ALL
medicinal plants
ICH Elements 6
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Tshig tsug-ni: Setting of Joint Disorders
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.
Bhutan -
Insam Jaebae and Yakyong Munhwa(Cultivation of Ginseng and Its Medicinal Application)
National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Republic of Korea Ginseng has long been cultivated and used in Korea, giving birth to a rich reservoir of prepared dishes, ritual ceremonies, and folk stories. Because of its rarity and health effects, ginseng was considered an elixir plant or cure-all among the people. Ginseng still widely appears as a symbol of health and longevity in the packaging of everyday commodities. The sociocultural symbolism of ginseng as a valuable medicine and food has been deeply entrenched in the collective ethos of the Korean people. Ginseng culture was evaluated positively during the designation process for the following aspects. Ginseng has been raised and used for centuries all across Korea. Records on its cultivation and health effects have been confirmed in various historical documents from the Joseon Dynasty. Ginseng has been actively studied in traditional Korean medicine and also offers a great potential for further studies in agriculture and economics. There are abundant cultural traditions associated with ginseng in the form of food, rituals, and folktales. Historically known for its high quality, Korean ginseng was one of the country’s most important exports. A wide range of relevant communities exist, such as local ginseng associations consisting of ginseng farmers, research institutes and academic societies dedicated to improving the cultivation methods and commercial value of ginseng, and diverse public and private organizations working on behalf of the promotion of ginseng culture. Knowledge on ginseng cultivation has been handed down through the generations and is actively practiced in the present. In recognition of all this heritage value, ginseng culture has been designated as National Intangible Cultural Heritage. * As ginseng cultivation and its medicinal use is not confined to particular regions, no holders or holder organizations have been recognized for this element.
South Korea -
Traditional medicine
Traditional medicine is the collective name of methods claiming the ability to treat (or prevent) diseases whose effectiveness and safety have not been proven by a scientific method. Typical examples are homeopathy, acupuncture and naturopathy. Despite prevalence of contemporary medicine in Uzbekistan, it is possible to observe the existence of traditional (folk) healing practice as well. Folk healers conditionally can be divided into the following types: • Folk healers who heal their patients manually (who do manual therapy) • Folk healers who heal their patients with a help of words and songs (psychotherapy) • Folk healers who heal with a help of drugs (treatment by using natural drugs).
Uzbekistan -
Forms of folk traditional medicine
Nomadic Mongols, while moving from place to place tending to their domestic animals in the severe continental climate of Central Asia with four different seasons, have created and practiced the peculiar way of traditional medicine and treatment of various illnesses. The methods of treatments experienced for centuries which derived from their simple lives, later have recognized as the traditional medicine. There are many traditional methods of treating illnesses including bleeding and lancing wounds, cauterizing wounds, puncturing with a needle to cure a disease, massaging, and treating by unorthodox means. In the west these methods are famous as “Five oriental treatment methods”. Medical herbs, limbs of animals, and minerals are used as natural forms of medical treatment individually or sometimes mixed with each other.
Mongolia