Sikkim, the searcher and the shaman

"Famed for their knowledge of traditional medicine, the Lepchas live in a little country in the North of India, perched high up in the Himalayas, Sikkim. University professors have come to seek the help of the shaman Dechen and the osteopath Mandela, who watch over the health of Saffu's inhabitants.

Directed by: Werner Kiefer (Germany/France, 2010)"

- (description from the official website of TV5 monde asie)

Image taken from TV5 monde Asie website page linked above

A lazy Friday morning at home, with incredible weather. It almost feels like a rainy day in February, and I am now really hoping for an early onset of winters. At home on a weekday, I usually stay in bed till at least noon. But the wonderfully chilly breeze, and the promise of a beautiful day sans sunshine was enough to make me get out of the bed early morning (well, relatively). After breakfast, I switched on the TV to listen to the commercial free block on Vh1 from 9 to 12, which has some amazing music everyday. I switched the channel when a song I am not particularly fond of came on, and I landed on TV5 Monde asie. A french documentary was on with English subtitles, and I caught a glimpse of a board with Sikkim on it and I stayed. And I am glad I did. The documentary as stated above was titled "Sikkim, the searcher and the shaman". I had missed about half of it, but it apparently was about a researcher from Sikkim University, who travels to the beautiful, remote village of Saffu, nestled in the lap of  the imposing Himalayas, to learn more about the treasure trove of medicinal plants in the Himalayan forests, and how the local healer - called shaman, is keeping alive the practice of traditional medicine. The documentary beautifully explores how these protectors of traditional wisdom are responsible for the well being of an entire village devoid of accessible modern health care, using their profound, vast and irreplaceable knowledge of these medicinal plants and herbs, along with their faith and spiritual beliefs, through the eyes of the researcher, Bharat.

The cinematography is brilliant, and captures the incredible beauty of Sikkim, and the village which though seemingly impoverished, still possesses priceless wealth in the depths of its forests. It traces the days in the lives of the shaman (Dechen), and the healer (Mandela) who collects the herbs and concocts the remedies on the advice of the shaman. They welcome the young researcher, let him observe and teach him their invaluable practices and methods of identifying and collecting the correct plants, and how to prepare and use them for their medicinal benefits. You see patients being administered the remedies, and get better over time, with prayer being an equally important component of the healing process. For instance, the shaman administers extracts from the leopard lily plant to a woman suffering from food poisoning, telling her that he's been using it for 35 years, she should have faith in it, and she will get worse before she gets better. The extracts flush out toxins from the liver, and cause a fever in the process. Of course, the shaman is totally oblivious of this fact, and also of the fact (as pointed out in the documentary) that very recently pharmacologists have identified the active component in this leopard lily plant, which is endemic to this region. It makes you appreciate the fact that what science is just learning now, has been known to our ancestors since ages and forms a part of our traditional knowledge and wisdom passed down by the generations.

The documentary ends with Bharat picking the mind of the shaman, and realizing that though science teaches us to be objective and not trust the supernatural phenomenon, the work of the shaman is based as much on spiritual belief and faith as on the science of medicinal plants. He believes he was chosen by his ancestors and Gods of Nature to become a shaman when he was 12, and prays and chants to ward off the evil spirits possessing his patients - very few of them actually needing medicine to get better. Modern education and science scoffs at such notions, but forms the very basis of this ancient art of healing, which is in danger of dying out, with modern generations moving out to the cities, for jobs and material comforts, and with no interest in pursuing the traditional knowledge which has been passed from generation to generation, without any written records, through observation and teaching. Bharat leaves for his University, vowing to try his best to save this knowledge, and record it for future generations, and to understand the spiritual side of it as well. 

As I gulped in the scenic beauty of the Himalayas along with this documentary, I realized that this is the kind of science that matters. This needs to be pursued on a massive scale. And thankfully, a team of French movie makers got hold of this story from a remote part of India and put it on film, so that more people can become aware of it. It is though painful that hardly anyone in India would see it, or would ever be aware of this incredible phenomenon. Why does it take a French director, or for that matter, people from the west, to explore and uncover the miracles of our country? Does Sikkim even exist in the collective conscience of our nation (other than maybe while gorging on momos), and our news channels? Why do we have to see documentaries made by foreign production houses on Discovery, NGC, and Animal Planet to know more about our own country? Anyway, I am just thankful that I got this chance to see this documentary and learn about this culture, which I might have remained forever oblivious about.

Update: The actual name of the documentary is Sikkim, das alte Wissen der Schamanen. Linking the IMDB page for reference, and its available on youtube too, so embedding it. Watch it instead of reading about it!