Dukhan (traditional Medicine)
Dukhan is ritual bodily practice known in which the body is smoked with a special (scented) species wood. The ritual is mainly practiced by married women and women preparing for marriage in northern Sudanese provinces., although men also conduct it occasionally to treat rheumatic pain. Yet the practice of Dukhan is not performed amongst men frequently. In fact the Northern Sudanese culture frowns upon the practice amongst men. The technique is considered a traditional medicinal technique in Southern Sudan The practice of taking a dukhan has many purported health benefits such as smoothing the skin, and narrowing of the vagina with women (the latter being useful after childbirth) It also gives the skin a pleasant scent (due to the wood species used, usually shaff and talh wood. Dukhan is said to also be useful for treating syphilis, gonorrhoea and rheumatic pain. In this circumstance, various medicinal plants (such as tundub, natron) are used instead. Dukhan is often followed by d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Smoke Bath
A sweat lodge is a low profile hut, typically dome-shaped or oblong, and made with natural materials. The structure is the ''lodge'', and the ceremony performed within the structure may be called by some cultures a purification ceremony or simply a sweat. Traditionally the structure is simple, constructed of saplings covered with blankets and sometimes animal skins. Originally, it was only used by some of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, notably the Plains Indians, but with the rise of pan-Indianism, numerous nations that did not originally have the sweat lodge ceremony have adopted it. This has been controversial. In all cases, the sweat is intended as a spiritual ceremony – it is for prayer and healing, and the ceremony is only to be led by elders who know the associated language, songs, traditions, and safety protocols. Otherwise, the ceremony can be dangerous if performed improperly. Sweat lodges have also been imitated by some non-natives in North America an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Traditional Medicine
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the era of modern medicine. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines traditional medicine as "the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness". Traditional medicine is often contrasted with scientific medicine. In some Asian and African countries, up to 80% of the population relies on traditional medicine for their primary health care needs. When adopted outside its traditional culture, traditional medicine is often considered a form of alternative medicine. Practices known as traditional medicines ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Smoking (cooking)
Smoking is the process of flavoring, browning, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering material, most often wood. Meat, fish, and ''lapsang souchong'' tea are often smoked. In Europe, alder is the traditional smoking wood, but oak is more often used now, and beech to a lesser extent. In North America, hickory, mesquite, oak, pecan, alder, maple, and fruit-tree woods, such as apple, cherry, and plum, are commonly used for smoking. Other biomass besides wood can also be employed, sometimes with the addition of flavoring ingredients. Chinese tea-smoking uses a mixture of uncooked rice, sugar, and tea, heated at the base of a wok. Some North American ham and bacon makers smoke their products over burning corncobs. Peat is burned to dry and smoke the barley malt used to make Scotch whisky and some beers. In New Zealand, sawdust from the native manuka (tea tree) is commonly used for hot smoking fish. In Iceland, dried sheep dung is used ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |