In Amma's Healing Room: Gender and Vernacular Islam in South India

2. The Healing System

64 2 the healing system The whole world depends on pen and paper. Pareśānı̄: Troubles Brought to the Healing Room Amma boldly states that she ‘guarantees’ (using the English word) her treatments for all troubles and illnesses that are caused by śaitānı̄, literally evil forces but more generally the impingement of spiritual forces on the physical world. (Śaitān literally means “satan,” but śaitānı̄ has a broader meaning of evil or devilish things; sometimes the meaning can be “naughty” if applied to the behavior of a child.) Amma specifically excludes cancer, heart troubles, typhoid, and polio from the classification of illnesses over which she has control (all diseases that have, incidentally, directly affected members of her own family).1 Many patients come to Amma with very specific complaints: infertility, high fevers in children, disobedient children (including teenage sons who do not work but just “meander around all day”), colicky babies and stubborn young children, babies who are failing to thrive, abusive husbands, troubles making marriage arrangements for their daughters, stolen gold, runaway goats, interfering neighbors, or failing businesses. Other patients come with gener- The Healing System 65 alized complaints such as “I don’t sleep well, my hands and feet are pulling,” vague restlessness [becainı̄], or general trouble [pareśānı̄] in the house. Looking at the list of complaints with which patients come to Amma, we might be tempted to classify them as psychologically based illnesses as opposed to physical ones. But this is not the distinction Amma draws. Śaitānı̄ can manifest in mind, body, or spirit. Amma is adamant that many illnesses for which patients go to allopathic doctors are illnesses only she (or another religious practitioner) can control, and she bemoans the fact that while she is quite willing to refer patients to doctors for illnesses outside her range of expertise, it is rare that allopathic doctors admit that they have no control over particular kinds of illnesses and refer them to her. Amma often recommends specific doctors, from obstetricians to optometrists , by name and phone number; some she knows personally, others by reputation through her patients. Centrality of the Written Word in Diagnosis and Prescriptions The centrality of the written word is striking in the healing room. Amma’s primary method of diagnosis is based on the written word, as are most of her prescriptions and treatments (called ilāj, the same word used for allopathic medical treatments). Amma writes all day long, opening the “mystery of numbers” [abjad kā phāl kholnā, hereafter called abjad] to diagnose the troubles of a patient and writing out prescriptions: slips of paper to be folded and worn around the neck, rolled and burned in oil, smashed with a sandal, or hung in a doorway to flutter in the wind. She also writes on unleavened bread, gourds, and saucers. Amma’s fingers are ink-stained, and her desk is covered with slips of paper on which mathematical calculations have been made, stacks of amulets upon which magical squares and Arabic letters and numbers have been written, a clipboard , and an inkpot. The importance of the written word in Amma’s ritual healing activity helps identify her healing practice as Islamic,2 although there are also Muslim healers who do not rely on the written word. Abba once told me, IN AMMA’S HEALING ROOM 66 Allah gave power to the pen and paper. To the pen. He gave strength to the pen. And the paper. Tāqat—‘power’. He didn’t give ‘power’ to the tongue. If someone gets angry, what happens? You take him and report him to the police, to the collector’s office. Then they look at the petition. They don’t listen to the word of tongue, only the written word. The ‘judge’ can send you to the gallows. And if he wants, he can bring you down from there with the stroke of a pen. . . . It’s all in the pen, in the pen and paper. Only these two things. The written word is like the written judgment in a court of law: indisputable , powerful, and final. On another occasion Abba elaborated on the power of the written word to activate: It’s like if I write a letter to you and tell you to come; it’s ‘urgent’—a telegram. You can’t refuse. Like that, there...