As COVID Pandemic rages the whole world, As Sri Lankans we find more reliable traditional practices from our indigenous medicines & rituals By Dr. (Mrs) Amila K. Jayasinghe (Ayurvedic Medical Practitioner | Acupuncture Physician & Lecturer | Buddhist Ayurvedic Phycological Counsellor)
· Self-isolation measures being adopted around the world in response to the COVID pandemic are nothing new for Sri Lanka’s communities with well-known indigenous practices, who have over generations developed a system of quarantine against infectious diseases.
· Before the scientific discovery of bacteria and viruses, indigenous practices attributed infections and diseases to the power of evil spirits, and relied on herbal remedies and rituals seeking blessings from deities to prevent illnesses.
· The country’s national greeting gesture, a variant of the clasped-palms stance practiced widely across Asia, is also now being adopted in the West and entire world as a non-contact alternative to shaking hands, hugging, and kissing on the cheek. And with the clasped-palm stance the Sri Lankan way of greeting with the verbal blessing “AYUBOWAN” meaning May you have a long life has become more popular and wide spread across the world with the present pandemic
· Communities are being reminded over and over again spanning of this time of the need to align traditional practices with new scientific knowledge to fight outbreaks such as COVID-19.
In Sri Lanka people still recall the days when they contracted with virus diseases such as chickenpox, measles, mumps, smallpox. People spread neem leaves, from the Azadirachta indica tree, also known as “Kohomba”, Neem (Indian lilac), on the bed the infected person. And also sprayed Curcuma longa (turmeric) liquid on the floor, hung neem branches on the gate and entrance to the house, and made a short leafy curtain of sorts by hanging small neem branches tied together. For the next two weeks, as a way of purify the environment from germs and as well as to inform the community that there is a virus contraction in that premises. The family did not go out unless there was a pressing need. Neighbours brought items they required and left them at the entrance. The youngsters were kept in a room separated from other family members, especially the old and young. And as a tradition we had a habit of wearing a hand band with “wada-kaha” Acorus calamus to infants and also given “ratha-kalkaya” mixed with breast milk to boost immunity
Decades later, households across Sri Lanka are under similar confinement as part of the government’s new health directives to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The quarantine and self-isolation practices recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) are familiar to communities in Sri Lanka, who for generations have combined them with traditional knowledge to prevent the spread of highly contagious deceases.
