4 



THE HISTORY OF TROPICAL MEDICINE 



Charms are used to drive out the evil spirit, or devil-dancing to shame or 

 terrify him so that he may leave the body. Once out, amulets are used to 

 prevent his re-entry, and ' pirit,' or the repetition of meritorious verses by 

 priests, is also adopted. 



Before any medicine can be administered, the position of the ' kalawa,' or 

 vital spot, must be ascertained. This spot moves all over the body in regular 

 succession, occurring in different parts in different phases of the moon. Its 

 position must be correctly calculated, and it will then be seen whether it is 

 safe or otherwise to administer certain drugs. Another important matter is 

 the constitution of the individual, whether it is inclined to be inflammatory or 

 not, and the person must be dieted so as to counteract the baneful effects of 

 the constitution. 



During pregnancy care is taken with the diet and to avoid unpleasant 

 maternal impressions, and many curious superstitions are connected with 

 child-birth, such as passing the woman's body through a hoop in order to 

 bring about an easy labour. Great fear is felt lest the severed cord should 

 be drawn up into the uterus, and much good luck is associated with birth in 

 a caul, or even with its possession. 



Native peoples have generally a good knowledge of medical and 

 poisonous plants growing in their vicinity, and it is well for the 

 medical man living in the tropics to remember that cinchona-bark 

 was originally simply a native Ecuador remedy, and that, therefore, 

 it is not advisable to entirely despise popular drugs. 



The earliest medicine, like that of certain races at the present 

 time, was largely religious or theurgic, and this is well exemplified 

 by the medicine in Akkad (Accadia). 



Accadia. — Excluding Egypt, the earliest civilizations with which 

 we are acquainted are in the neighbourhood of Mesopotamia, 

 where the Sumerians, or peoples of the plain, lived on the banks 

 of the great rivers, and the Accadians, or peoples of the hills, on 

 the mountains to the east of that region. 



The latter evolved some knowledge of the arts and sciences, 

 including astronomy, but their medicine was of a very primitive 

 order, being a mixture of demonology, magic, and astrology. Their 

 priests were the physicians, who attempted to cure disease by 

 exorcisms, and philtres or drinks, into which, it is believed, they 

 placed the few medicines with which they were acquainted. Their 

 religion was very similar to the Shamanism {vide Chapter LXXXIX.) 

 of the Siberian and Samoyed tribes of to-day, and their language for 

 long remained the secret language of the exorcisms and charms of 

 Babylonia, Chaldea, and Assyria, while many of the practices of 

 the Ancient Jews may be traced to the same source. The Chaldeans 

 had two dread diseases— Nantar, the plague, and Idpa, the fever — 

 and three kinds of doctors — Khartumin, or conjurers; Chakamin, 

 or physicians; and Asaphin, or theosophists. 



China. — Accadian demonology, magic, and astrology are probably 

 the foundations of Chinese medicine, as the Chinese are believed 

 to be of Accadian origin, and their religion is as full of magic as 

 that of the ancient Chaldeans, while their Buddhism has, in certain 

 instances, degenerated into Shamanism, which is simply magic and 

 sorcery. Nor is their medicine much better, as diseases are held to 

 be caused by demons, and to be sent as punishments for the sins 



