Tribal Healers Stir Curiosity @ Gadhika

BEYOND the colour dances and musical performances at Gadhika, an indigenous festival currently under way in Kochi, you can find traditional healers from all corners of Kerala.

- SUPRIYA

They are custodians of ancient remedies, rituals and customs gathered from forests and lived experiences.

TNIE spent a day at the event to learn more about their offerings, and their recent plight. First, we met Chelliamma, a 70-year-old Moopathi (traditional healer) from Attapadi. Her medicines, she explains, alleviate a range of issues such as diabetes, piles, digestive issues, kidney stones, and more.

"Once, I helped a man who was suffering from terrible incontinence," she says with a giggle. Chelliamma prescribes these medicines after doing a 'naadi parisksha' or pulse diagnosis, a knowledge system gathered from her paternal grandfather growing up.