The history of medicine and healing rituals

Medical knowledge in Volga Bulgaria drew from traditions of folk medicine, utilizing various natural remedies such as honey, birch, beaver secretions, and medicinal elements of animals and birds, exhibiting influences from the East like Ibn Sina's works, and embracing locally practiced methods. The Bolğar medical practitioners used pulse palpation as a primary diagnostic method, which aligns with the general Eastern medicine practice. They utilized medical tools like lancets and forceps, with archaeological findings revealing surgical knives, potentially used for amputations. 

Scholars like Tacetdin Yalçığol provided insights into pharmacology, creating a complex universal medicine called tiryaq, outlined in detailed recipes for the treatment of various diseases. It was a compound remedy, known as the "Great Antidote," composed of meticulously selected and processed natural substances, seven categories of multiple medications, three kinds of pastes, wine, and honey. Its usage extended to treating everything from digestive issues to skin conditions, respiratory problems, epilepsy, and kidney diseases, and even as a preventive measure for different health concerns. 

In the Kazan Khanate medicine, referred to as ut, played a vital role, with practitioners known as utçı or herbalists. Healing practices often involved medicinal plants, echoing traditions from the Bolğars and the Golden Horde. 

Folklore depicted themes like the cure of a royal family, their conversion to Islam, and a healer marrying the king's daughter. The popularity of books like "Şifa" (Healing) and the knowledge about figures like Ibn Sina showcased the significance of medicine in Kazan. 

The Tatar ethnographer Qayum Nasıyri wrote, that the Kazan Tatars, besides the prescribed rituals of Islam, also practiced pagan rites and spells. These rituals included:

🦠 Cholera and Livestock Diseases cure

During outbreaks of cholera or cattle plague in villages, unmarried girls would dress in their finest clothes, let down their hair, and harness themselves to plows instead of horses, guided by elderly women. Outsiders were not allowed to enter the village. In summer, to prevent the spread of disease, the entire village and their livestock passed through gates dug into the earth—a ritual believed to protect them from illness.

An official ordered all households to put out their old fires and pour out their old water. Then a ceremony called "bringing out the new fire" was held, where the fire was made by rubbing pieces of oak together. Everyone took some of the new fire to light their home fires. In the case of cattle plague, the first fallen cattle are buried at the field gates with a new lock, a practice believed to stop the epidemic.

🦠 Smallpox cure

To ease a child's suffering from smallpox, the following ritual was performed: a white duck or white goose was given to a poor person. Then, as the child began to recover, a porridge called çəçək botqası (“smallpox porridge”) was prepared. It was believed that without this ritual, the illness would be more severe. The practice was thought to appease the çəçək anası (“smallpox mother”) and çəçək iyəse (“smallpox host”), who were said to live in large pockmarks.

🦠 Evil Eye Protection for Children

To protect children from the evil eye, Tatars painted black or blue marks on their faces. They tied black cumin seeds in a pouch to the child, rinsed the doorknob with water, and wiped the child's face to guard against the evil eye. Additionally, a piece of Juniper wood was tied to the child to protect it from the evil eye.

🦠 Water Healing Ritual

If a person felt pain after drinking water from a stream, lake, or river, it was attributed to the water “holding them”. To alleviate the pain, they put an apple or egg yolk into the water, believing it would remove the discomfort. Alternatively, they took a handful of grass, threw it into the water, and said, "Let the water not hold me." These rituals might be attributed to the ancient Tatar reverence for the water element, as well as an attempt to appease mythical water beings.

🦠 Dropsy Cure

If a person swelled, they were given juniper berries, considered a beneficial remedy against dropsy. The belief was that the cen (spirit) causing the swelling was averse to juniper.

🦠 Fever Expulsion

Tatars made a person suffering from fever wear a bear or wolf skin, thinking that the fever, frightened by the animal, would leave. They would also put snake skin in a sick person’s pocket during shivering fits to drive away the fever.

Traditional healing practices of Kerəşen Tatars featured faith healers called kürəzə or bağuçı who would cast spells like imnəw, öşkerü or öndəw. In the case of imnəw, objects like leather shoes or wooden clogs were applied to afflicted areas and discarded after reciting spells. In severe cases, a spider would be crushed on a child’s navel with the recitation: "As this spider is crushed and destroyed, so too is the disease of this child." Eye ailments were treated with a mixture of egg yolk and sugar, combined with prayers to the rising sun. Öşkerü didn’t involve any objects, but rather reciting spells and blowing on an affected area. People were also believed to have a spirit in them in the form of a cat. In the case of a mental illness, they believed that the cat had left the person, and special spells were recited to restore their spirit. This rite is one of the most archaic ones recorded amongst both Muslim and Christian Tatars. 

All these rituals demonstrate a mix of ancient Tatar beliefs, animism, and efforts to counter the influence of mythical beings and spirits in their lives. The practices have diminished over time due to the increasing influence of Islam, and then the medical and technological development. Nowadays, of course, Tatarstan enjoys modern medicine and a scientific approach to healing. 

Tatarstan has produced several prominent scientists who have advanced global medicine. 

For example, Əbübəker Teregulov (1899–1963) was a pioneer in the field of clinical physiology and pathology. His research focused on respiration and the clinical physiology of digestive organs. 

Möxəmmət Yerzin (1908–1986) was a leading pathophysiologist. He worked alongside A.D. Ado to study the role of interoceptive sensitivity in rapid allergic reactions and conducted experimental research on auto-allergic mechanisms. 

Rəwilə Burnasheva (1924–2010) was a leading allergologist and one of the founders of Kazan's clinical allergy school. She was a specialist in developing treatments for allergic diseases, including introducing the use of fungal and bacterial allergens for therapy. 

Rəysə Abdraxmanova (1923–2014) was a renowned therapist and professor, specializing in pulmonology, rheumatology, and chronic lung diseases.

Abdraxmanova's work contributed to the advancement of diagnostic technologies and medical practices in the region.

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The History of the Tatars since ancient times in seven volumes, 2017. V.2, V.4, V.5, V.6 and V.7

Qayum Nasıyri, “Beliefs and Customs of the Kazan Tatars”

History and Culture of the Kerəşen Tatars (16th–20th Centuries), Sh. Mərcani Institute of History, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan