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All cultures are characterized by medical pluralism, that is, by a situation where multiple forms of healing exist side by side. The health system of South Asia is especially pluralistic, with a wide variety of healers and healing traditions. This is partly due to the sheer number of different communities in the subcontinent: not only its many religions (Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain, Animist) but also its numerous linguistic groups, regional cultures, castes, classes, and tribe…