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People
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Barbara Gerke
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Barbara
Gerke, born in Germany, moved to India in 1989 to study
Tibetan language and Tibetan medicine with private teachers
in Dharamsala and at the Chagpori Medical Institute in Darjeeling.
She holds degrees in Tibetan language and literature from
Visva Bharati University (Shantiniketan) and North Bengal
University. Arising out of personal study and research she
co-founded the International Trust for Traditional Medicine
(ITTM) together with Mongolian and Indian scholars in Kalimpong,
in the North Eastern Himalayas, in 1995, where she moderates
ITTM research projects and assists international students
in their fieldwork in the area.
She
completed her M.Sc. in Medical Anthropology (ISCA, Oxford
University) in 2003, and is currently in pursuit of her
D.Phil. at the same department on concepts of longevity
and rejuvenation in Tibetan medical texts and contemporary
Tibetan societies.
contact
Barbara Gerke
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Research
on Tibetan Medicine at the International Trust for Traditional
Medicine in Kalimpong, North-Eastern Himalayas, India
The
International Trust of Traditional Medicine (ITTM) was founded
in 1995 by a small group of dedicated researchers and scholars
of Mongolian, Indian and German origins. The Trust’s main
aspirations are to support original fieldwork and research of
traditional medicine, with an emphasis on Indo-Tibetan and allied
medical systems. The Centre Vijnana Niwas, on the outskirts of
Kalimpong town (1350 meters alt.), near Darjeeling, offers a natural
and scholastic environment for research and intensive group activities.
To
make a valuable contribution to the study, translation and preservation
of classical Tibetan medical texts, ITTM has been preparing the
electronic
versions of key Tibetan medical works, covering the period of
the 9th to 19th century AD. The first text is already available
at www.ittm.org.
A
medical glossary database is being prepared. The medical terms
are based upon the 7th century Ayurvedic Sanskrit text Ashtangahridayasamhita
by Vagbhata and its 11th century Tibetan translation, along with
German and English equivalents.
The
library offers a growing collection of original Tibetan medical
literature as well as books and articles in English and German
on Buddhism, Hinduism,
medicinal plants, Himalaya anthropology and ethnobotany.
The
research garden premises have been transformed over the past three
years into a biodynamic garden. Biodynamics follow the principle
of agriculture as laid down by Rudolf Steiner in 1924. The garden
is presently undergoing expansion for the purpose of cultivating
Tibetan and local medicinal plants under biodynamic conditions.
The
Trust publishes a periodical, AyurVijnana, with research articles,
book reviews and interviews with medical practitioners. Seven
volumes are available on request, and articles can also be downloaded
from the ITTM Homepage at: www.ittm.org.
Creating
an ambience for experiences of intensive research in medical traditions
as well as of personal healing and growth has been one of the
mainstream activities of the Centre. Several postgraduates and
Ph.D. candidates have stayed at the centre to conduct
their ethnographic fieldwork in Tibetan medicine and Himalayan
healing traditions. It has been one of ITTM’s objectives
to support such scholarly activities by providing contacts with
translators, local guides, healers, medical practitioners and
informants, as well as space for writing up field notes and papers
with the support of computers and the specialised ITTM library.
For
further details please contact:
International
Trust for Traditional Medicine (ITTM)
Vijnana Niwas, Madhuban
Kalimpong 734 301
West Bengal, India
e-mail: info@ittm.org
Homepage: www.ittm.org
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