- The age-old ways of Hela Wedakama
Whenever we think of indigenous medicine, we are inclined to use the term ‘Ayurveda’. However, Ayurveda is the medicinal system with its historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. In Sri Lanka, what we have is ‘Hela Wedakama,’ although we tend to use the term Ayurveda for any type of traditional medicine.
Sri Lanka boasts a proud history of medical innovation, having established some of the first systematic hospitals in the world, with their ruins found in some of our ancient cities; Polonnaruwa, Medirigiriya, Anuradhapura, and Mihinthale.
Indigenous medicine of Sri Lanka, or Hela Wedakama, is the unique heritage of medicinal practice of Sri Lanka and it is contained in a series of ancient indigenous medical literature, handed down from generation to generation.
Even today, this storied tradition remains in Sri Lanka as evidenced through numerous branches of indigenous medicine such as fracture healing (Kadum Bidum Wedakama), treatment for snake bites (Sarpavisha Wedakama), eye treatment (Es Wedakama), psychiatry (Unmada Wedakama), and treatment for abscesses, wounds, and cancers (Gedi-Wana-Pilika Wedakama) etc., which are still in practice today.
Documents such as the ‘Sarartha Sangrahaya,’ ‘Vatika Prakaranaya,’ ‘Deshiya Chikitsa Sangrahaya,’ ‘Bhaissajya Manjusa,’ ‘Oushadha Samgraha,’ etc. and numerous puskola (ola leaf) manuscripts tell the medicinal findings of our ancestors. While we have these known documents, there is also an ocean of knowledge, valuable medicine, treatment methods, beliefs, and techniques that have been passed down through generations in some families that remain undocumented.
On a recent visit to Kandy, Brunch took a small detour to Walala Handiya, Wavinna road to visit one such family that is currently carrying on their family’s weda practice, where the knowledge of a great-grandfather passed down to sons and grandsons has become a modest practice providing comfort and accessible treatment to their small community.
With the help of International Business Consultant and Royal Touch Ceylon Tea (Pvt) Ltd. and Ingine Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. Chairman Dr. Sujatha Rajapaksha (PhD), who kindly directed us to the Dayaratne family, we were able to speak with the family on some of the intricacies of the weda practice.
The medical practice is currently a family effort, being run by Alliyadde Dayaratne, the son of E.J.P. Dayaratne, and his wife, both of whom are registered medical professionals and certified Ayurveda doctors.
As we walked up to the Dayaratne family home where they had set up a waiting area and a small doctor’s office for consultations, we noticed that it was impossible for a vehicle to reach their home, especially due to a tree that was firmly rooted right in the middle of the street. Even a smaller vehicle would have to stop and the visitors would have to walk a few metres to reach the doctor’s doorstep.
We were later informed that this tree has remained on the footpath at the insistence of the Dayaratne family – for when the patient is made to exert themselves in reaching the doctor’s office, they are able to get a better, more accurate reading of the patient’s ailment. This is because much of this Hela Weda practice is reliant on a patient’s vitals; what we call naadi. When the patient is made to walk up to the doorstep the reading is said to be more accurate.
Finally, when we arrived at the doctor’s office we were able to have a brief conversation with both the elder E.J.P. Dayaratne, who still continues to see patients, and his son Alliyadde and his wife, Nilmini Samaraweera, who is also involved in the family practice.
About god’s illnesses
The senior Dayaratne shared with us that his practice, which is well over half a century old, has taught him that indigenous medicine is the only real cure for modern ailments. However, as his grandfather taught him and according to what he has learned from his family’s puskola transcripts and the many medical secrets that have been passed down to his family: “Your fate is decided when you are born and it is what you’ve brought with you from your past life that determines how healthy you are and how well you answer to the medicine that is administered to you,” he said, adding: “True healing comes from changing lifestyles and adopting correct practices.”
Taking the example of Covid-19, the elder Dayaratne shared that such viruses, especially ones for which modern medicine struggles to find solutions to, are often referred to as ‘god’s illnesses’. In Hela medicine, these illnesses do not have a cure. “It is said that such illnesses, viruses, and even sexually transmitted diseases are said to be caused by bad behaviour. On such occasions what is prescribed are behavioural treatments,” he said.
“There are three things you must do. The first step is isolation, the next is to avoid those things that are considered pilihudu, which means fried foods, meats etc. You mustn’t even smell such things. Finally, the third step is to bathe in flowing water at dawn,” he said, noting that these were the simple steps that were followed in the case of contracting an illness that was spreading, and that even modern day solutions we follow are variations of that.
The power of Hela Wedakam
The medicinal practice by the Dayaratnes has contributed greatly to the healing of many. The family is known to have formulated a Covid-19 medication that keeps the illness at bay, which has been recognised and approved by the Department of Ayurveda in Pathadumbara.
They have treated severe cases of cirrhosis, a patient suffering from paralysis (who was drinking from tubes and unable to urinate on his own and was treated to the point of complete mobility), and they have provided relief and treatment for numerous patients suffering from cancer, diabetes, asthma, and numerous other bodily ailments.
Nilmini Samaraweera also shared that they were also the only indigenous medical practitioners who remotely attended to patients from all over the island during the height of the pandemic. She shared that it is not the norm to do so in Hela Wedakama, as it is often a practice reliant on one’s senses. However, because the need arose they offered temporary relief to many over the phone.
The death of Hela Wedakama
Considering the effectiveness of this practice, we asked the Dayaratnes why we do not have universities and schools that teach Hela Wedakama, similar to those for Ayurveda treatments. The elder Dayaratne shared that often the practice is exploited by outsiders who learn it.
“It is knowledge that is passed down from family to family and not all can effectively practice it even if you learned the mechanics of it,” he said, noting that even in his own family the practice had skipped a generation, as his own father did not have the feel for it although he himself did.
“The Department of Indigenous Medicine must issue protections for these formulas and recipes so that they can be protected and also be carried forth to the next generation,” he said, adding that often the medicinal practice is taught by studying the puskola transcripts and slowly improving upon them based on the reasoning and formulations that are stated on the margins of those pages. He said that these practices are vulnerable to exploitation as they sound exotic and trendy to the mass market. The families that carry this knowledge resent these mass market tactics and glamourising what is essentially a spiritual and religious practice.
He noted that there are students who look to the families that have the knowledge and that they can learn from these families if they have a liking for it. However, for the most part, the knowledge stays in the family. “This is how you ensure that the knowledge and information doesn’t get diluted over the years. To make sure that it is pure,” he said. He also added that many of these treatments are intertwined with nature, and if the pharmaceutical companies were to get a hold of these plant-based solutions there would be mass destruction of naturally occurring resources and other calamities, an outcome that they hope to avoid.
If you are looking for treatment and wish to reach out to the Dayaratne family for a consultation, call 0779986942. They are open on weekdays until 12 p.m. and full day on Saturday, Sunday, and holidays.
