This article summarises the material from an article I published long ago in French in the 3rd colloquium of Ladakhi Studies for an English-speaking audience (" La Maladie en tant que (s)notpa " in Wissenschaftgeschichte und Gegenwärtige Forschungen in Nordwest-Indien. Edited by L. Icke Schwalbe et G. Meier, Dresde, 1990). It presents first of all the concept of '(s)notpa' or nuisance, referring above all to illnesses caused by supernatural entities, that is, gods and demons of all sorts. Next, I discuss those who treat '(s)notpa', traditional doctors ('amchi') and astrologers. Finally, I discuss 'psychological' concepts that can be considered indigenous to Ladakh, which prevent the damage caused by these supernatural beings. This text is therefore a summary of the English of an article three times longer in French, entitled, "La maladie en tant que '(s)notpa' " (something like "Illness as (s)nodpa" or "Illness caused by '(s)notpa' " published in 1990.
