In the last decade, Meghalaya has seen a noticeable decline in the awareness of traditional healing and the use of traditional medicine especially among the younger generation. This may be attributed to the increasing popularity and improved access to modern Western medicine which has confined traditional healing to non-mainstream and localised practices across small pockets of the state. As the country focuses on making medical care and medicine accessible to all sections of society, it is equally important to preserve this unique and valuable traditional knowledge that has been accumulated over centuries of experience and practice by a vast number of traditional healers, and prevent this knowledge from being completely lost.
Traditional healing has a number of benefits when compared to modern medicine. While it is true that modern medicine can detect and cure most illnesses, long-term and short-term side effects can often be problematic. Traditional medicine can be a viable alternative especially for common and non-threatening illnesses, as it typically does not have deleterious side effects. However, proper knowledge of this practice is essential for truly benefiting from it.
In Meghalaya, experienced traditional healers still have thriving practices across the state. These healers possess deep knowledge of traditional herb-based treatments that has been passed down across generations but also honed through regular practice. These healers are also well known and sought after for their massage therapies. Mawryngkneng is one of the many villages across Meghalaya where renowned traditional healers still practice. The Knowledge Services team of MBDA visited Mawryngkneng village and met with Bah Dlas Ranee, a well known 66 year old traditional healer who resides and practice there.
Bah Dlas has been practicing Traditional healing for more than 30 years. A spiritual person, he believes that his skill is a divine gift and that it is his duty to use this skill to help people. Bah Dlas started practicing traditional healing in 1981. Back then, Bah Dlas worked only within his neighbourhood and not many people knew of him. It was only in 1994 when he started regularly curing people of chronic diseases such as asthma, gastritis, back pain, rheumatism, diabetes and also malaria, chest congestion, and kidney stone problems that word spread. Soon after, Bah Dlas started receiving patients from all over the state and even from other countries.
Today, Bah Dlas has a practice set up in a rented house in Mawryngkneng village. His patients include people from countries such as Norway, Canada, China, and Nepal. Bah Dlas used to have an in-patient facility with ten beds. Lack of demand by patients for overnight residence forced Bah Dlas to scale down since maintenance of the beds was becoming a significant cost. He also used to run a clinic in Dhanketi, Shillong which he started in 2011with the support of Martin Luther Christian University but he eventually had to close it down in 2014 since most of his patients preferred home visits. Bah Dlas himself cultivates a number of medicinal plants and herbs on a six and a half hectare land that he owns, he also has a network of about eight to ten people across various villages who help him collect the appropriate herbs for his medicines.
During our conversation with Bah Dlas, he explained that there is a fundamental difference between the traditional approach to healing and that of modern Western medicine. As he put it, doctors practicing modern Western medicine generally diagnose patients based on symptoms. However, this approach can overlook ailments that do not have any observable symptoms. In traditional healing healers first examine the patients, and then ask the patients to describe the symptoms, and finally match the patients’ descriptions with their own diagnosis. Bah Dlas explains that this is necessary as sometimes the actual ailment can be very different from the symptoms perceived and described by the patient. Bah Dlas uses an unusual technique to diagnose his patients - he asks his patients to breathe onto his palm three times. This often gives him all the information he needs to correctly diagnose the problem. His treatments are equally unique. Unlike modern doctors who prescribe several medicines for patients with multiple symptoms, Bah Dlas always prescribes one medicine at a time. The medicines use specific herbal combinations that can address multiple illnesses simultaneously. It can take up to 6 days for Bah Dlas to prepare one herbal medicine. He does not retail his medicines since they are not mass produced but made specifically for individual patients. Nearly 1,000 people visit him for treatment every year.
Bah Dlas says that many of his patients come to him after not being able to get any relief from modern Western treatments. Others come to him knowing that herbal treatments typically do not cause negative side effects on health. Then there are those who come to him because they do not have access to modern medicines or because they cannot afford it. Whatever the case may be, Bah Dlas emphasizes the importance of faith. He says that for those who believe, his medicine can provide relief almost instantaneously. For others, it may take longer or not work at all. An important point revealed during the discussion was the availability of herbs. Bah Dlas is wary about the effects of climate change and how it will affect the herbs he uses.
Particularly interesting is the fact that Bah Dlas does not have a fixed price for his services or his medicines. Instead, he only takes whatever his patients are able to pay. His philosophy is that access to healthcare should not depend upon what someone is able to afford.
Today, Bah Dlas is one of the key figures in traditional medicine in Meghalaya. He is passionate about his practice and continues to encourage other healers to come forward and share their knowledge as this will help preserve collective knowledge around traditional healing methods. He himself works tirelessly to disseminate this knowledge and regularly teaches people about herbal medicines and the healing properties of indigenous plants. He has given several lectures at local schools and colleges including Shillong College and St. Edmunds College. He has also participated as a resource person at Community Dialogues organized by the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority around the issue of traditional knowledge and the importance of preserving it as an integral part of Meghalaya’s heritage.
Bah Dlas himself notes that though he has trained many people, they do not practice regularly and hence do not refine their knowledge or help spread it. He also mentions that some individuals would like to mass produce and market traditional medicines as a business. Bah Dlas strongly felt that this attitude was detrimental to the preservation of this indigenous knowledge. And yet he is hopeful given what seems to be a recent re-awakening of interest in traditional healing practices. Passionate about preserving and sharing this knowledge, Bah Dlas hopes that one day dedicated institutions shall be set up in the state to preserve and also revive these unique and wonderful nature based healthcare practices.