A Chinese medicine practitioner in Beijing combines biomedicine with the traditional Chinese medicine that he prescribes to his patients. Practitioners in Southern India combine Siddha techniques of medication along with homeopathy, thus using the tools of more than one form of medicine.
This meeting of non-western medicines, biomedicines and other traditions are one of the themes explored in the revamped Non-Western Medicine galleries at the Science Museum.
Packed with fascinating artefacts, most of the items on display have been extensively researched factually, socially and culturally by consulting with medical practitioners, specialist medical historians, anthropologists and community consultants.
 |  | An itombwa. Diviners use these boards to answer questions about your illness. The flat back is covered in oil and water and rubbed with the wooden block. When the diviner mentions something important to you the block sticks - even when the itombwa is turned upside down.
Courtesy of the Science Museum. |
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“Within the displays we wanted to show how people will experience these traditions,” explained Alice Nichols, Medical Curator at the Science Museum. “I think what we are hoping is that we have tried to give each tradition its integrity and to show its history, its theory and its practice.”
Most of the objects on display come from the Wellcome group and are on permanent loan to the Science Museum. Also, only 46 of the objects currently displayed have been on display before – even these have been re-interpreted, whilst 146 objects are being displayed for the first time.
A favourite with the press are the ivory carved enema syringes. Gifted to the king of Sri Lanka these ornate and beautifully carved objects seem to be decorative artefacts rather than a functional piece of equipment designed to deliver an enema.
An 'ornamental' enema syringe. Courtesy of the Science Museum. | |  |
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But then many of the objects on display tell us much about the society and culture they come form although the museum has made a conscious effort to interpret these objects strictly as tools of medicine.
“What we wanted to do was really give it a sense of integrity and to show its use and importance to many people,” added Alice.
The resulting exhibition is surprisingly colourful and extremely people friendly. There are areas where families are encouraged to participate in object handling sessions and some of the displays allow families to explore some of the more suitable objects and traditions for themselves – rather than merely looking at them and reading their description.
There are also personal stories of people from these countries –many of which completely rely on non-western forms of medicine for their treatment. The story of 3 –year-old Dhruvi, in Mumbai, India, whose parents only rely on homeopathy for all of their child’s ailments, is impressive.
 | | Copper shirodhara pot, India, 2005. In shirodhara therapy, warm oil from a suspended pot is slowly poured onto your forehead. Usually prescribed for illnesses affecting the head, it is increasingly used by those seeking deep relaxation. Courtesy of the Science Museum. |
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These personal stories really bring home the way in which medical traditions and habits change over a period of time but sometimes endure in the face of pressure and so called progress. It’s best to remember that many African people still use nkisi figures for magical healing and believe in its powers.
Visiting this new gallery shows how the various forms of medicine from the different parts of the world combine, co-exist and even inform western medical traditions.
If this makes people consider, just for a moment, the ways in which western pharmaceutical companies operate in the developing world, then this new gallery is indeed a welcome addition to the science museum.
