Spices of Survival: Ethnomedicine and Female Healing in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Mistress of Spices

Author(s)	Dr. S Sarala
Country	India
Abstract	Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Mistress of Spices offers a rich imaginative space where indigenous knowledge and spiritual healing intersect with modern urban life. This paper explores how the novel re-creates traditional Indian ethno-medical practices through the figure of Tilo, a healer trained in the ancient lore of spices. The narrative’s magical realism becomes a metaphor for the continuity of tribal and folk medicinal wisdom, where every spice functions as both cultural memory and curative force. By linking Tilo’s healing art to the broader indigenous pharmacopeia of Ayurveda and folk medicine, the paper argues that Divakaruni reclaims the authority of female healers as custodians of ecological and emotional balance. The study further investigates the tension between traditional ethno-healing systems and Western biomedical rationality, revealing how healing in the novel symbolizes resistance to cultural dislocation and gender marginalization. Drawing on concepts from postcolonial ecofeminism and ethno botanical studies, the paper concludes that The Mistress of Spices transforms the act of healing into a narrative of survival, identity, and reclamation of indigenous epistemologies.
Keywords	Ethnomedicine, Indigenous Healing, Ecofeminism, Postcolonialism, Divakaruni, The Mistress of Spices
Field	Arts
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 1, January-February 2026
Published On	2026-02-06

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