Siddha versus Ayurveda Medical Practice in Singapore: Heterogeneous versus Globalized Practices

Médecine Siddha versus ayurveda à Singapore. Hétérogénéité des pratiques versus globalisation

Brigitte Gille Sébastia (1)

1 IFP - Institut Français de Pondichéry

Siddha medicine and ayurveda are the two pan-Indian medicines included in AYUSH, the department of traditional medicines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India established in 2014. The latter is widespread in India while the former is the traditional medicine mostly used by Tamil people residing in Tamil Nadu and in a few Indian states. Ayurveda is well known worldwide where it is practiced and used by Indians and/or non Indians, according to the country it is established. Siddha medicine, in contrast, is hardly known abroad, and its presence in a few countries is in line with a significant Tamil community in those countries. Little attention has hitherto been paid to Siddha medical practices outside of Tamil Nadu, let alone outside of India. This paper describes a preliminary study of Siddha medical practices in Singapore and, secondarily, in Malaysia, that opens up new perspectives alongside several questions for further research on Indian transnational medicines. It shows that practitioners in Singapore are concerned with similar issues regarding registration and practice legacy as those in India, and have to develop strategies to provide their patients with herbometallic preparations that are banned by the rule. It also underscores that the demarcations between Ayurveda and Siddha, in actual practice, depend on State regulations, patients’ demands or matters of access and advertisement, rather than on systemic differences of variations in diagnosis, nosology or remedies. Siddha practitioners, in contrast to their ayurvedic peers, have not to assert themselves to be recognised as medical professionals as their therapeutic management does not sow confusion with wellness centers scattering the Singaporean landscape.

Domaines: Anthropologie sociale et ethnologie

Brigitte Gille Sébastia. Siddha versus Ayurveda Medical Practice in Singapore: Heterogeneous versus Globalized Practices. [Research Report] French Institute of Pondicherry; Asian Research Institute, National University of Singapore (visiting scholar). 2019. ⟨hal-03110846⟩