Saturday, 2 April 2016

HALWA GHEEKWAR (ALOE VERA KA HALWA)- Medical Anthropology

HALWA GHEEKWAR (ALOE VERA KA HALWA)

Myristica fragrance (Nutmeg) (Mace)
5 mg.
Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha)
11 mg.
Elettaria cardamom (Elaichi Choti)
11 mg.
Curculigo orchoides (Kali Musli)
11 mg.
Triticum sativum (Gundam)
11 mg.
Myrtus caryophyllus (Laung)
14 mg.
Gossypium herbaceum (Binaula)
108 mg.
Asparagus racemosus (Satawar)
108 mg.
Prunus amygdalus (Badam)
270 mg.
Clarified Butter (Ghee Desi)
1.087 g
Acacia arabica (Gond Kikar)
1.302 g
Trapa bispinosa (Singhara)
1.302 g
Aloe vera (Gheekwar)
1.630 g
Milk Roasted (Khoya)
3.260 g
Phoenix dactylifera (Khajur)
3,912 g
Sugar
11.926 g
Pandanus odoratissimus Distillate (Arq Kewra)
q.s.

METHOD:
·         Take a pan and put ghee for heating
·         Then add aloe vera and sativum in it and stir for 20-25 min till it get brown in color
·         On thickening add milk, condensed milk, sugar ,cardamom powder, nutmeg and mace powder , ashwagandha, curculigo orchoides, Myrtus caryophyllus (Laung), Acacia arabica (Gond Kikar), Trapa bispinosa (Singhara), Asparagus racemosus (Satawar), Prunus amygdalus (Badam) and Phoenix dactylifera (Khajur)
·         And cook for 5-7 min.
DOSAGE: 20 g in the morning or at night with 250 ml milk
DESCRIPTIONRemoves rheumatic pain and lumbago. Also useful in backache.
INGREDIENTS EXPLANATION:
Myristica fragrance
English name: nutmeg and mace
Punjabi/Urdu Name: Jaiphal and Jawitri
TEMPERAMENT: Warm
Nutmeg and mace both come from nutmeg tree. The genus (Myristica fragrance) comprises about 100 species found throughout the tropics, especially in the Malayan region; but of these, Myristica  fragrans alone contains enough of an aromatic essential oil to make it valuable for cultivation. Nutmeg is the dried seed of the plant; mace is the dried aril surrounding the shell enclosing the seed.
Ground nutmeg which is granular orange-brown powder with characteristic aroma is a widely-known kitchen spice. It has a warm aromatic, slightly bitter taste and is often added to custards, certain vegetables, and milk drinks like egg-nog. Whole nutmeg, depending on the variety, contains from 5 to 15 per cent of a volatile oil that accounts entirely for the aroma and flavor of the spice.
Mace also a popular spice. It is a brownish-yellow or brownish-orange granular powder with a strong aroma closely resembling but not identical to that of nutmeg. The flavor of mace is softer and some-what less pungent than the flavor of nutmeg. It is used in the manufacture of pickles and tomato ketchup, in meat and fish sauces, in chocolate dishes. Whole mace contains from 4 to 14 per cent of a volatile oil very similar to that found in nutmegs, along with moisture, fat, starch, etc.
Mace and nutmeg and mace are used for treatment of inflammation of the bladder and urinary track, diarrheanauseastomach spasms and pain, and intestinal gas. They are also used for treating cancerkidney disease, and trouble sleeping (insomnia); increasing menstrual flow; causing a miscarriage; as a hallucinogen; and as a general tonic. Nutmeg and mace are applied to the skin to kill pain, especially pain caused by achy joints (rheumatism), mouth sores, toothache.

Withania somnifera
English: Winter Cherry
Punjabi/Urdu: Henbane, Kakink , Asgandha or Asgund
Temperament: Warming
Withania somnifera, known commonly as Ashwagandha which means sweat of Horse, and it is thought that this refers to the strength and sexual vigor of the horse. Other names for Withania somnifera are Indian ginseng, poison gooseberry or winter cherry. It is used as an herb in Unani medicine. Its root extract is widely used as a tonic and in numerous ailments. (Chopra RN, Nayar SL, Chopra IC, 1956) It is cosmopolitan and grows throughout drier parts and of subtropical India considered a potential crop.(Nigham K.B. 1989) In Pakistan it grows wildly on fields sides and uncultivated lands and reach a height of about 5 to 6 feet. (Chopra RN, Nayar SL, Chopra IC, 1956) It has small, alternate, oval-shaped leaves and tiny flowers with light green calyxes and white pistils. They bloom near the upper levels of the branch, close to the core stem. Its red berry fruits, known appropriately in ancient Assyrian as harhumbashir, or “red coral,” are encased by an inflated calyx that resemble small lanterns. The fruits contain tiny seeds which are orange-yellow in color, and round and flat in shape. (Ratsch, Christian, 1998)
Ashwagandha is used for arthritis, anxiety, trouble sleeping (insomnia), tumors, tuberculosis, asthma, leukoderma, bronchitis, backache, fibromyalgia, menstrual problems, hiccups, and chronic liver disease. Some people also use Ashwagandha for improving thinking ability, decreasing pain and swelling (inflammation), and preventing the Temperaments of aging. It is also used for fertility problems in men and women and also to increase sexual desire. Winter Cherry helps support the reproductive systems and adrenals and is a diuretic. Apart from boosting the male semen count and helping with erectile dysfunctions, it also stabilizes the fetus and later boosts a nursing mother’s supply of breast milk. It can cure gastric ulcers according to recent medical research, and can help to stop a fever. Ashwagandha is applied to the skin for treating wounds, backache, and one-sided paralysis (hemiplegic).

Elettaria cardamom
English: Green Cardamom
Urdu: Elaichi, Alachi, Choti Alaichi
Temperament: Warm And Dry
Elettaria cardamom is native to the Western Ghats of southern India. It has been introduced to other parts of tropical Asia and is widely grown for its aromatic seeds. It is grown as a crop in many countries, including Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea and Tanzania. Cardamom is the third most expensive spice in the world and is considered as the “Queen of Spices”. The seeds have a sweet aroma and slightly pungent taste. It’s essential oil is obtained by steam distillation of cardamom seeds. The oil and left over resin is used in processed foods, liqueurs and perfumes.
When used as a home remedy it helps cure various ailments like indigestion, nausea, lightheadedness, etc. Cardamom is known to allay burning sensation and is a mouth purifier and deodorant. It is also a carminative, digestive, diuretic, anti-emetic, anti-spasmodic, aphrodisiac and expectorant agent. Cardamom is also known to possess mild analgesic, anti-inflammatory and cardio-tonic properties. In both Ayurvedic and Unani systems of medicine it is used in number of diseases.
Traditional use:
The dried ripe fruits of cardamom have been used as a spice and in medicines since the 4th century BC.
In Unani medicine, cardamom is use to treat disorders of the stomach and urinary system, asthma, bronchitis and heart problems. When mixed with neem and camphor, cardamom is used as a nasal preparation to treat colds. An infusion of cardamom can be used as a gargle to relieve sore throats, which has led to its use in cough sweets.
Cardamom seeds have been used in a range of preparations. Roasted seeds were boiled with betel nuts (fruits of the palm Areca catechu) to make a drink that is used to treat indigestion and nausea. They are also added to tea to make a tonic to relieve the symptoms of stress due to overwork or depression. Cardamom seeds are given to patients with bad breath and a capsule of cardamom taken with honey is reputed to improve eyesight. The traditional uses of cardamom to treat skin conditions have attracted the attention of those developing plant-based cosmetics, especially as it has been used traditionally to treat areas of the body that have red-pigmentation. It is often incorporated into soaps and hand creams.

Curculigo orchoides
English: Golden Eye-Grass, Curculigo.
Urdu/Punjabi: (Kali Musli)
Temperament: Warm And Dry
This plant drug is used for treatment of disease since times immemorial. Due to over exploitation, destructive mode of collection and other biotic and abiotic factors, a number of medicinal plants is facing genetic erosion and under threat of extinction. (Saba Arshad, J Singh, S P S Khanuja, 2005) Curculigo orchoides (Kali Musli) is an endangered medicinal plant and are required to be conserved and domesticated. Kali musli is naturally grown in sandy areas, with good amount of moisture, on the grassy slopes of hill slides (KumarS, Singh J, Shah NC and Ranjan V, 1997)  It is extensively utilized as nutritive tonic for strength, vigor and vitality. (Kubo M Namba and Nagamoto N Nagao, 1983)In recent times, many novel chemical constituents have been isolated and characterized and many pronounced biological activities such as anti cancer, antihepatotoxic and immunomodulator activities have been reported from the plant. It is ingredient for many Unani medicines for example majun mochras used for leucorrhoea and hab asgand that is prescribed in lumbago, rheumatism and gout. (KumarS, Singh J, Shah NC and Ranjan V, 1997)
Traditional use:
Curculigo orchoides is not only known for being part of the Vajikarana Rasayana system of medicine, where it is used as an aphrodisiac herb in many herbal preparations, it is also known for being part of many traditional Chinese medicine preparations for post-menopausal osteoporosis (Cao DP, Zheng YN, Qin LP, Han T, Zhang H, Rahman K, Zhang QY)
Curculigo is also part of the Unani system of medicine (Vijayanarayana K, Rodrigues RS, Chandrashekhar KS, Subrahmanyam EV.) A traditional medicinal system used in South Asia and based in the teachings of Greek physician Hippocrates and the Roman physician Galen (Wik). Last but not least, Curculigo orchoides is part of Kampo medicine (Chauhan NS), the Japanese adaptation of the traditional Chinese medicinal system.
In the Indian traditional system of medicine it is also used as anti-asthmatic and anti-inflammatory (Venkatesh P, Mukherjee PK, Kumar SN, Nema NK, Bandyopadhyay A, Fukui H, Mizuguchi H). The traditional Ayurvedic system of medicine has used Curculigo orchoides also as tonic, Seeth veeryam, for nervous diseases and white leprosy, and in Chinese medicine it was used for impotence, lumbago and joint pain (Tova Navarra) From Hippocrates some of these ancient traditional medicinal systems have inherited the discipline and professionalism that let them pass over the years as reliable systems of medicine.

Triticum aestivum:
English: wheat
Urdu/Punjabi: Gundam
Temperament: hot and dry
Wheat is a good source of mineral nutrients. It has ant bilious, antihydrotic, antipyretic, sedative and stomachic properties. It contains significant amounts of iron, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper and zinc; iodine and cobalt are present in trace amounts. It is also a good source of thiamin and nicotinic acid, tocopherols with high vitamin-E potency that nourishes and prevents loss of moisture from the skin (Priyabrata Das, Ashis Mukhopadhyay, Suvra Mandal, Bikas Chandra Pal, Raghwendra Mishra, Debarati Mukherjee, Soma Mukhopadhyay, Jayasri Basak and Manoj Kar). The oil is used to tone and soften the lips and has a potent antioxidant activity. This protects the skin from scavenging free-radicals, prevents premature aging and reduces ultra violet rays induced damage. It helps in proper drainage of secretions from the sebaceous and other glands of the skin and thereby helps in preventing black heads. The plant is also rich in antioxidants, and may have anticancer properties. Supplementing with Wheat Grass, a safe and natural alternative to mass-produced vitamins, can boost your energy levels, and improve the function of your immune system. (N Singh, 2012)

Myrtus caryophyllus :
English: cloves
Urdu/Punjabi: Laung
Temperament: warm and dry
Cloves are analgesic, anodyne, antibacterial, antiemetic, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiseptic, antispasmodic, antiviral, aphrodisiac aromatic, astringent, brain tonic, cardio tonic, carminative, diaphoretic, digestive, exhilarant, expectorant, germicide, hepatic, stimulant and stomachic. They increase circulation, raise blood-heat, promote digestion of fatty and crude food, promote nutrition and relieve gastric and intestinal pains and spasms. They stimulate the skin, salivary glands, kidneys, liver and bronchial mucous membrane. Cloves have been studied for use in the prevention of blood clotting and coagulation, and for their chemo protective (protecting healthy tissue against anticancer drugs), and fever-reducing Temperaments.
Cloves are a stimulant to the mind (improving memory) and to the body as a whole, and have been used as an aphrodisiac. Eugenol is the largest and most important component of the volatile oil. It is strongly rubefacient, anesthetic and antiseptic and, therefore, useful as an application in pain relief for toothache, rheumatic pains, sciatica, lumbago, headaches and neuralgia and as an antiseptic for many conditions. (dehlvi naturals)

Gossypium herbaceum
English: cotton
Urdu/Punjabi: binaula
Temperament: The Temperament of Seeds of Gossypium herbaceum Linn. is, warm and moist
It is also known as cotton plant, belongs to the family Malvaceae, and occupies an imperative place in Unani medicine system. The plant is widely distributed throughout western India, Africa, Middle East countries, central Asia and graded availability is found in Iran, Afghanistan, Russian and Turkistan. (Gossypium herbaceum Linn.) The qualitative photochemical study of this plant extract indicates the presence of carbohydrates, saponins, steroids, glycosides, phenolic compounds such as tannins and flavonoids.
This herb is being used traditionally from antiquity, in the treatment of inadequate lactation, bronchial asthma, and dysmenorrheal, diaeehea, dysentery otalgia, sexual debility, general weakness, and diabetes, lung and skin diseases. It chiefly possesses anti fertility, galactagogue, anti diabetic, anti viral and anti bacterial activity. (Rahman Khaleequr, Sultana Arshiya, Rahman Shafeequr, 2012)

Asparagus racemosus:
English: Asparagus
Urdu/Punjabi: Satawar
Temperament: warm and dry
Asparagus racemosus (A. racemosus) belongs to family Liliaceae and commonly known as Satawar, Satamuli, Satavari found at low altitudes throughout India. The dried roots of the plant are used as drug. (Shashi Alok,Sanjay Kumar Jain, Amita Verma, Mayank Kumar, Alok Mahor and Monika Sabharwal, 2013)
Asparagus racemosus  is an herb used in Unani  medicine. Supplementing Asparagus racemosus will aid digestion, since the plant has anti-ulcer Temperaments. It will also aid the immune system when antibodies are fighting off a threat. Asparagus racemosus also has aphrodisiac, antidepressant and anxiety-reducing Temperaments. But for anxiety, depression and libido, Asparagus racemosus is outclassed by other herbs. For example, Ashwagandha is more Temperamentive at reducing anxiety and depression, while Panax ginseng provides more physical benefits. Though Asparagus racemosus has been used as a galactagogue to increase breast milk production, this area needs further research before Asparagus racemosus supplementation can be specifically recommended.

Prunus amygdalus
English: almond
Urdu/Punjabi: Badam
Temperament: moist and warm.
References to almonds are found in the Old Testament. They were prized as an ingredient in breads served to the Pharaohs in Egypt, and they have maintained religious, ethnic, and social significance throughout history.  The almond tree is native to western Asia. It was brought to California from Spain in the 1700s. (Clemetson, C. A., de Carlo, S. J., Burney, G. A., Patel, T. J., Kozhiashvili, N., and Taylor, R. A., 1978)
Traditionally, almonds have been used for a variety of their properties including antibacterial, aphrodisiac, bladder cancer, breast cancer, chapped lips, colon cancer, demulcent, heart disease, increasing sperm count, mild laxative, mouth and throat cancers, or pharyngeal cancers, phytoestrogen, skin care (emollient), skin moisturizer, solvent for inject able drugs, and uterine cancer. (Natural Standard) Topically, sweet almond is used as and emollient for chapped skin, to soothe mucous membranes (as a demulcent), and as a weak antibacterial.  Parenterally, sweet almond is also used as a solvent for injectable drugs (Teotia, S. and Singh, M. , 1997)

Clarified Butter
English: butter
Urdu/Punjabi: Ghee Desi
Temperament: hot and moist
Ghee is the same as clarified butter. Clarified butter is also known as drawn butter and resembles oil more than butter. Clarified butter starts with unsalted butter that has been slowly melted into three layers. The top layer is the water that evaporates as the butter slowly cooks. The milk solids form the bottom layer which is removed, and the middle layer is pure butterfat which is the clarified butter
There are several ghee health benefits. In fact, ghee has been used in Indian culture for many years in meal preparation as well as in holistic remedies.
Ghee contains vitamins A and E as well as carotenoids. These are all antioxidants that are great for boosting your immune system as well as promoting skin cell growth and better vision.  Ghee also helps in transporting some herb mixtures that are used in Hindu holistic medicine to cells and organs. Ghee helps to minimize stomach acid while also repairing the stomach's lining. Ghee also produces digestive enzymes which help food digest properly and reduces episodes of indigestion. 
Since the water has been evaporated from the butter, ghee can be added to popcorn without causing it to be soggy. Also, ghee rice is a popular Indian dish that includes ghee, onion and several exotic spices. Ghee has been used in medicine as a cure for blisters and burns. It helps to heal and soften irritated skin when applied topically.

Acacia arabica (Lam.) Willd.
English: Acacia, Acacia(E), Milfoil, Wattle Bark, Yarrow.
Urdu/Punjabi: Gond Kikar, Babul
Temperament: dry
Babul tree is widely seen in Arabia and West Asia. In India, it grows wild in the forests of Punjab and parts of Rajasthan. It is known for its gum, which is made from the hardened sap taken from the tree. The tree is planted for its bark, which yields the babul gum. This gum has several other uses apart from being used for the treatment of injuries and for therapeutic purposes. Babul trees can flourish in dry and arid regions. They are medium-sized trees; reaching an average height of about 12 m. Babul trees find use in households as well as in farms and fields for shelter and foraging purposes.
The gum is analgesic, antidiarrhoeal, antimicrobial, antipyretic, aphrodisiac, astringent, cooling, demulcent, emollient, expectorant, haemostatic, and liver tonic, mucilaginous, nutritive, styptic and tonic. It is traditionally used, as a strong decoction, in the treatment of gonorrhea with edema, cough, diarrhea, as a gargle for spongy gums, aphthous stomatitis, cancer and sore throat, or as a douche or enema in gonorrhea, cystitis, vaginitis, leucorrhoea, piles, and anal prolapsed. It is helpful in managing conditions involving hemorrhagic ulcers and wounds, dysentery, diabetes mellitus, conjunctivitis, intermitted fever, burns, bleeding, catarrh, urinogenital discharges, sexual debility, seminal weakness, spermatorrhoea, nocturnal emission and genitourinary complaints. It is considered a remedy that is helpful for treating premature ejaculation.

Trapa bispinosa Roxb:
English: Singhara Nut, Water Chestnut.
Urdu/Punjabi: Singhara, Gaonri, Kesru, Pani-Phal
Temperament: cold and moist
Water chestnut (Trapa bispinosa.) commonly known as Singhara in India. It is an annual, floating-leaved aquatic plant of temperate and tropical freshwater wetlands, rivers, lakes, ponds and estuaries. Native to Eurasia and Africa, water chestnut has been widely gathered for its large nutritious fruits since the Neolithic. It is now a species of conservation concern in Europe and Russia. It has been used in traditional system of medicine like Unani and Ayurveda since centuries for many medical conditions like strangury, dysuria, polyuria, sexual debility, general debility, sore throat, lumbago, bilious affections and dysentery etc. Modern researches have supported its traditional uses and also explored other important properties such as Analgesic, antibiotic, antidiabetic, immunomodulatory, neuroprotective etc. (Shaikh Imtiyaz, 2013)

Aloe vera (Gheekwar)
English:aloes
Urdu/Punjabi: aloe vera, gheekwar
Temperament: cold
Aloe Vera has amazing health benefits. The herb is known for its medicinal properties and is useful in several health conditions. It helps in halting growth of cancer tumors, eases inflammation, helps in arthritis, lowers cholesterol, prevents kidney stones, soothes ulcers, lowers blood pressure in people suffering from high blood pressure, hydrates skin, provides essential minerals to the body, helps in preventing colon cancer, heals intestine, lubricates digestive tract and ends constipation. Aloe Vera is also helpful in stabilizing sugar levels in diabetics.
Health benefits include:
It has been studied around the world and results show that aloe vera offers wonderful support for our immune system and helps ward off illness of all sorts. Aloe vera is a versatile plant that can be used both internally and externally, offering multiple benefits for the skin as well as for the inside of our bodies. The benefits of aloe vera have been broken down into three groups, including, anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory. When used on the outside of the body, aloe vera can help cure many ailments dealing with the skin. Conditions of the skin that may benefit from the use of aloe vera are minor cuts, scrapes, burns, sunburns, razor burn, acne, dandruff, dry skin, eczema and psoriasis.
When taken internally in the form of a juice, aloe vera can offer even more rewards. Because the aloe vera is so rich in nutrients it is able to serve many purposes. Aloe vera helps the body release pepsin, which is the gastric juice enzyme that we need to digest our food. This helps conditions such as ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, heartburn, constipation, colitis and any other digestive tract irritations. Those with HIV or other diseases that cause the immune system to be weakened can benefit from taking high doses of aloe vera.

Phoenix Sylvester’s Roxb:
English:  Date Sugar Palm, Dates
Urdu/Punjabi: Chuhara, Katal, Khajur, Khurma
Temperament: moist and warm
The sugar content of ripe dates is about 80%, the remainder consists of protein, fat and mineral products including copper, sulphur, iron, vitamins A, B and D, magnesium and fluoric acid. Dates are high in fiber and an excellent source of potassium. Dates are considered demulcent, expectorant, laxative, nourishing, and very nutritious, spermatogenic and tonic and are used in respiratory diseases like asthma, bronchitis, tuberculosis, cough, fever and low vitality.
Dates are also regarded as antianaemic, antioxidant, aphrodisiac, astringent, diuretic, emollient, estrogenic, pectoral, refrigerant and sweet. Useful in anemia, catarrh, weakness of eyesight, fatigue, sterility, stomachache, thirst, urogenital ailments and vaginitis. Dates are also reported to be used in cases of memory disturbances. They are Temperamentive for both diarrhea and constipation due to malnutrition of the bowels. (ahmad ateeq, soni dutta sunil, singh K Varun, Maurya K Santosh, 2013)

Pandanus odoratissimus Distillate
Urdu/Punjabi: (Arq Kewra)
Kewra water is an extract that is distilled from Pandanus flowers. It is a transparent liquid, almost similar to rose water. Although Pandanus trees grow almost everywhere in tropical Asia, kewra water is still mainly a Northern Indian flavoring that is not used anywhere else. In Western cooking, kewra water makes a fine alternative to the flower essences like rose or orange essence. It can be substituted with kewra essence, which is more concentrated.
Kewra is said to have antioxidant properties and helps fight cancer. Its floral fragrance gives a calming Temperament, thus helps in mental relaxation.










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WITCHCRAFT IN PAKISTAN - MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

INTRODUCTION

                Princeton University on line dictionary explains magic as “…any art that invokes supernatural powers”, or it can be explained  as practice which aims at controlling and summoning natural creations  by use of charms or rituals, it is usually done with intention of disrupting natural course of events in order to produce desired outcomes.
It was common notion that men or women acquire these magical powers through learning special techniques and rituals especially in reformation era. Hence during fifteenth to seventeenth century magic was considered as learned activity. Magic is a one large umbrella where witchcraft comes under it. Meaning of word witchcraft is not specific but varies culturally. Other names for witchcraft that are used in Southern United States are voodoo, conjure or mojo. Whereas now days it can also be referred as “Wicca” or some of followers of neo pagan religions refer themselves as witches (Baroja, J.C, 1973)
Witchcraft can be defined as an act of magic that will result in harming natural environment or person. In this specific background magic and witch craft can be used interchangeably. Whereas it is assumed that witchcraft is used for negative purposes whereas magic can be used in positive way. But at the end these don’t have scientific grounds (Ciekawy, 2005). Now a day’s People have associated fear and hate towards witchcraft and those who are accused of practicing it.

HISTORY

Belief in witchcraft has been around as long back as one can remember and even today the wave of time have-not been able to wash away the witch’s imprints on the stand of many a culture.Witch craft is a concept that has been gone under several alterations up till now. Witchcraft is considered as a symbol of evil over all regions of the world. It includes agricultural to industrialized societies. But this was not the story from beginning. Witches were part of society since first band of humans gathered. At that time these powers were used to ensure successful hunting. Western belief about witches grew out of folklores of Greeks and Romans. (a short history of witchcraft, 2009). Talking about Europe, witches and witchcraft have been existing in Europe from early middle ages. At that time witches was felt to be somebody who had innate powers that could be mobilized for good or evil and these powers are inherited from mother to her daughter. But from 15th century a new model emerged in which Christian theologians argued that witches are not isolated magical practitioners but members of satanic sect, and their powers came to them as a result of pact they made with god (A.Sharpe, 2004). This belief strengthened after Pope Innocent VIII issued a declaration in the 1498 which made it confirm that existence of witches in society is harmful and authorize killing of witches. It started after 1200 under orders of church yet massive level witch hunting recorder between 1500-1600. People who were suspected as witches were burned at stakes or either stoned or burned to death

Existence of Witchcraft In Different Regions

AFRICA

Belief in witchcraft is widespread in Africa. We can say that witch craft is quite dominant in African society. Inhabitants of Africa associate everything that they don’t understand with magic and even natural disasters as a result of doing of some witch. In South African culture, people who use magic are divided in to three classifications: ‘thakathi’ or witch; mostly female; is one who operates in order to harm others. ‘Sangoma’ or shaman; usually female; is the one who detect illnesses and predict an event. Last one is ‘inyanga’ or witchdoctor; exclusively male; who heal illnesses and injuries through herbs and provide people with magical items.  In Gambia, people say that witches can take form of owl at night and they kill them whenever they see them because they consider them as witches on evil mission. Even in some cases sleep walking, hallucinating, stubbornness, albinism and uttering meaningless words are associated with magic and its effects. Although modern world have rejected concept of witchcraft up to greater extinct but still African communities have strong belief on magic and its practices. (Igwe, 2011)

INDIA

In India population still have belief on witchcraft and take magic and witches in a very negative connotation. In spite of people’s believe government of India have passes Witch Prohibition Act in 1999. Under this act witches who are suspected will face severe consequences. Soraj ajay skria explored cases of women who were tortured and murdered under acquisition of being a witch in British India. In 2013, Al Jazeera documentary explained lives of those who were accused i.e. how they were enforced to leave area and move far away from community, a land where there are scarce resources. People use these allegations as political purpose i.e. property disputes and disease.
In Rajhistan ; area that share borders with Pakistan;  government have enacted Rajasthan Women (Prevention and Protection from Atrocities) Bill, under this bill it is illegal o perform any witchcraft that leads to harm people and guilty person will face 3 years in jail. According to The New York Times, “The mixing of old superstitions with modern material desires has proved deadly for these women, as many brandings are now done to disinherit them from family property” (Sharma, 2012)

ROLE OF WITCHCRAFT IN SOCIAL SETTINGS

Witchcraft plays significant role in society at different levels. Different ethnographic researches have been done by anthropologist’s catering with the positive role of witch craft in society. Evans Pritchard explained in his work that witchcraft can be understood as an explanation for misfortune, which might provide people with sense of control on their lives and give ability to understand forces that are surrounding them. This is known as empowering function of witchcraft. Fortune (1932) did study on Melanesian society and explained positive functioning of magic in their society. Similarly Malinowski (1935) explained positive social role of witchcraft in Trobiand sorcery. Evans Pritchard’s book Max Gluckman (1944), he said that “If a sociologist can find where charges of witchcraft in particular society fall, he can almost reconstruct the social relationships of the society”. Other studies explain role of witchcraft in society were : “the social function of witchcraft by J.D. Kridge 1947, witch beliefs and social structure by Monica Wilson (1951) , witchcraft in four African societies by S.F. Nadel (1952). Keith Thomas (1971) once said that role of magic is much more extensive then we originally think in modern society.
PAKISTANI CULTURE
Research was done on Sonikot, Pakistan by Waheel Iqbal Chaudhry which showed that although at present no witch can be found alive but there are stories of witches everywhere but physical existence is absent.  Same is concept of witch craft in other regions of Pakistan. Islam is the chief religion of Pakistan and it encompasses a wide range of practices such as evil eye, amulets, astronomy, black magic etc. black magic or sihr is explicitly forbidden but still practiced by some practitioners. Although in Quran Surah Al Falaq is best remedy to ward off black magic. (Waheed Iqbal Chaudhry, Tooba Rafi, 2013)
In Pakistan people who perform these magic activities are commonly called ‘amil baba’ and surprisingly although religion does not allow but we can see dozens of advertisements of witchcraft performers in advertisement and newspapers. These people use wodoo dolls, amulets, hairs to perform magic on and claims that they have ‘jinns’ who work for them. People in Pakistan avail services of these practitioners in order to get better from illness, revenge from others or destroy their enemies. These are mostly limited to female followers who feel vulnerable in this patriarchal society and find magic as only way out and it empowers her and make her equal to male psychologically (Sebald ,H., 1978)
It is commonly believed that pregnant women are most prone to these witchcrafts. Pregnant women are consider vulnerable because she is “soon to be” a mother. And she is always having fear of miscarriage, death birth or permanent sterility because of evil eye or witch craft. Basically there are certain insecurities that give birth to such beliefs i.e. in this case mother have fear that if she loses her baby she will move down to lower status in hierarchy so she use amulets and incantations in order to ward off evil eye and witchcrafts (H.Qamar, 2012)
Other than that with craft and with craft hunt is common topic in television programs such as in program Raid by Dawn news they covered and entire program on witch-hunt. Other programs include Utho Jago Pakistan  (Jadoo Aur us Ka Tor)  which was on aired on 25th April 2012  and Rangey Hath ( Kala Jadu Kia Hai) on Jaag TV.
Although this belief on magic has been declining i.e. younger generation is much lesser follower of concept of existence of witches then that of older people similarly belief on witchcraft lore is more commonly seen in female rather than males. Studies have proved relation of education and with craft believe as more educated people have lesser belief on witch craft ten uneducated people. (Waheed Iqbal Chaudhry, Tooba Rafi, 2013)

CONCLUSION

Witchcraft has been around world from time when human first gathered in groups but the purpose and usage has changed from time to time. Today witchcraft is been attached with negative connotations and most of people negate existence of witches but still this operates in society and effects in a way that we cannot even imagine. Pregnant women fear from evil eye and other magical practices. Similarly human have always created something to fear from and most of the time it was magic. In Pakistan connotation of witch is attached with female and mostly women are involved in such activities yet they consider it immoral.  But as time has passed young generation has much less belief on these supernatural activities and they try to find empirical proofs rather the believing on these witchcrafts similarly education is also a major factor that have contributed in lowering rate of reliance on magic but still we cannot say that this society is cleared from those who believe in it. In short we can say that this society is divided in to two extremes of followers and non followers.







Bibliography


a short history of witchcraft. (2009). Retrieved from wiccan one's universe.
A.Sharpe, J. (2004). a companon to reformation world. In R. P.-C. Hsia (Ed.). blackwell.
Baroja, J.C. (1973). The world of witches.
Ciekawy, D. (2005). WITCHCRAFT, AFRICAN STUDIES OF. New Dictionary of the History of Ideas.
H.Qamar, A. (2012, april 21). Pregnancy Myths and early childcare: research reflections from the rural punjab, pakistan. world academy of science, engineering and technology, 6.
Igwe, L. (2011, AUG 19). Belief in Witchcraft in Africa. Retrieved from Butterflies and wheels: http://www.butterfliesandwheels.org/2011/belief-in-witchcraft-in-africa/
Sebald ,H. (1978). Witchcraft: the heritage of a heresy.
Sharma, B. (2012). Women Fight Back Against Witch-Branding in Rajasthan. New York Times. Retrieved from New York Times.
Waheed Iqbal Chaudhry, Tooba Rafi. (2013). With craft to witch lore: a transformation in concepts and practices.



Saturday, 23 January 2016

Progressive muscle relaxation script (PMR)

                                           Progressive muscle relaxation script

Find yourself a quiet place to relax. Turn off your phone and dim the lights. This is your time...a time for complete and utter relaxation.

For this relaxation, you can either sit or lie down. Just make sure that you are warm enough, and that you are comfortable.

Let your hands rest loosely in your lap, or by your side. Now close your eyes. Become aware of your breathing, and notice how your abdomen rises and falls with each breath...

 Now take a long slow deep breath in through your nose, all the way down into your stomach. Hold the breath for just a moment, and then exhale through your mouth. Allow your breath to carry away all stress and tension as the air floods out of your lungs.

Take another slow breath in through your nose. Fill your lungs completely. Hold it for a moment...and release the breath through your mouth. Empty your lungs completely.

Take a third deep breath in. Hold it for a moment, and then let it go. Feel that your body has already undergone a change. The tension in your body has begun to loosen and subside.

Now let your breathing rhythm return to normal...and relax.... During this relaxation I will ask you to tense various muscles throughout your body. Please do this without straining.

 You do not need to exert yourself, just contract each muscle firmly but gently as you breathe in.

If you feel uncomfortable at any time, you can simply relax and breathe normally.
Bring your awareness to your feet and toes.

 Breathe in deeply through your nose, and as you do, gradually curl your toes down and tense the muscles in the soles of your feet.

Hold your breath for just a few seconds and then release the muscles in your feet as you breathe out. Feel the tension in your feet wash away as you exhale. Notice how different your feet feel when tensed and when they are relaxed.

Take another deep breath in again, tense the muscles in the soles of your feet and hold this position for a few seconds. Now release. Feel yourself relaxing more and more deeply with each breath. Your whole body is becoming heavier, softer and more relaxed as each moment passes.

Now bring your awareness to your lower legs...to your calf muscles. As you draw in a nice deep breath, point your toes up towards your knees and tighten these muscles. Hold for just a moment, and then let those muscles go limp as you exhale.

Once again, draw in a deep breath...and tighten your calf muscles. Hold for a few seconds, and then let it all go. Feel your muscles relax, and feel the tension washing away with your out-breath.

In a moment you will tense the muscles in the front of your thighs. If you are lying down, you can do this by trying to straighten your legs. You’ll feel the muscles pulling your kneecap upwards. If you are seated, you can tense these muscles by pushing your heels down onto the floor.

 Take a deep breath in, and tense the muscles in your thighs. Hold for just a moment, and then release everything. As you do this, the blood flow to your muscles increases, and you may notice a warm tingling sensation. Enjoy this feeling of soothing relaxation in your thighs.

Again, breathe in deeply and tighten your thigh muscles. Hold for a moment. Now release. Focus on letting your muscles go limp and loose.

 Draw in a nice deep breath and gradually tighten the muscles in your buttocks. Hold this contraction for a few seconds, and then release your breath. Feel the tension leaving your muscles. Feel them relaxing completely.

Once more, breathe in deeply and tighten the muscles in your buttocks. Hold for a moment. Now release them. You are becoming more and more deeply relaxed. Take another breath, and this time, gradually tighten all the muscles in your legs, from your feet to your buttocks.

Do this in whatever way feels natural and comfortable to you. Hold it...and now release all these large strong muscles. Enjoy the sensation of release as you become even more deeply relaxed. Now bring your awareness to your stomach. Draw in a nice deep breath and then tighten these muscles. Imagine you are trying to touch your belly button to your spine. Now release your breath and let your muscles relax. Notice the sensation of relief that comes from letting go.

Once again, draw in a deep breath and then tighten your stomach muscles. Hold for a few seconds... and then let them relax as you exhale and release all tension. Bring your awareness to the muscles in your back.

 As you slowly breathe in, arch your back slightly and tighten these muscles....Now release your breath and let your muscles relax. Again, draw in a deep breath and then tighten your back muscles. Hold for a few seconds...and then let them relax and release.

Now give your attention to your shoulder muscles and the muscles in your neck. As you slowly draw in a nice deep breath, pull your shoulders up towards your ears and squeeze these muscles firmly. Now breathe out completely, and allow your contracted muscles to go loose and limp.

Again, pull your shoulders up towards your ears and squeeze these muscles firmly. Now feel the tension subside as you relax and breathe out. Feel the heaviness in your body now. Enjoy the feeling. Feel yourself becoming heavier and heavier.

Feel yourself becoming more and more deeply relaxed. You are calm, secure, at peace.

 Now it’s time to let go of all the tension in your arms and hands.

 Let’s start with your upper arms. As you breathe in, raise your wrists towards your shoulders and tighten the muscles in your upper arms. Hold that breath and that contraction for just a moment...and then gently lower your arms and breathe all the way out. You may feel a warm, burning sensation in your muscles when you tighten them. Feel how relaxing it is to release that tightness and to breathe away all tension.

 As you curl your upper arms again, tighten the muscles as you breathe in. Breathe in deeply. Now relax your arms and breathe out. Now bring your awareness to your forearms. As you breathe in, curl your hands inwards as though you are trying to touch the inside of your elbows with your fingertips.

Now feel the tension subside as you relax and breathe out. Again, take a deep breath in, and tighten the muscles in your forearms. Hold it for a moment, and then release them. Feel the tension washing away.

Now, take another breath in and tightly clench your fists. When you have finished breathing in, hold for just a few seconds, and then release. Notice any feelings of buzzing or throbbing. Your hands are becoming very soft and relaxed. Take another deep breath in and clench your fists again. Hold for just a few seconds, and then release.

Let your fingers go limp. Your arms and hands are feeling heavy and relaxed. Take a couple of nice long slow breaths now, and just relax. Feel yourself slipping even deeper into a state of complete rest.

Now tighten the muscles in your face by squeezing your eyes shut and clenching your lips together. As you do, breathe in fully. Hold it...now breathe out and relax all your facial muscles. Feel your face softening.

Once more, breathe in deeply while you scrunch the muscles in your eyes and lips....and release. Now bring your awareness to the muscles in your jaw. Take a deep breath in, and then open your mouth as wide as you can.

Feel your jaw muscles stretching and tightening. Now exhale and allow your mouth to gently close. Again, fill your lungs with air and then open your mouth wide. Now let your mouth relax and let your breath flood all the way out.

You are now completely relaxed from the tips of your toes to the top of your head. Please take a few more minutes to rest.

Relax. Listen to the sound of your breathing and enjoy the lovely, warm sensation of physical relaxation. If you have the time, feel free to fall asleep. You will wake feeling completely rejuvenated and relaxed.