Mapping indigenous memories with a holistic understanding of the living planet: “Summer Rain” – Kerala

Summer Rain: Harvesting the Indigenous Knowledge of Kerala by
Centre for IK/Folklore Studies
Ethnobotany & ethnomedicine >>

Indigenous knowledge in Kerala, as in any part of the world, was impeccable in matters concerning the forests, the agricultural fields, the ponds and the rivers. It had a holistic understanding of the social and ecological fabric of the living planet. This book is a compilation of articles that echo the sheer joy of being part of a natural heritage that is simply rich; the articles also echo the pain of many a vanishing tradition. It is an effort to map the indigenous memories. […]

Though Harsh Berger used the term Ethnobotany only in 1895 this was the practising knowledge of the tribals and aborigines from time immemorial. Traditionally transmitted knowledge about plants, their medicinal and other uses and also their cultural significance are the three levels of ethnobotany. Now this branch has grown to the level of collecting and codifying the knowledge traditionally transmitted through centuries by the tribals. Ethnobotany tries to study the relation between human beings and nature. Ethnic people are knowledgeable and their world view about the sustainable life practices is now studied in modern context. […]

The granaries of the knowledge in the memories of the indigenous people, in folk forms, should have patent rights for which people all over the world are fighting.

Indigenous eco-knowledge

Modern biology is partial and technological, and is totally dependent on the laboratory based experiments and innovations.

Modern science views the knowledge about nature only in a technological way in the process of which a major part of the essence is lost. Ethnic people have acquired knowledge about their surroundings through hundreds of centuries of experience and observations, and this makes the modern biology only a secondary source.

Perhaps the first beings that recognised the medicinal value of plants may be birds and animals. Monkeys, rabbits, tigers, cats and other animals are known to prefer feeding on specific plants during particular conditions of the body. […]

Source: C.R. Rajagopalan (ed.) in “Indigenous knowledge – The CFS Experience”, Summer Rain: Harvesting the Indigenous Knowledge of Kerala. Thrissur: Centre for IK/Folklore Studies 2004, p. 12

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