Immortal Medicine: Understanding the Resilience of Burmese Alchemic Practice

The institutionalization of indigenous medicine in contemporary Myanmar (Burma) placed alchemy at the margins of the formal health system. The practice, however, remains very much alive. Here, I explore the resilience of alchemic medicine by unraveling the relationship between this practice and the social space within which it operates. I show that the negotiation of a space for resilience comes from the gray areas created by the weak regulatory system of the medical sector and the gap left by biomedicine. I demonstrate that the marginalization of alchemic practice has come to invest it with new political meanings that help its practitioners navigate that hostile space.