Medicine in Ancient Manuscripts

Medicine is a tradition of ancestral heritage of Indonesia. In addition to reduced oral, traditional treatment methods are those recorded in manuscripts. Unfortunately, because there is not much used in medicine, the form of local wisdom is threatened with destruction of the true nature of grace.

Tersebutlah a shaman (healer) named Buddha Kecapi on the island of Bali. He is known to cure various diseases. One time, the shaman meets a strange disease that he could not heal.

The healers feel like a failure. He also meditated on the Setra (tomb), for guidance of the gods. Long story short, Lord Shiva sent his wife, Goddess Uma, so down to Earth to grant the request of the healers. After tattooed tongue, the healers get directions from Goddess Durga (the embodiment of Goddess Uma after falling to Earth) on the philosophy of life or death, the holy script, and a variety of things about healing disease.

Since then, increasing the ability of the Buddha's Harp. Only death that he could not overcome. The healers use the plant, animal, and water to make prescription medication.

That piece of narrative texts Buddhist Usada lute. Manuscripts written on palm leaves 80 sheets are stored in Gedong Kirtya, regional Singaraja, Bali. "Buddha Harp is the documentation of traditional medicine which is written in the form of literary work," said I Ketut Jirnaya, Lecturer Department of Old Javanese Language and Literature, Faculty of Letters Udayana University, Bali, on Friday (7 / 10), in Denpasar.

Jirnaya are many experts who studied philology of ancient Balinese manuscript traditions related to treatment. Buddha lute differences with other Usada script is a script that contains the science of medicine with scientific descriptions.

There is a philosophy and disease diagnosis before giving healers traditional medicine. Note usada other more practical treatment contains recipes. "Until now the Balinese still believe very well that the disease is due to two things, due to germs or ancestral spirits. Balian must be able to distinguish, "said Jirnaya.

Sundanese script

Note Nusantara medicine not only found on Bali's ancient manuscripts. Ancient communities in other areas as well write it down.

One of them, ancient Sundanese people who have a record collection of Mantra, Paririmbon, and Petangan. Mantra on the manuscript collection of Jampang Kulon, Sukabumi, found 189 spells that 20 of these treatment-related spells, such as combat outbreaks of disease, remove toxins, and cure the disease smallpox.

At a seminar on "Traditional Medicine in the Manuscript Collection" held National Library of Jakarta, last September, Ruhaliah, professors and researchers pernaskahan and oral traditions of the University of Padjadjaran in Bandung, said the manuscript text written Sundanese language Sundanese and Javanese. Some spells accompanied by an Arabic prayer.

In medicine, Sundanese and Javanese traditional societies are very attentive to the time and the cycle of human-related events. Each cycle has a different way of treatment.

The name of the cycle and how the treatment is written in Paririmbon (Sunda) or Primbon (Java). Horoscope or paririmbon still in use.

"In the Sundanese manuscript treasures of various kinds of information contained penyaktit, drugs, and spells that are used and healing rituals. Contemporary society can use it to examine the medicinal plants used in order to develop into modern medicine, "said Ruhaliah.

The manuscripts containing medical science is also found in West Sumatra and Aceh. Hundreds of manuscripts in West Sumatra by the researchers called Manuscript Minangkabau. In Aceh, a script treatment that is widely studied ancient manuscripts from Pidie.

In addition to recoil script or book, other written sources, such as inscriptions, no specific mention of medicinal plants and their usefulness. In archaeological, inscription is carved royal charter in rock / metal plates.

In the inscription referred to some crops, especially in the Old Javanese inscriptions. Ismail Lutfi of Pandu Heritage cultural communities in Malang, East Java, said the plant's name appears in the five contexts, namely as a sima or determination of a region, a list of commodities trading, noting the legal events, the types of taxes, and grace of the king.

Crops as commodities trading is suspected of medicinal plants. So the commodity because it takes a lot of people. One plant that is written in Old Javanese inscription is wungkudu (Morinda citrifolia), onion, banana, and pepper.

Recent data demonstrated, there are more than 40,000 plant species in the world, 30,000 of them in Indonesia. New data suggests the National Library, there are 9600 species of medicinal plants. Unfortunately, only 300 species are used and produced as a medicinal herb by the drug industry.

At home, when the western world of medicine are thought to bring a side effect, people glanced again at the traditional medicine from herbs or herbal medicine. Unfortunately, instead of traditional Chinese medicine clinic in demand.

"That's because research-based Chinese medicine of their natural wealth," said Arif Hartarta, cultural studies researcher from the State University Eleven in March, Solo, Central Java.

Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) also started researching herbs and health benefits.

Efforts saintifikasi medicinal plants in Indonesia urged to do so that cultural heritage is not extinct. The challenge arises when the result of forests being cleared off continues medicinal plants. When the rare medicinal plants, healing abilities, such as the Buddhist healers harp, will be useless.