Reformulating ingredients: Outlines of a contemporary ritual for the consecration of medicines in Ladakh
Abstract
This chapter concerns a ritual for the consecration of medicines in Ladakh, a region in north-western Himalayan India. It describes not only the sequence and significance of the actions performed by the participants, but also the place of the ritual in the social landscape of twenty-first century Ladakh. While the empowerment of medicine is an age-old practice, this ritual incorporates very contemporary elements. The smandrup (sman sgrub) ritual offers the opportunity to examine and analyse the social encounters between the amchi, social welfare organizations, and the donors involved in the development of the ‘science of healing', Sowa rigpa. The field of the ritual associates the forces of the Buddhas with those of foreign donors, thus not only empowering and consecrating the medicines, but also contributing to the revitalization of the medical system as a whole.