Food: The immanent cause from outside. Medical lore on food and health in village Tamil Nadu

Abstract

This paper analyses the ideas and practices about food in village Tamil Nadu and discusses the village-folk's knowledge of health. It is divided into three parts: the first part outlines the content of the villagers' diet; the second part examines their ideas relating to food and its significance, and the norms governing food and eating; and the third part highlights the features of medical lore as a knowledge system.