Ethnobotany of the Kondh, Poraja, Gadaba and Bonda of the Koraput Region of Odisha, India - Hardcover

Merlin Franco & D. Narasimhan

9788124606193: Ethnobotany of the Kondh, Poraja, Gadaba and Bonda of the Koraput Region of Odisha, India

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 8124606196 ISBN 13: 9788124606193

Publisher: D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd., 2012

Understanding the ecological knowledge of tribal and rural societies is necessary to conserve and sustain natural resources. This volume discusses the history and importance of ethnobotany with specific reference to four tribal communities of Odisha, India. It begins with an account of the nature of the tribes involved in the study. Based on participatory fieldwork, it presents an insider's account of the tribal culture and its relationship with plants. It provides the ethnobotanical descriptions of 210 species of plants belonging to 77 families, presenting their local names, origin and the medicinal, cultural, culinary, economic, ecological uses of the species. It takes up study of the plants used by tribes in the drug-based and spiritual healing processes elaborating the philosophies behind knowledge transmission such as divination, hereditary, discipleship and kinship. Related aspects such as disease diagnosis, diet restrictions and rituals are depicted in detail. There is a special chapter on forests and non-timber forest products (NTFPs) that details the efforts of communities in forest conservation, their land-use patterns, forest classification systems, list of NTFPs and their harvest-consumption patterns. It also deals with the role of NGOs, middlemen and government agencies in this. Throughout, the emphasis is on the philosophical relationship of the communities with their ecosystem. The book would prove extremely useful to policy-makers, academicians, social workers and general readers looking forward to accompany the tribal communities towards ethno-sensitive development.

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About the Author:

Dr. Merlin Franco, F., is an Ethnobiologist hailing from a beautiful village near Kuzhithurai of Kanyakumari District. He earned a Ph.D in Ethnobotany from the University of Madras through Madras Christian College (MCC). He has published more than 10 papers in refereed journals and has worked with research institutes of repute such as the CIKS and the Earthwatch Institute. Franco is interested in understanding the various relationships between nature and human beings and believes that the primary goal of science is to empower people so as to achieve social justice. Dr. D. Narasimhan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology at MCC. He has a Ph.D in Plant Taxonomy from the University of Madras, earned through MCC. He is a well acclaimed expert in the fields of Angiosperm Taxonomy, Ethnobotany and Medicinal plants with more than 34 papers in refereed journals. Dr. Narasimhan has been studying the Flora of Tropical Dry Evergreen Forests and Southern Western Ghats as well as Medicinal Plant Markets of Tamil Nadu. Two plant species � Anoectochilus narasimhanii and Orophea narasimhanii � have been named after him by his students as a fitting tribute.

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