Ecology & environment

“In Central India, individual plant species figure in the first fruit ceremonies of the adivasi (indigenous) communities. During certain periods of the year, their fruits, flowers, leaves or seeds are not collected or consumed. This allows those species to rest for a few weeks or months during crucial periods for their growth or regeneration. The norms around these practices or methods are often embedded within the cultural-religious traditions of communities. As a knowledge system being transferred between generations, seldom are they explained or discussed in terms of ecology or conservation.” – Madhu Ramnath in “How culture threatens species A note on Caryota urens in South India” (Current Conservation 16.3, accessed 4 December 2022)
https://www.currentconservation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/16.3.pdf
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=20305

Doctorate on edible mushroom: Applying traditional knowledge of people belonging to Kaani tribe in the Western Ghats – Tamil Nadu

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The traditional knowledge of people belonging to Kaani tribe in the Western Ghats of Kanyakumari district has helped a research student secure her doctorate. The Kaani tribe, who inhabit hills and deep jungles, are a veritable storehouse of traditional wisdom. Their traditional knowledge is passed orally through generations. Mushrooms form a prominent place in their … Read more

Tribals’ excellent knowledge of the environment, closer to an ideal society – Odisha, Chhattisgarh & Jharkhand

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He is British by birth, but prefers to call himself an Indian. Having lived in this country for three decades now, Felix Padel, the great great grandson of father of evolution Charles Darwin, has closely worked on Adivasis in eastern India. A freelance anthropologist trained at Oxford and Delhi University, Padel has also authored a … Read more

India’s tribal cultural heritage – Haryana

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eBook | “Indigenous cultures and knowledge systems at risk”: Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032 – United Nations

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Source: Lexicographer David Harrison interviewed by Srijana Mitra Das in “Indigenous languages have wisdom that can save us from climate crisis”, Times of India, 23 January 2021URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indigenous-languages-have-wisdom-that-can-save-us-from-climate-crisis/articleshow/80411082.cmsDate Visited: 26 July 2022 1. Language is one of the fundamental preconditions to human development, dialogue, reconciliation, tolerance, cultural and linguistic diversity, and the peaceful existence of … Read more

Early Buddhist Sanghas valued outlook of tribal society: Democratic functioning, gender equality and knowledge of medicinal plants

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Adivasi traditions and practices pervade all aspects of Indian culture and civilization, yet this awareness is often lacking in popular consciousness, and the extent and import of Adivasi contributions to Indian philosophy, language and custom have often gone unrecognized, or been underrated by historians and social scientists. Although popular myths about Buddhism have obscured the … Read more