The Nakharat Family's Medical Text: Diseases and Therapeutics in the Tapi River Basin 1847-1917

Abstract

          This article examines the relationship between disease patterns and medical knowledge in the Tapi River Basin communities during 1847–1917. It analyzes changes in the medical knowledge and healing practices of traditional healers through an examination of the sources of knowledge, types of diseases, methods of treatment, and medicinal formulas used in treating illnesses. The study employs the historical method through an analysis of four samud khoi medical texts of the Nakharat family written continuously between 1847 and 1917. Volumes 1 and 2 are presumed to have been composed around 1847, while Volumes 3 and 4 were likely written between 1887 and 1917. These texts are examined alongside official documents, evidence of settlement patterns, and data concerning economic expansion. The Nakharat family’s medical texts are distinctive from other samud khoi medical texts found in Surat Thani Province because they constitute a continuous series produced over a period of more than seventy years. This characteristic makes the texts particularly valuable for investigating the development and adaptation of local medical knowledge over time. The article argues that economic transformation, changes in labor structures, and the development of transportation networks influenced patterns of illness and contributed to the adaptation of local medical knowledge among traditional healers in the Tapi River Basin communities.