80 chapter
we can go home. We dreamt of being here until the fl ag hoisting [a festival at the
mosque that was a few months away]. So after that we can go.In addition to the religious syncretism at Beemapalli, we see here a hint
of medical syncretism in the use of the English, biomedical term “operation”
in connection with the healing process they are undergoing at the mosque.
Th e wife soon after referred to the jasmine fl owers they eat at the mosque
as a kshayam, a local Sanskritic term for “medicine” also used in ayurvedic
discourse. Hanifa’s therapeutic regimen also included circumambulating the
mosque, bathing in medicinal water from the mosque’s well, and oiling his
head with a special oil. Th e oiling of the head recalls the ayurvedic treatment
picchu, described earlier, in which medicated oil is applied to the head; but
there is no indication that ayurvedic medicines were used, and this is not a
widespread practice at Beemapalli. Th is may have been a lay attempt to cool
the head or an example of people attempting to apply a pseudo-ayurvedic
treatment at the mosque. Recall ayurvedic psychiatrist Dr. Sundaran’s observa-
tion that some faith healers administered ayurvedic medicines but did not do
so correctly.
Th e most celebrated event of the year at Beemapalli, the Urus festival, is
especially signifi cant for people suff ering illness. During the week of Urus
festivities, thousands visit Beemapalli to pray, socialize, shop at the merchant
stalls that are set up for the festival, and attend concerts and other events. At
this time, the mentally affl icted and people who are seeking to overcome other
adversities circumambulate the mosque carrying one or several chandanaku-
dam pots (small pots containing incense and coins covered with paper and tied
with a string of fl owers) on their heads. After circumambulating the mosque
several times, supplicants enter the mosque and off er the pot and its contents
at Ummachi’s tomb. Th e money in the pots is turned over to the mosque’s
charitable foundation which, among other projects, is planning to build an
allopathic clinic for the neighborhood—demonstrating that the mosque’s
board does not see appealing to the divine and medical approaches to health
as mutually exclusive though there is no indication that mental health facilities
will be available at the planned facility.
On the grounds of the mosque, off to the side of the main building is a
small structure where people receive prayers and talismans. I rarely saw this
facility utilized, however, and none of the ill people or their relatives men-
tioned visiting this area in describing their healing and worship experiences.
On one occasion, I did observe an agitated man who appeared to be pos-
sessed standing in front of this small building, muscles tensed and shouting
sporadically while a priest prayed over him. Eventually the priest tied a cord