Locating Religiosity in ‘New Medical Pluralism’: A Case Study of Religious Medical Practices in Malabar, Kerala
Keywords:
Medical Pluralism, religious healers, religiosity, institutionalisationAbstract
The current study aims to understand the relevance of religious healers in the context of the health crisis in Kerala. Despite having high HDI, the state is experiencing morbidity rates above the national average owing to the increase in chronic as well as infectious diseases, and mental illness. The limitations of biomedicine in curing chronic and lifestyle diseases put forward debates about the integration of modern medicine and complementary medicine, which Cant and Sharma (1999) call as the ‘new medical pluralism’. In this context, the study interrogates this binary model of healthcare through pragmatic religiosity and illustrates the role played by religious healers in healthcare delivery. The study argues how current integrated medical system creates disparities in access and care through institutionalisation and how the non-institutionalised medical practices could play a role in bridging the gap. These gaps are a result of a reductionist understanding of health and this study advocates for the need to locate health within a larger socio-cultural context.
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