ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION In this chapter, I explore popular perceptions of medicine in South Kanara District, Karnataka State, India.1 My initial vantage point will be that of a rural semi-literate villager who has access to the rapidly expanding pool of practitioners and medicines available in crossroads towns.2 These resources have become increasingly accessible since the mid-1970s due to improved transportation facilities and rising wages for agricultural labor and the beedi (cigarette) home industry. I focus attention on the most common ways medicines are thought of and spoken about within rural South Kanara.
