Introduction to Unani Tibb
Unani Tibb is a time-old form of medicine, having its historical beginnings in Ancient Greece (hence why it is called Unani, the Arabic and Persian word for Greek). Currently, it is practiced mostly in the Indian Subcontinent but it is making its way into Europe and the Americas.
The system of medicine is symbolized by the number four - you will see why. The foundation of this medicine is refereed to as 'The Theory of Naturals'. It in essence states that the human body has a natural order and in order to maintain health, one has to follow this order. Included in this, Unani Tibb holds to the philosophy that the nature of everything in the universe, external to the human body, and internal to the human body, can be connected to one of the Four Elements.
These Four Elements are, Air, Fire, Earth and Water. How are things in the universe connected to these four elements? Its through their essence, nature, quality etc. What this means is that we are able to metaphorically link anything to them. Before giving an example of how these links are made, lets look at the Four Elements and try to understand their natures (1).
- Earth is at the center, it gravitates things towards it. It is at rest and it is grounded. It gives shape to things and it is Cold & Dry.
- Water is flowing, cleansing and dispersing. It easily takes shape of its container. It is Cold & Moist.
- Air has the ability of making things lighter, finer and more delicate. Air is free flowing and unexpected. Air is Hot & Moist.
- Fire has the quality of penetrating deeply. It destroys things, it refines things. It is Warm & Dry.
The Earth and Water Elements are feminine while the Fire and Air Elements are Masculine (1).
Now, how does all this relates to medicine? According to Unani Tibb the body contains within it four bodily fluids, termed Humors. Each of these humors relate to one of the four elements. Above, we highlighted the qualities in terms of heat, coldness, dryness and moisture, of the four elements. These four humors also have those qualities, the same ones as to the Element they relate to. Below is a diagram to explain this more easily.
Yellow Bile Humor, like Fire is supposed to be Hot & Dry.
Black Bile Humor, like the Earth is supposed to be Cold & Dry.
Phlegm Humor, like Water is supposed to be Cold & Moist.
Blood Humor, like the Air is supposed to be Hot & Moist.
So how then do diseases arise? It is actually quiet simple. If any of the humors become imbalanced or deviate from their natural quality, i.e. if the blood humor, which is supposed to be warm, becomes to hot or cold, diseases with arise. This is the case, for example, in high blood pressure. So to treat this, Unani Tibb practitioners would use ways, either through herbal means or another, to cool down the blood humor.
This is Unani Tibb in a nutshell.
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