Social Affairs (Apr 2015)
The Role played by the Ceylon Reformed Society and the Oriental Medical Science Fund in the Revival of Traditional Medicine in Ceylon/Sri Lanka
Abstract
This paper elaborates on how and in what ways the nineteenth century nationalist unrest motivated local elite groups to work together to restore traditional medicine in Sri Lanka which underwent a significant decline as a result of foreign rule for more than four hundred years. It narrates the activities organised by the Ceylon Reformed Society and the Oriental Medical Fund in the context of the colonial government’s decision to provide state sponsorship to traditional medicine between 1900 and 1925. This paper is part of a PhD research project which was carried out from 2005-10 employing qualitative data collection and analysis methods to study the development of state patronage for traditional medicine in Sri Lanka from 1900-1980. Research findings reveal that activities carried out by the said groups and organizations paved way for the institutionalization of traditional medicine on a fairly equal footing with Western medicine in pre-independence Sri Lanka.
