Traditional Medicine in Asia

Traditional Medicine in Asia
later, he uses only his fingernails. The
excised tumour is handed over to the
patient. The wound is dressed with gauze
or cotton. No antiseptic is used.
Gus does not charge a fee, but patients
may contribute voluntarily, for which the
healer provides a box. He has many pupils
who learn the Koran from him and, at
certain times, they chant prayers together
(isthighosah). However, Gus does not
impart his therapeutic technique to his
pupils, though they help him in curing his
patients.
Another kind of supernatural healer is
one who is able to remove tumours without
touching the patient. After registration, the
patient writes out his/her complaints on a
piece of paper, which is handed over to the
healer. The healer sends the paper back to
the patient after writing (in Javanese) about
the disease, the procedure to be followed
and the fee. If a patient agrees to these
recommendations, he lies down in a supine
position while the healer goes up to the
second floor of his house. The healer later
comes down and gives the patient a brief
glimpse of a lump of bloody flesh, said to
be the removed tumour. If the patient
desires, he can ask a doctor for an
ultrasonographic (USG) examination.
Besides removing tumours, the healer
prescribes jamu remedies or recipes which
are available in drug stores.
Women healers in the rural areas of East
Java use a different technique. They remove
the tumour by sucking the area with the
mouth. If the tumour has been successfully
removed, the healer brings out some bloody
flesh (supposed to be the removed tumour)
from her mouth. Such healers also provide
complementary jamu remedies.
Another technique consists of
displacing the tumour from the patient’s
body into another creature (animal). A
zz In Ngebleng fasting, a person must go without food or drink, for a number of days.
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traditional healer in Tuban, East Java,
claims to have the ability to displace the
tumour into a goat. Either the patient or a
member of his family visits the healer and
tells him about the problem. After
understanding the disease, the healer asks
the family to buy a goat and bring it to him.
He performs certain ceremonies and utters
a mantra, after which the goat is
slaughtered. The goat’s organs are
checked to ascertain whether the patient’s
disease has been transferred to the goat.
For example, in a case of hepatoma, the
liver of the slaughtered goat would show
signs of hepatoma, such as a lump or a
change in colour. The diseased portion of
the organ should be thrown away, while
the healthy portion may be cooked and
eaten. If the cancer is in too advanced a
stage, the healer usually admits his inability
to cure it.
Therapy of susuk
Susuk is one or many small rod/s,
commonly made of copper or gold, though
some healers use diamond. The susuk is
implanted in a certain part of the body to
keep it healthy. Before a susuk is implanted,
the patient is advised to fast for two nights
and days. But some traditional implanters
feel that they themselves can take over this
deed. Some others do not lay down any
conditions. If the person implanting the
susuk is not an expert, or if certain
prerequisites are not fulfilled, the procedure
is believed to have unexpected
consequences, such as death. Some believe
that the untoward consequences can be
prevented by rubbing kelor (Cucumis
sativus) leaves on the body of the user.
It is said that the skill of implanting
susuk is acquired by performing certain
deeds, like performing ngebleng. zz The
kind of susuk to be implanted depends on