Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by Paliyar tribals in Theni district of Tamil Nadu, India.
[My paper] S Ignacimuthu, M Ayyanar, K Sankarasivaraman
Entomology Research Institute, Loyola College, Chennai-600 034, Tamil Nadu, India.
An ethnobotanical survey was carried out among the Paliyar tribals in various tribal villages of Theni district, Tamil Nadu, India during December 2004 to January 2006. A total of 101 species of ethnomedicinal plants belonging to 90 genera and 48 families were reported with the help of standardized questionnaires among 15 tribal informants between the ages of 26 to 82. The study shows a high degree of ethnobotanical novelty and the use of plants among the Paliyars reflects the revival of interest in traditional folk medicine.
Keywords: tribal; ethnobotanical; tamil; tamil nadu; nadu; nadu india; plant; india; district; medicinal plant; medicinal; ethnobotanical survey; traditional folk; village; novelty;
Source: Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by Paliyar tribals in Theni district of Tamil Nadu, India.
Address : http://lib.bioinfo.pl/pmid:18678232
Date Visited: Sat Jul 16 2011 20:28:51 GMT+0200 (CEST)
Context | Health care for communities identified as “poorest of poor” (PVTGs)
India is designated as the melting pot of so many ethnic groups dwelling at the same time under the common umbrella of a unified nation. Among these varied ethnic groups, some of them have been categorized under article 342 (1) of the constitution and have been labelled as Scheduled Tribe. In the post independent scenario, several schemes for upliftment of STs were run by the government but it was found that all these groups did not come up to the same level of development. Some of them were at much lower strata than others. Thus, in order to ensure the development of these communities, they were, for the first time in 1975-76 (during 5th Five-year plan) and thereafter-in 1993, identified as poorest of poor among the STs and were designated as Primitive Tribal Groups and thereafter constitution of India renamed and declared as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). Out of the 75 particularly vulnerable tribal groups, 13 are residing in Odisha; they are becoming increasing vulnerable due to loss of their customary habitat. The health troubles of rural areas especially in the tribal areas need a unique concentration, because the tribal people have typical health problem.
Source: 2019 PhD thesis (Abstract) by Jayanta Kumar Nayak titled “Health Seeking Behaviour and Health Care Services among the Hill Kharia Mayurbhanj District Odisha”, Department of Anthropology, Central University of Orissa
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10603/257651
Date Visited: 21 May 2025
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What does it mean to be Indigenous?
Indigenous Peoples can be identified according to certain characteristics:
They are politically and socially marginalized.
Most importantly, they self-identify as Indigenous Peoples.
They share an ancestral link with those who inhabited a country or region before they were colonized or before other peoples became dominant.
They have a strong link to particular territories and the surrounding natural resources.
They have distinct social, economic or political systems, which they are resolved to maintain and reproduce.
They have a distinct language, culture and beliefs.
There are more than 5,000 different Indigenous Peoples around the world comprising 476 million people – around 6.2% of the global population. They are spread across more than 90 countries in every region and speak more than 4,000 languages. | Learn more (Amnesty International) >>
Source: “INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS” by Amnesty International
URL: https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/indigenous-peoples/
Date Visited: 10 May 2025
Learn more on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, their Languages & linguistic heritage & Tribal culture worldwide >>
Have you seen the arana? >>
“The practice of religious rituals, ceremonies and sanctions by specific cultural groups allow such sacred landscapes to be maintained, emphasizing that humans are intrinsically part of the ecosystem. Taboos, codes and customs specific to activities and community members restrict access to most sacred groves. […] The inclusion of local people’s needs and interests in conservation planning is increasingly accepted as essential, both to promote the well-being of human populations, and to ensure that biodiversity and conservation needs are met in the long-term.” – Nazir A. Pala, Ajeet K. Neg and N.P. Todaria in “The Religious, Social and Cultural Significance of Forest Landscapes in Uttarakhand Himalaya, India” (International Journal of Conservation Science, Vol. 5, Issue 2, April-June 2014) | Sacred groves | Biodiversity and development – Himalaya >>
Facts and figures: India’s biological, cultural and geographic diversity
Spread over 3,287,240 km2 and despite a total human population of over 1,210,000,000, India represents a wide spectrum of biological, cultural and geographic diversity. It has been identified as one of the top 12 global biodiversity hotspots and has 91 eco-cultural zones inhabited by 4,635 ethnic communities. India also has amongst the largest indigenous/tribal population, constituting 8.08% of the country’s population, representing 461 tribes. The term ‘Indigenous Peoples’ is not officially recognized in the country, instead the Constitution of India uses the term ‘Scheduled Tribes’. The total forest cover is estimated to be approximately 20% of the total area of the country. About 1,70,379 villages with a population of 10,674,334 inhabit areas in close proximity of forests.
Source: RECOGNITION AND SUPPORT OF ICCAs IN INDIA by Neema Pathak Broome and Tushar Dash, p. 4 | PDF-Repository
URL: https://kalpavriksh.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/IndiaICCARecognition_Final_SEPT2012-as-published.pdf
Date Visited: 10 March 2025
Learn more
Atree.org | Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology & the Environment (posts)
Biodiversity | Hyderabad biodiversity pledge | Nilgiri Biosphere
Climate change | United Nations on climate change
eBook | Background guide for education
eLearning: Center for World Indigenous Studies
Health and nutrition | Recommendations by the Expert Committee