The folk medical practitioner or traditional healer enjoys a superior position in the village because of their curative nature with mastered skills. They provide health care with locally available products and in some cases to increase the efficacy they also add some kind of mineral substances. This is borne out through the present study that the healer treated their patients whenever they are in need. They rendered their service in different parts of Assam and also in Meghalaya. They treat all kinds of diseases like the common cold (panilaga), jaundice (kumbli), pneumonia (dhauni), asthma (hapani), piles (urasi), paralysis (akangi/ lenga), headache (chilbilkh), dysentery (kamorhagna), diabetes, acidity (phamsitka), urine infection (osse), kidney stone (kidneyhil, pathaor), bone fracture (harbhoga), skin disease (khaokili), nose bleeding (nakduknabhange), mouth sore (mamirikigha), digestive problem (bodhajam) earache (kanbikhe), anemia (chuktihin), neck swelling (dingifula), wound (gha), tongue sore (jeevaguti), facial disorder (chandrabasli), cheek swelling (dingifula), tapeworm (kirmi), and the different gynaecological problem like white discharge (kamchutikar), pregnancy disorder (athudusa), infertility (baji), a woman with only one childbirth (kawabaji), irregular menstruation before marriage, (fulchutikar), irregular menstruation after marriage (chutikar), excessive bleeding (baladchutikar), menstrual disorder (phamchutikar), dysmenorrhea (hantlabis/ jugnajugni ), dysuria and bumps on labia (gaukhre) etc.
Diagnosis process of Healer
The diagnosis process of healers starts from the individual level to the family level. The healer used to ask about the colour and frequency of the urine in cases of diseases like jaundice (kumbli), urine infection (osse), kidney stone (kidney hil/ pathor), disease pneumonia (dhauni) is diagnosed by fever, runny nose, and dry cough. Likewise, for fractures (kaskalaga) and paralysis (akangi/lenga), the healer put his hands on the sore spot and affected area of the body. The diagnosis process of skin disease (khaokili) starts with observing the skin rashes, and pimples and inquiring about the frequency of itching (if experiencing it), the healer asks the patient about the duration and frequency of the ailment when treating a patient with an aberrant mouth condition (Chandra basil), a mouth sore (mamirikigha), headache (chilbikh), gastric problem (phamsitka) and digestive problem (bod hajam). Sometimes the aggravating symptoms are recorded with the help of family members and neighbours for a better understanding of the disease. In some cases of spiritual healing, the healer advised the family members of the patient to maintain a proper normal situation for psychological support of the patient. The healers are favoured in many cases as easily accessible, low costs, effective medicine, and the people’s faith in healers. The healers believed that the almighty has blessed only a selective person with such power of healing to help needy people. They do not have to demand any remuneration.
Almost every household was found to be quite knowledgeable regarding the medicinal value of varieties of plant species and therefore planted plentiful plants in their compound. A medicinal specialist is referred to as dao or kabiraj in their native language. The Hajong referred to the spiritual healers as ojha and religious specialists as adhikari and Traditional Birth Attendants as dhaimao. Some of the healers are noticed to preserve the endangered varieties of plants collected from Meghalaya for medicinal purposes. Three of the six healers are cousins and all of them received their expertise in healing from their maternal uncle. They provide the same level of care to patients in the community using their learned healing, but over time, they have also evolved their healing techniques, however, one of them depends solely on herbal products while the other used minerals also. He used to protect various Meghalayan plant species, such as the Thumbergia grandiflora (kawathuti), in his compound, and he is the only one in the region to do so. He used to prescribe drugs by utilizing herbs only, without the addition of any minerals. In addition to these therapeutic techniques, he is also proficient in controlling supernatural forces (ban mora rudhkora), for which he offers an amulet made of Mimosa pudica (najira kata) plant roots that are stretched out towards the North. The healer is well known for his expertise of kunchapura, in which he acts as a mediator to reconcile a split couple. This practice is typically performed on a Saturday. He instructed the client to bring a bamboo stick, which he then divided into two pieces and kept four inches apart. As the healer began to chant a hymn, the bamboo sticks come closer to one another, and he then instructed the client to offer a small piece of bamboo to tie up his spouse in a secret manner, which would tie up their marital relationship. The empirical observation reveals that the medicinal practitioner of the Hajong community can be divided into four categories:
- Healer (dao/kabiraj) : The dao uses different herbal products and animal products, and in some cases mixed the paste with different minerals. They treat their client with both natural and supernatural means. They are simultaneously an expert in supernatural healing.
- Priest (adhikari) : They are a full-time male practitioner. They have a superior position among all and officiate different religious activities inside and outside the village. They are distinguished from other healers by special clothing of grey colour, hairstyle, and diet. The priest (adhikari) used to treat paralysis and jaundice which he learned from his father.
- Shaman (ojha/bej) : They are categorized as a part-time healer who dealt with the healing practice of the spiritual world. They perform the healing practice through particular sacred songs, providing amulets that are made from basically different medicinal plants and animal parts, etc.
- Traditional Birth Attendants (dhaimao) : Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) is a well-experienced women of the village. A traditional birth attendant in the Hajong community is a woman who provides care during childbirth. Traditional midwives offer fundamental healthcare, emotional support, and advice before, during, and after pregnancy and childbirth. They generally rely on informal experience and knowledge gained from the customs and practices of the communities where they were raised. They provide their knowledge for better maternal health. They are well known for their helpful support to pregnant ladies.
For increasing breast milk a special kind of boiled soup prepared with a mixture of Swamp barb fish (cheniputhi), and taro (manakasu), which they called kharpas is prescribed. They also provide a special banana (chenikala) with Euphorbia hirta L.(dudhdhora) plant which is supposed to be taken by standing in front of the main door immediately after a bath in her wet dress. They provide medicinal ingredients made from Mimosa Pudica (najirakata ) plant which should be plucked by facing toward the East with some amount of jaggery (rongamithoi) as an immediate reliever after delivery pain.
Case − 1
Mr. A. Hajong (78 years) is a traditional healer of the village. He is a shopkeeper and sculptor. He used to sell these materials in the Joyrampur weekly market, Dhemaji town, and Silapathar, as a secondary source of income. He had learned healing practice from his maternal uncle. He has extensive knowledge of medicinal plants which he provides in the form of crushed juice, powdered form, and paste. He used different substances like plant parts, animal parts, vegetables, and minerals for medicinal purposes. He has rendered his service in different Hajong-inhabited areas of Assam. He treats the disease with different floral and faunal products, minerals, etc. According to him, his highest-paid treatment is for paralysis which includes different mineral products. He has to bring the minerals from the Joyrampur market which are available in packets and cost around Rs.800.00. The different substances include masala bij (katabij), hulingabij, dudhbij, kusilabij, dustomadhur, mudrasanka, tezbol, nutmeg (jaiphol), cardamon, makardhaj, rasasendur, musamberteeta, baremosola, arencha, pitaljarak, loharjarak, sonajarak, rupajarak, should be mixed with some dried leaves root of suktibindu, jaapipat, sonapat, and fresh leaves of lawn pennywort (manikon), betel leaf. The minerals are mixed with freshly crushed juice with one litter of mustard oil which should apply on 10/12 alternate days. He informed the researcher that one should abstain from modern medical care like injections while going through this treatment; otherwise, it will not be fruitful. When this medicine is mixed with Thumbergia grandiflora (kawathuti) it will work in facial disorders (chandrabasli). For jaundice treatment he practices exorcism and also a medicinal paste made from the Oldenlandiacorymbosa (diamond flower, bhaiphuta plant) and the flesh of thigh of frog (bhekulirpit) which should apply to the head of the patient after removing the hair, the paste is then covered by a piece of paper where finally they put some amount of vermilion on it. As the paste starts to dry, the disease would heal and the patient will recover. When a patient suffers from malaria, the juice is offered made from goat milk and crushed Amomumsubulatum (deutara) leaves (local plant). To cure the ear ache three drops of heated Oldenlandia corymbosa (bhoikengua)leaves juice are to be applied to the ear. To cure eye infection (sokurahukh, pain, and burning sensation) tobacco, and slaked lime mixed paste is applied on the patient’s back and he has to rub the paste with his opposite leg to the infected eye with a breath and should bury the paste into cow dung.
The Hajong people of the village Barabhuyan attributes the concept of disease to the wrath of Gods, lapses in ancestor worship, and magical means. The varieties that are treated by spiritual healers include attacks by daini, hawalaga, khatimuila, muila, and khetordeu. These troubles are treated by reciting some verbal incantations by shamans or witch doctors. For magical purposes, they use a variety of materials including feathers, animal teeth, nails, and bones.
Case − 2 : Spiritual healer
Mr. R. Hajong (68 years) is a cultivator. He learned the art of healing from his father. The application of his magical apparatuses helps the victims to get free from evil spirits like witches. It is reported that these evil spirits are worshiped either on the riverside or near a tree in open fields which are generally not frequented by the villagers. He can recognize through occult practices, the kind of abnormalities that results from the type of evil spirits. It is reported that the evil forces of witchcraft (daini) are controlled by the healer by offering either a pig, goat, or gill (aangsa) of helicopter catfish (kakotkara). The magical performance related to hawalaga is controlled by exorcism and providing an amulet, especially in the dawn time. He then explained other types of spirits known as khetardeu, the healer has to perform the rituals with sacrifice a cock near an Indian cottonwood tree (himolu). He further added his healing experience of muila and khatimuila. He performs these kinds of healing processes by asking for the child’s name, sex, and age and providing an amulet through exorcism. It includes sacrificing a black colour hen (nikutkalahangaj) in the name of muila. He performs another kind of healing system known as khatimuila by providing an amulet to the pregnant lady.
In the village under investigation, a priest generally enjoys the highest reputation. He is thought to possess extraordinary ability in using numerous techniques to please God. He works in the local temple and prays to God for the village's prosperity. He is the only person who organized the village's annual worship, and he is required to do many religious activities like Bastu and Bash pujas there. He serves as an intermediary between God and the villagers.
Case − 3
A full-time male practitioner, Mr. S. Hajong aged 73 years is a father of two sons. In the village, he is the only priest (adhikari). He moved to this village in 1963, when he was in third standard, from Meghalaya, where he was born. He learned his work of adhikari from a priest of the Nepalese Brahmin community. He lives on a vegetarian diet. He used to serve in various areas of Assam Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh for which he was specially invited with an offering of betel nut (pandiya). His frequent destinations include Nakari, Kadam, Chauldhuwa, Silapathar, Jagun, Ledu, and Dayum. He must travel to Meghalaya at least twice a year as he has a large number of followers there. He is simultaneously an expert in treating bone pain (gabikhe) and paralysis (akangi/lenga). It was revealed that his healing ability is a learned skill rather than an inherent one. It is said about the healing abilities that when his younger brother was paralyzed earlier, they tried various medicinal treatments but failed to find an effective result. Eventually, a Muslim medicine man who specialized in treating paralysis appeared at their home. The medicine man treats his younger brother at the family's request, and the treatment is very effective. So, his father asks the medicine man to impart his medical knowledge and offer him remuneration. Since then, his father helped several people with this successful treatment. He, therefore, imparts his son's (priest) medicinal knowledge. The priests are now well known for their effectiveness in treating paralysis. He also provides a specific paste produced from the leaves of Livistona (Japipat) Drymariacordata (korojuni), and Centralla asiatica (lawn pennywort) for the treatment of patients with bone aches.