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Alexander Stark: Numbers and Healing:. Exploring the Minangkabau Traditional Medical System

Datum
25. Novem­ber 2025 

Dr. Alexan­der Stark (CAS‑E Fel­low): „Num­bers and Heal­ing: Explor­ing the Minangk­abau Tra­di­tion­al Med­ical System”
Tues­day, Novem­ber 25, 6:15pm CET
Free and Open for All
On Zoom or at CAS‑E, Build­ing D1, Hart­mannstrasse 14, Erlangen

About the lecture:

Num­bers hold sig­nif­i­cant mean­ing in many cul­tures. This pre­sen­ta­tion out­lines the tra­di­tion­al Minangk­abau heal­ing sys­tem and explores the role that num­bers play with­in it. The Minangk­abau are one of the largest matri­lin­eal soci­eties in the world. Sur­pris­ing­ly, how­ev­er, their tra­di­tion­al heal­ing prac­tices have received lit­tle schol­ar­ly atten­tion. Some areas of research have high­light­ed the cen­tral role of num­bers in Indone­sian culture—for exam­ple, the 4–5 scheme of the Lei­den School of Struc­tural­ism, or the adat (cus­tom­ary law) frame­work empha­sized by local schol­ars. Oth­er researchers have not­ed that the num­bers three and four car­ry par­tic­u­lar cul­tur­al sig­nif­i­cance with­in Minangk­abau soci­ety. This pre­sen­ta­tion exam­ines that claim, focus­ing on its impli­ca­tions in the con­text of tra­di­tion­al med­i­cine. The Minangk­abau heal­ing sys­tem incor­po­rates ele­ments of both folk reli­gion and Islam­ic belief. One notable inter­sec­tion of these tra­di­tions is found in the use of the four med­i­c­i­nal plants known as Tawa nan ampek, which are employed across all local heal­ing tra­di­tions. Addi­tion­al exam­ples fur­ther demon­strate how the num­bers three and four play a cen­tral role in Minangk­abau med­ical prac­tices. For instance, the treat­ment of ’super­nat­ur­al’ ill­ness­es may require more inten­sive forms of inter­ven­tion. Typ­i­cal­ly, there are three lev­els of treat­ment for such dis­or­ders. Through­out the pre­sen­ta­tion, var­i­ous exam­ples will illus­trate how tra­di­tion­al Minangk­abau med­i­cine is deeply root­ed in local philosophy–and how numerol­o­gy shapes its meth­ods and meanings. 

About the speaker:

Dr. Alexan­der Stark stud­ied anthro­pol­o­gy at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Hei­del­berg (Ger­many) and Uni­ver­si­ti Sains (Malaysia). His main research inter­ests focus on tra­di­tion­al heal­ing meth­ods in Suma­tra and Malaysia.

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Upcom­ing CAS‑E Lectures:

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Dr. Mike Cifone
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The Book of Changes (Yijing) in Chi­nese Med­i­cine: Explor­ing „Plu­ral­ist Ratio­nal­i­ties” of Div­ina­tion and Chi­nese Medicine

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Prof. Bir­git Menzel
Heal­ing in Sovi­et-Amer­i­can New Age Diplo­ma­cy: A TTouch Method

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Prof. Car­ole Cusack
Bod­i­ly Sen­sa­tion and Eso­teric Trans­for­ma­tion: Prax­is in the Gur­d­ji­eff Work

Jan­u­ary 27, 2026
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Dr. Alexan­der Stark (CAS‑E Fel­low): „Num­bers and Heal­ing: Explor­ing the Minangk­abau Tra­di­tion­al Med­ical System”
Tues­day, Novem­ber 25, 6:15pm CET
Free and Open for All
On Zoom or at CAS‑E, Build­ing D1, Hart­mannstrasse 14, Erlangen

About the lecture:

Num­bers hold sig­nif­i­cant mean­ing in many cul­tures. This pre­sen­ta­tion out­lines the tra­di­tion­al Minangk­abau heal­ing sys­tem and explores the role that num­bers play with­in it. The Minangk­abau are one of the largest matri­lin­eal soci­eties in the world. Sur­pris­ing­ly, how­ev­er, their tra­di­tion­al heal­ing prac­tices have received lit­tle schol­ar­ly atten­tion. Some areas of research have high­light­ed the cen­tral role of num­bers in Indone­sian culture—for exam­ple, the 4–5 scheme of the Lei­den School of Struc­tural­ism, or the adat (cus­tom­ary law) frame­work empha­sized by local schol­ars. Oth­er researchers have not­ed that the num­bers three and four car­ry par­tic­u­lar cul­tur­al sig­nif­i­cance with­in Minangk­abau soci­ety. This pre­sen­ta­tion exam­ines that claim, focus­ing on its impli­ca­tions in the con­text of tra­di­tion­al med­i­cine. The Minangk­abau heal­ing sys­tem incor­po­rates ele­ments of both folk reli­gion and Islam­ic belief. One notable inter­sec­tion of these tra­di­tions is found in the use of the four med­i­c­i­nal plants known as Tawa nan ampek, which are employed across all local heal­ing tra­di­tions. Addi­tion­al exam­ples fur­ther demon­strate how the num­bers three and four play a cen­tral role in Minangk­abau med­ical prac­tices. For instance, the treat­ment of ’super­nat­ur­al’ ill­ness­es may require more inten­sive forms of inter­ven­tion. Typ­i­cal­ly, there are three lev­els of treat­ment for such dis­or­ders. Through­out the pre­sen­ta­tion, var­i­ous exam­ples will illus­trate how tra­di­tion­al Minangk­abau med­i­cine is deeply root­ed in local philosophy–and how numerol­o­gy shapes its meth­ods and meanings. 

About the speaker:

Dr. Alexan­der Stark stud­ied anthro­pol­o­gy at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Hei­del­berg (Ger­many) and Uni­ver­si­ti Sains (Malaysia). His main research inter­ests focus on tra­di­tion­al heal­ing meth­ods in Suma­tra and Malaysia.

Upcom­ing CAS‑E lec­tures can be found here and below

Upcom­ing CAS‑E Lectures:

Decem­ber 2, 2025
Prof. Jens Schlieter
Panpsy­chism and the Pow­er of the Mind: Eso­teric Views of Con­scious­ness and Real­i­ty in Mahāyā­na Bud­dhism and the West

Decem­ber 9, 2025
Dr. Mike Cifone
Elu­sive Remain­der: Jacques Val­lée and the UFO Enigma

Decem­ber 16, 2025
Dr. Dominique Hertzer
The Book of Changes (Yijing) in Chi­nese Med­i­cine: Explor­ing „Plu­ral­ist Ratio­nal­i­ties” of Div­ina­tion and Chi­nese Medicine

Jan­u­ary 13, 2026
Prof. Bir­git Menzel
Heal­ing in Sovi­et-Amer­i­can New Age Diplo­ma­cy: A TTouch Method

Jan­u­ary 20, 2026
Prof. Car­ole Cusack
Bod­i­ly Sen­sa­tion and Eso­teric Trans­for­ma­tion: Prax­is in the Gur­d­ji­eff Work

Jan­u­ary 27, 2026
Paul Johnson
Art, Pres­ence, Sac­ri­fice: The Death and Rebirth of the Cleve­land “Thinker”

Feb­ru­ary 3, 2026
Dr. Moni­ka Hirmer
Kuṇḍal­inī in Cross-Cul­tur­al Con­text: Trans­mis­sions from South Asia to the West