by Dames Alexander Sinaga

JAKARTA, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- In a hospital on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali, a local healer named Gede Saurdana has been working together with doctors and medical workers in the past six months to nurse over 400 patients in desperate condition due to illnesses.

The patients included not only residents on the island, but also tourists from other parts of the country.

Bali is currently developing and popularizing its own traditional medical treatments to preserve local wisdom as well as to attract more tourists. All community health centers and public and private hospitals across Bali have been called to provide Balinese traditional healing, including acupuncture and prana, with competent practitioners.

Bali governor Wayan Koster recently inaugurated an association that gathers competent practitioners. The association, locally known as Gotra Pangusada, consists of a collection of Balinese experts in the medical and non-medical fields who want to include local treatment in public healthcare.

Saurdana, 54, has been learning and practicing traditional healing for over 14 years from a Balinese script, natively known as Aksara Bali. He is now sharing his knowledge and working along with healthcare workers at Bali Mandara Hospital in capital city Denpasar to cure patients.

"Here we're working in an integrated way. First, doctors examine patients in a modern way. Then I try to heal patients by raising up the inner power of the patients in accordance with Aksara Bali," he said.

According to the Bali Health Agency, at least six hospitals and 120 community health centers are now providing traditional healing treatments with medicinal plants grown in Bangli, Karangasem and Tabanan areas.

Three years ago, the Bali administration issued a regulation on Balinese traditional healthcare, aiming to preserve the healing treatment and integrate it with modern medical treatment. To achieve the goals, the government is collaborating with Gotra Pangusada, who is led by Putu Suta Sadnyana, a lawyer in Bali.

Sadnyana gained a deeper understanding of the persistence of traditional medicine treatments after having traveled to China several years ago. He visited as a tourist and his local guide led him and other tourists to traditional medicine centers.

"I saw that traditional medicine treatments in China are developed and managed so greatly. It's very impressive," he told Xinhua.

Sadnyana expressed hope that local Balinese healers and educational and research institutions can persistently cooperate to help advance the Balinese healing treatment.

"We are hoping tourists come here not only for refreshment or recreation, but also for Balinese traditional healing," said Sadnyana. Enditem

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