Siddhars, alchemy and the abyss of tradition: 'Traditional' Tamil medical knowledge in 'modern' practice.

I pursue a sociology of knowledge of Siddha medicine, the classical, indigenous medical system of Tamilnadu (India). I focus upon the ambiguities of Siddha revivalism in contemporary India, and the ethical conflict that has developed between the 'traditional' personalized mode of validating medical expertise among 'hereditary' practitioners as in the father-to-son gurukula style of learning, and modes of validation linked to 'modern' institutions, dating from the British colonialist period, which emphasize 'scientifically' standardized mass education, government validated examination, and registration as a prerequisite for medical practice. My methodology is a combination of participant-observation among contemporary village based Siddha practitioners, sociological research at the two presently existing government Siddha medical colleges, and historical research at libraries and archives. Through the controversy generated by Siddha medical revivalism in contemporary India, I examine the contradictory value choices of 'traditional' religious esotericism and the 'modern' scientific construction reality. Through a combined ethnographic and historical study, I demonstrate that much contemporary 'traditional' Siddha medical practice can be understood as a response to years of government policy establishing educational restrictions and privileges for 'hereditary' and 'traditional' medical practitioners.Ph.D.Cultural anthropologyHealth and Environmental SciencesMedicineScience historySocial SciencesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/129774/2/9624629.pd