“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
A doctor couple have dedicated their life to the tribal people of Attappady. Till two decades ago, the majority of tribal people in Attappady were reluctant to approach doctors even in cases of emergency, preferring herbal medicines they inherited through generations. The number of patients turning up at the sole primary health centre at Agali … Read more
Maarten Bode, “Traditional Indian Medicine (TIM) is not just Ayurveda” in IIAS Newsletter (International Institute for Asian Studies) | No.70 | Spring 2015, p. 47 The manifesto in the Focus section ‘Theorizing Heritage’ (the Newsletter #69) gives me the opportunity to discuss the political nature of narrowing the many forms of contemporary Traditional Indian Medicine … Read more
The Hindu, VISAKHAPATNAM, April 28, 2014 Malivalasa village on Andhra-Odisha border stood first in conserving 203 varieties of old seed followed by Demuduvalasa with 197 varieties. The farmers were given agricultural implements worth Rs.70,000 on Sunday at the 10th Old Seed Festival organised at Malivalasa in Soova panchayat in Dumbriguda mandal of the district. Several tribal … Read more
A Tamil couplet from Kannappar Kuravanji of Thozuvoor Markanda Naavalar I meditate on the divine forces of the wilderness, to whom the forest rituals are offered. O Mannaru Saami, O Mother Maari, Chamundi, Irulan, Sangile Karuppan – Your though delights me. Quoted from Pidhana – The Canopy of Life (Chennai, 2014, ISBN: 978-81-921627-3-7). This richly illustrated publication tells the story of the … Read more