipped the Sun and the Earth. It was understood that the Sun represents the fatherly beginning, and the Earth represents the motherly one. Sacred sites are visited by people, who need to be treated from illnesses, both physical, and spiritual; or those who want to make a prayer in memory of the dead relatives. Other widely spread practices are zikir chaluu and shamanic ritual korum zikir. In addition, other varieties of spiritual practices include talma bii and oiun. Roles of bakhshi (in Turkic tradition) and dubana (Muslim dervishes) are merged in many ways in Kyrgyz practice. Zikir chaluu represents emotional prayer, which is made because of pragmatic reasons, and as a rule, people ask for prosperity, welfare, healing, fertility or peace. Fire purification ceremony sham is performed often along with zikir chaluu during festive rituals as the Kyrgyz believe that the spiritual and visible worlds are unified in the fire.

A kind of traditional folk healing. Traditional knowledge and practices of healing broken human bones with herbs, egg, minerals and other things.

An artistic product often like a stick or a bunch of sticks basically made from powders of mixed aromatic plants and medicinal substances. It emits sweet fragrance smoke when burnt and normally offered in and at the sacred places to please deities and to get cleansed and rid-off defilements. The production of incense is considered one of the religious crafts, and it is another way of making Sang (smoke) offering. According to the Bhutanese artisans’, the craftsmanship dates back to the time immemorable when the first Lord Buddha Nam-par zig-pa (Skt. Bispa shayi) attained enlightenment and offered the Sweet Fragrance smoke by burning the Incenses by the enlightened beings; celestial beings and Bodhiasattavas made from varieties of heavenly medicinal herbs. The tradition gradually spread in the spheres of Bonpos (per Buddhist religion of Tibet) and Hinduism and maintained its skill until Buddha Sakya Muni’s period which is about 2500 years back then. The art was also adopted by the Chinese Buddhist missioners and further spread to Mongolia, Korea and Japan as well. In Tibet, the making Smoke offerings and burning incense was officially implemented the 7th Century during the reign of King Songtsen Gampo (R. 618 AD- 650 AD) when Princess Wenchang (M. 641 AD-650 AD) and her entourage members suffered illness while heading towards Lhasa (then, the capital of Tibet) as bride to the King. The Princess tried to medicated using physician attendants but could not bring to the normal yet, by offering the smoke offering made attendants fully recovered. The instruction to make Smoke Offering was from the Minister Thonmi Sambota () who had a visualization from the sacred Sakya Muni images to collect the medicinal herbs from the mountains and making smokes will ease any diseases associated to Nagas. Later, incense making and burning tradition was gradually invented using the same raw materials and medicinal ingredients of Smoke offering. In Bhutan, the art of Incense making was brought by the Country Unifier Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1654) and was initially practiced in the Dzongs (fortress) by the monk artisans. Thereafter, the tradition remained intact amongst the Bhutanese being the Buddhist and making offering of incense had been a daily special offering substances in the individual shrines, temples and monasteries. Currently, there are a countable incense manufacturing centers across the country. These industries produce mainly two different incenses: Ja-ju poe (herbal incense) with a yellowish texture and Zu-poe or Choe-jue poe (incense mixed with flesh and blood ingredients) with a brown color. Ja-ju incense is usually burned explicitly for the enlightened beings and when performing Drol-chog (ritual of Goddess Tara), while the other is offered to the guardian deities and guardian spirits during affirmation rituals.

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.

Traditions of Si Sla Mlu are deeply rooted in the societies of Asian countries, including Cambodia. In Cambodia, Sla-Mlou has become an integral part of all Khmer traditional ceremonies from birth to death, as well as other religious ceremonies of both the people and the king. The royal word to call Mlu-Sla is “Preah Srey”. Mlu Sla is important at home, especially for the wealthy, to have luxurious things for keeping this Sla Mlu. Those things are made from wood, bamboo, Ror Peak, and silver or gold, as well as Kmok Mreak and fine designs, as they are not only used to store Sla Mlu, but also for home decoration, and even in large ceremonies at the royal palace. It is seen to be placed on the table near the place where the King sit down. Before the Khmer wedding, there is a ceremony called "engagement." In that ceremony, the elders and the parents of both sides "Si Sla” as a testimony of the engagement ceremony, and even have the words" Si Sla Pjoib Peak”. It is believed that Sla Mlu is a medicine and a sacred object because the Khmer therapist chews it to spit and blow to cure diseases (Tlos, Krech, Rerm, especially Peus Plerng…) or spitting to avoid the disease from harassing and expelling evil. About two decades ago, eating Mlu Sla was a common practice for both men and women, and some are even addicted to eating Sla. Mlu Sla is a snack to welcome guests who visit. That is why Sla Mlu is often planted in almost every house. Occasionally there is a burning of Kombor (from the shell of clams, snails, and sea snails) by itself. Locals understand that eating Sla makes teeth stronger and does not cause bad breath. Eating Sla makes the teeth darker and this may be the popularity of that generation. But the Khmer people say Si Sla, apart from Sla, there are other ingredients such as Mlu, Kombor, and Tnam Juk. And the way to eat is by applying Kombor on one leaf of Mlu leaf eat together with young or ripe Sla. If the elders are without teeth, Sla and Mlu will be grinded together so that he or she can eat afterward. Then squeeze a small amount of Tnam Juk and roll it between the teeth and the lips. Some Jok Tnam without eating Sla. The sla is not swallowed, it is spit out. The saliva that comes out is as red as blood and it will make the house dirty if there is nothing to put the saliva in. That is why we always see in every house there is a spittoon for saliva, and that spittoon is also a valuable tool for showing off the wealth, the same resources as the things that used to store Sla-Mlu. In literary texts, whether it is Lberk, poetry, or song, this Si Sla Mlu tradition is also included, and there are even more legends related to the origin of this Sla-Mlu.21 Nowadays, the Si Sla-Mlu tradition has declined somewhat, especially for people in the city and children because they no longer make their teeth black like before.

The element consists of the traditional craftsmanship of a community called Thatheras of Jandiala Guru, Punjab, India. The Thatheras craft utensils are of both utilitarian and ritualistic value made of copper, brass and kansa (an alloy of copper, zinc and tin). The metals used are recommended by the ancient Indian school of medicine, Ayurveda. In Ayurvedic texts, copper is regarded as an ideal metal for making cooking utensils and possessing medicinal properties. On the other hand, kansa is the prescribed metal for retaining the nutritive values of food. The settlement of the craftspeople in Jandiala Guru is laid out along a series of narrow lanes, lined on both sides by small home-cum-worksheds with families living and working on their hereditary profession. Both male and female members participate in the processing and creation of the artefacts. The process begins with procuring cooled cakes of metal which are flattened into thin plates, and are then hammered into curved shapes, creating the required pots, urns, plates and bowls and other artefacts. Heating the plates while hammering and curving them into different shapes requires careful temperature control, which is done by using tiny wood-fired stoves (aided by hand-held bellows) buried in the earth. The utensils are manually finished by polishing with acid, sand and tamarind juice. Designs are carved by skilfully hammering a series of tiny dents on the surface of the heated metal. Using basic tools that are handmade, the craftspeople create ritualistic, ceremonial and utilitarian vessels for both individual and community use.

India 2014

The Gesar epic recounts the sacred deeds of the hero King Gesar, while unfolding a broad spectrum of oral genres, embedded hundreds of myth, legend, folktale, ballad, and proverb in narrative framework of “beads on a string,” namely “Gesar Epic Cycle,” demonstrating the sheer monumentality and vitality of verbal arts. So far we found the earliest manuscript is The Battle Between Vjang Regality and Gling Regality, which dated to the 14th century, while the earliest Mongolian woodblock version titled “Geser Khan, Guardian Lord of the Ten Directions,” was published in Beijing in 1716. As of today, there are over 120 different oral cantos on record. Not counting the texts in prose, the portions in verse alone are total over one million lines excluding different variations, indicating that the living oral epic continues to expand. As the creators and inheritors of the heroic song, the Tibetan singers and storytellers are traditionally classified in several ways by how they learn and master the epic. In oral performances, they invoke a flexible genre of bcad-lhug-spel-ma, namely ‘prosimetrum,’ by melding concisely worded prose with lyrical verse and over 80 melodies of music in responding to different contexts. They often use a variety of skills that include gestures, facial expressions, postures, and verbal sound effects to enhance the singing artistry. Among their meaningful props, the hat, bronze mirror, and costume are shaped in special ways to symbolize the traditional cosmology and aesthetics. In Mongolian tradition however, the epic singing is handed down professionally from master to apprentice. Performances usually feature musical accompaniment by stringed instruments called the “horse head fiddle” (morin khuur) and the “four stringed spiked fiddle” (hugur). The two major singing styles, “improvised melodic singing” (holboga) and “musical storytelling” (bensen ulger), are combined with oral narratives, which highlight vocal singing with deep, broad, and melodious sounds skilfully utilized as needed. Gesar epic performances play important roles in rites of passage, festival ceremonies and religious rituals in communities concerned. For instance, when a child is born, passages about King Gesar’s descending to the world are sung. The epic also reflects Tibet’s native Bon religion, in respect to beliefs, rituals, theology, divination, and so on. Moreover, the epic singing itself usually accompanies with specific ritualized practices, for example, smoke offering, meditation devoting, and spirit possessed. Hence, the epic is not only the dominant means for communicating with the hero, gods, ancestors, and members of society, but also the major entertainment in rural communities. The epic performers have acted as traditional educators who enable people understanding genealogy and history, astronomy and geography, zoology and botany, arts and crafts, medicine and treatment through their storytelling. Concrete narratives focusing on origins of nature and universe are incorporated in numerous episodes called Ode, such as Ode to Mountain, Ode to Sword, etc., revealing that the epic itself a continuum of experiential knowledge in response to their environment, their interaction with nature, universe, and history. As a Tibetan proverb goes, “On every person’s lips there is a canto of King Gesar.” It has been a constant inspiration for other art forms, including traditional forms such as Thangka painting, Tibetan opera, and Cham masked dance, as well as contemporary arts, which provides peoples and young generations a sense of cultural identity and historical continuity, while reflecting credit on the common cultural legacy, shared by generations, serves as a really all-embracing encyclopedia for the general public.

China 2009

In traditional Khmer belief, "The Medium" refers to ghosts that have spiritual power and often live in seas, rivers, lakes, creeks, streams, and ponds. Others live in trees, bushes, and mountains, and have their own more or less power. When traveling in the forest or crossing the lake, travelers must mind their words and speak carefully because some words may interrupt or annoy the spirits guarding the place, yet it will cause illness or other disasters. Another type of ghost refers to the souls of ancestors who are believed to be dead, but the soul or spirit does not die with the body. They are around to help take care of and protect children, but sometimes those souls are also angry and punish their children if they make a mistake and do something wrong. It is believed that if a person is “Arak Kach” there are weird signs such as the person is sick, trembling with fear, mouth paralysis slurred speech, or inability to walk…etc.) Although today's society is evolving to a more modern level, including modern medicine, Cambodians, especially those living in remote areas, are still seeking traditional treatment such as ghost possession. Therefore, if there are any disasters such as disease, eradication, drought, or lost cattle, and lost property for no reason, the locals will seek help from “Kru Hmor” to predict or use a method called “Bol” or summon a spirit called “Ban Jorn Arak”, each of the methods can tell the locals about a root cause behind the incidents that happened. After they found out the cause, they had to organize a "Leang Arak" ceremony, or “Ban Jorn Roub” and make an offering for Arak spirits to keep a promise. In some areas, when a male or female is possessed by a spirit, people believe that the spirit is an Arak. But in other areas, such as in the north of Siem Reap, Angkor people called a spirit that possesses a male and female body differently. If the spirit possesses a male body is called Arak, whereas a spirit that possesses a female body is called "Memot". That is why sometimes we hear people call "Pithi Leang Arak" and sometimes we hear "Pithi Leang Memot". The ritual is organized by an individual, a family, or a community to pray for a well-being for everyone. As for the date, protocol, and agenda in Pithi “Leang Arak”, we observe that they vary slightly from region to region. As mentioned above, the residents of Angkor (north against Phnom Kulen and south against Tonle Sap Lake), especially the village north of Angkor Thom (Nokor village, Pronit village, Prasatchar village, Phlong village, village Leang Dai, Daun Ov village, Tak village and Samrong village, etc.) call a spirit possesses male body is called Arak, whereas a spirit that possesses a female body called "Memot", but from time to time, we also see one or two Arak spirits to join Leang Memot with Memot spirit too. The locals in this area hold this ritual once a year, during Meak month to commemorate the Memot, who helps to cure the villagers' illnesses and make them happy. The ritual was held with ten to fifteen people who are ready to be possessed by Memot and one Memot Master. Locals believe that each person has her own birth teacher spirit “Kru Komnert” who looks after her life. Therefore, they have to install an altar and prepare offerings or Jorm Komnert for the spirit. Some install the altar on the head of the bed. There are two types of Jorm Komnert, one is made of a ripe coconut and another is made of carved wood with legs in the shape of monkeys and other animals. During the Leang Memot, participants have to bring Jorm Kru Komnert and Jorm Memot to put on a tray together. For those who have just joined or their, Jorm is torn and old, they have to make a new one that day before the ritual begins. The offerings and utensils were also prepared on the day of the ritual, including a basket of rice for storing rice, and on the basket of rice was a tray of offerings such as a banana, orange juice, fruit juice, water perfume, ten incense sticks, five candles, cigarettes, Mlu, Sla, Bay Srey Pak Cham. These items are stacked under the tray of Jorms, which is placed in front of their respective seats. At around 7 pm, the Leang Memot ritual begins. At that time, the Arak music band began to pay homage and then began to play music for Main Memot to possess the body. After playing two or three songs, the Memot spirit begins to possess and make strange gestures, some wearing a scarf on his head or tying his waist, while others wear a skirt (usually a Hol), pulling a sword or carrying a pole to dance rheumatically, the locals realized that the Arak spirit is possessing Memot body, so they shouted and clapped their hands to make the Memot dance happily, it continued until 11 PM which made the ritual very noisy. Until all the bodies are possessed by Memot, they would together joyfully. Finally, Memot Thom prays, then the villagers take the offerings “Pe Sam Neann” (Offering) and throw them away in order to avoid any misfortune or other diseases. In other parts of the region, Leak Arak ritual may be held in private, arranged by relatives of a patient in order to find out the root cause of the sickness. The most common offerings are Bay Sey, Sla Tor, Pe, candles, incense sticks, and flowers. The food offerings include rice, soup, bananas, boiled chicken and pork heads...etc. In addition, there is an Arak music band, and especially there is a messenger called “Snom”, a woman who interrogates and interprets to the spirits that possess the body and she also helps facilitate the ritual. When the ritual begins, Arak music is played to summon the spirit to possess the body. When the spirit possessed the body, the woman start to ask questions and find the root cause of the sickness. What has the patient done wrong? and plead the spirit to cure the patient with a promise to offer a steam chicken and port head to let the demons help heal the sick by promising a rooster, a pig's head, offering music, or whatever the ghost commands.

Jhakri or Dhami is a local name for the person who does the traditional ritual to cure the patient. During ancient times, in the absence of medical science, people used to treat the patient through traditional therapy by performing a ritual known as Chhimta, Jhakri. The history of becoming a Jhakri is related to the story of Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati. Goddess Sati took birth on earth as the daughter of King Himavat and Queen Mena. Narad Muni, (a storyteller who carries news and enlightening wisdom) came to look at the baby and declared she is destined to marry Shiva. While growing up, she would lose herself thinking about Lord Shiva. So when Parvati was of marriageable age, she went to the Himalayas to perform penance and appease Lord Shiva and marry him. Lord Shiva was impressed by her devotion and knew about her desire, and he married her. After living together for years, one day Lord Shiva was seriously ill and couldn't be cured for so long. Gradually Lord Shiva came to know that the main cause was because of Parvati. She is believed to be witchcraft (Sondray in Dzongkha and Bogshi in Lhotshamkha). Then Lord Shiva shared with his in-law. His in-law conveyed the idea that her soul/mind will become cleansed if the witchcraft gets out of her soul. The situation was unfathomable to solve, in the course of time Lord Shiva and his in-law tried with an idea to cease the witchcraft of Parvati. One day Parvati was stirring over something out of her attention. Suddenly, his in-law shouted in front of her and said PHAAT!!! Perceptibly, she was horrified by sound and her witchcraft dissipated. So it is said that the evolution of Jhakri started from that moment. So this story was shared by most of the interviewees. Moreover, it has another continuous story to be shared as per Mr. Singh Bir Pradhan, a senior citizen of Dzomling chiwog. Once there came a person called Jangali (another name for Jhakri) to meet Lord Shiva who was seriously ill for so long. So Jangali sat to the right of Lord Shiva and Parvati to the left. Jangali came with the Tiger grass (Botanical name: Thysanolaena latifolia) to treat Shiva by using the leaves. The treatment was akin to showing the magic. Jangali swallowed that leaf in his mouth and showed it from his bottom. Then Parvati was asked to swallow the tiger grass leaf. As she swallowed the leaf, it stuck halfway down her throat, and was finding it difficult to swallow completely. Then the Jangali asked her to cough out the leaf with full force. When Parvati coughed out with full force the leaf came out and along with it witched. As a result, the leaf left a mark on Parvati’s teeth. So this is a story regarding the evolution of Jhakri. To become a Jhakri is not the core profession of a person who can endure or learn it. Rather it's the prophecy given by Lord Shiva who has the virtue to treat people whenever they are sick. When a person who is destined to be a Jhakri, is born with the wisdom of Jhakri, he usually suffers from various illnesses at a young age. The symptoms include frequent stomach ache, headache, dizziness, back pain, and shivering body which cannot be controlled. In a few cases, the person destined to be a Jhakri even has hallucinations. They will not know the causes yet the illness continues for three to four years. According to Mr. Manbir Khadal, 65-year-old Jhakri said that if a person is destined to be a Jhakri, he behaves very strangely even when in the mother’s womb. He also added that Manbir’s mother had experienced extensive fetal movement and unusual shivering from the premature baby. The divination of a Jhakri will be only born to the person who stays clean, mentally pure, and physically healthy. It sometimes can be related to a person reincarnated as a great lama or Truelku in Buddhism since Jhakri will also be able to predict the past life of a person. Mr. Manbir Khadal also says that with time Jhakri is rarely born. “The current Jhakris’ are all born before 1990. Some of them already immigrated to other countries after the 1990s problem in southern Bhutan”. Locals shared the importance of having Dhami in their locality because if the patient is sick for a long duration, they get other ways of treating when hospital medicine does not cure them. So, the practice of the Jhakri ritual is still believed and endured by the people across the country as per Deo Maya, the wife of Dhami Manbir Khadal. She says that if a person is suffering from dizziness, and back pain when they are grieved by the local deities/divinity, and if the illness is caused by the evil spirits, they instantly come to visit her husband to do the ritual. Mr. Manbir Khadal had been living in his current village, that is lower Dzomling, for his entire life and his parents too. After he was recognized as a Jhakri, he treated countless patients from different parts of our country. From this we can conclude that the people balance their beliefs in both medical science and spiritual therapy. He said, “A few weeks ago, a quadriplegia (paralyzed from the waist down) girl with her family came to do the Jhakri ritual at my house. When she was coming down towards my house, her guardian was carrying her on his back. After doing the Jhakri ritual, she was alright and able to walk without support.” which means we can say that people still believe in the traditional healing therapy practice in this modern world.

The Lum Medicinal Bathing of Sowa Rigpa (Tibetan Medicine) has been developed by the Tibetan people within a life view based on Jungwa-nga (five elements) – i.e., Sa (earth), Chu (water), Me (fire), Lung (wind) and Namkha (space) – and a view about health and illness based on Nyepa-sum (three dynamics) – i.e., Lung, Tripa and Pekan. In Tibetan, “Lum” indicates the traditional knowledge and practices of bathing in natural hot springs, herbal water or steam to adjust the balance of mind and body, to ensure health and treat illnesses. Influenced by the Bon religion and Tibetan Buddhism, Lum embodies folk experiences in illness prevention and treatment, and reflects the transmission and development of traditional knowledge represented by the treatise Gyud zhi (the Four Tantras) in present-day health practice. Lum is practiced under the guidance of a Manpa (traditional physician) in two ways. One is bathing in Five Types of Hot Springs containing different minerals. The other, bathing with Five Medicinal Nectars, includes three methods: immersion, steam-bathing and applications with sachets. In this process, Manpa, in collaboration with Lum Jorkhan (pharmacist) and Manyok (Lum assistant), conducts symptom differentiation based on observation, questions and pulse palpation. Then preparation of medicines includes herb compound, boiling, fermentation and addition of extra herbs. The element has been transmitted over generations through daily life, religious rituals, folkloric activities and medical practices on account of its safety and accessibility. While providing Tibetans with a sense of identity and continuity, the element reflects cultural diversity and human creativity.

China 2018

The nature and essence of each man, animals, fruits, vegetables and other plants were defined in traditional folk medicine. There are mainly four mizajs: warm, cold, wet and dry. Mixed of them produced more complex natures.