MATERIALS AND METHODS

Transcription

1 Chapter 3 MATERIALS AND METHODS 3.1 Review of Literature Interest in Ethnobotany in India in an organised manner can be said to have originated with the researches of late Dr. Janaki Ammal around the middle of the 20th century. Work on ethnobotany was considerably intensified in the Botanical Survey since the 1960s and subsequently taken up by several other institutions in our country. Some 35 years back Dr. M. S. Swaminathan, Dr. T. N. Khoshoo and Dr. S. K. Jain along with some other scientists met to review the status of Ethnobiology in India. Among other things, they considered the need for preparation of bibliography on ethnobotany and the task was entrusted to the Botanical Survey of India. In 1984 a book titled Bibliography of Ethnobotany was published by Govt, of India (Jain et al., 1984). When the All India Coordinated Project on Ethnobiology was accorded sanction in 1982, ethnobotanical study in our country picked up momentum. The subject of ethnobotany includes various areas of study and disciplines both natural and social sciences. The interdisciplinary nature of the subject has attracted the attention of people from several parts of the world. Starting with a simple agenda of the study of relationship of plants with aboriginal peoples, ethnobotany has come along various stages of developments and today, the subject have invaded almost all fields of study, thereby giving rise to many interdisciplinary sciences viz., ethnomedicine, ethnopharmacology, ethnopharmacognosy, ethnomusicology, ethnogynaecology, ethnoanthropology, etc., including astronomy (i.e., Ethnoastrology). Literatures on ethnobotany are accumulating at a rapid pace as the scope of the subject gets expanding with time. Since the introduction of the term Ethnobotany in 1895 by Harshberger, about two dozen books have been published on the subject outside India, such as, The Folklore of Plants (Dyer, 1889), Ethnobotany of Coahuilla Indians (Barrows, 1900), Notes on Jamaican Ethnobotany (Beckwith, 1927), Ethnobotany of the Thompson Indians of British Columbia (Steedman, 1930); Ethnobotany of Western Washington (Gunther, 1945), An Introduction to Ethnobotany (Faulks, 1958), The Ethnobotany of Pre-Columbian Peru (Towle, 1961), Introduction a la Ethnobotanique du Cambodge (Martin, 1972), Palaeoethnobotany- The Prehistoric Food Plants of the Near East and Europe (Renfrew, 1973), Ethnobotany of the Hawaiians (Beatrice, 1975), The Nature and Status of Ethnobotany (Ford, 1978), Ethnobotanica- Legua Maskoy (Arenas, 1981), 59

2 Palaeoethnobotany of the Kameda Peninsular Jomon (Craford, 1983), Huastec Mayan Ethnoboatny (Alcorn, 1984), People of the Desert and Sea: Ethnobotany of the Seri Indians (Felger & Moser, 1985), Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide (Kindscher, 1987), The Folk Biology1 of the Tobelo People: A Study of Folk Classification (Taylor, 1990) and Thompson Ethnobotany (Turner et al. 1990). Two Ethnobotanical dictionaries have also been published, namely, Dariene Ethnobotanical Dictionaries (Duke, 1968), and Isthmian Ethnobotanical Dictionary (Duke, 1986). Some other important works also worth mentioning, such as of Brown (1868), Harshberger (1895, 1896), Chamberlin (1911), Cook (1930), Swank (1932), Cleland and Johnston (1933), Castetter and Underhill (1935), Schultes (1960, 1962, 1969), Prance (1972), Berlin et al. (1974), Morton (1977), Camazine and Bye (1983), Turner and Efrat (1982), Groom (1983), Merlin (1984), Heiser (1985), Anderson (1986), Campbell (1987), Sheng-ji (1988) and Pollock (1990). Prior to the coining of the term Ethnobotany, usage of plants by human beings found place in Sanskrit, Greek and Arabic literature, ethnographies, travelogues, herbals, etc. Later, systematic compilation works like Foods and Drinks through ages, 2500 BC to 1937 (Annonymous, 1937), Indo-European Folk Tales and Greek legends (Halliday, 1932), Plants used against cancer- a survey (Hartwell, ), Economic plants of ancient North China as mentioned in Shih Ching (Keng, 1974), The economic plants of the Bible (Moldenke, 1954), Flora and Fauna in Sanskrit literature (Banerjee, 1980), Glossary of vegetable drugs in Vagbhatta (Godbole et al., 1966), Foods and drinks in ancient India (Ray, 1933), Glossary of vegetable drugs in Brahttrayi (Singh & Chunekar, 1972). An Introduction to Ethnobotany by Faulks (1958) is the first book on ethnobotany but most of the topics deal with economic botany thus, giving more scope to economic botany than ethnobotany. The knowledge of plants that has come orally through generations and which normally forms the core component under ethnobotany was not discussed in this book except a few instances in historical perspective. The Nature and Status of Ethnobotany (Ford, 1978) dedicated to Volney H. Jones contain seventeen papers on various issues of ethnobotany. The concept of ethnobotany has been elaborately dealt with in some papers; other papers are mostly of anthropological origin. The empirical knowledge of plant wealth finds little space in this volume too. Glimses in Indian Ethnobotany edited by S K Jain (Jain, 1981) is the first book dealing with Indian Ethnobotany. It has compilation of articles on field studies in different phytogeographical areas of India. The various papers in the book have 60

3 highlighted the general concept of ethnobotany including historical perspectives of plants in folk life, songs, proverbs and tales. The book contains tribal use of more than 1500 plants in different parts of our country, mostly recorded during field studies in remote villages and forests. Dictionary of Indian Folk-medicin and Ethnobotany by the same author is probably the first dictionary on Indian ethnobotany (Jain, 1991). Realising the significance of interdisciplinary approaches to ethnobotany, dozens of books have been published on the subject, while several thousand research papers and general articles have appeared in a number of publications, ranging from popular magazines, semi scientific journals to periodicals of very specialised nature, such as, Anthropology, Botany, Pharmacology, Traditional Medicine, Archaeology, Social Sciences, etc. The publications and reports on ethnobotany have been grouped into different categories as described below: Methodology Schultes (1962) and Jain (1967) stressed for field work amongst the tribals and their surroundings, scrutiny of literatures, Herbaria and Musea and study of archaeological remains. Raghavaiah (1956) provides guidance for approaching tribals. ii) Ethnobotany of large or small geographical regions It is not possible to include exhaustive list of all publications. A few significant papers are given below by mention of region or subject and year of publication. Jamaica (Beckwith, 1927). Western Washington (Gunther, 1945), Island Caribs of Dominica (Hodge & Taylor, 1957), China (Cheng, 1965), Cambodia (Martin, 1971), Amazon Brazil (Prance, 1972), Hawaii (Beatrice, 1975), Turkana (Morgan, 1981). Mayurbhanj (Bal, 1942), Madhya Pradesh (Jain, 1963a, b), Kumaon (Shah & Joshi, 1971), Araku Valley (Banerjee, 1974), Ratanmahal hills (Bedi, 1978), Nagar Haveli (Bennet, 1978), Lahul (Koelz, 1979), Brahmaputra Valley (Boissya & Majumdar, 1980), Saurahtra Shah et al, 1981), Uttarakhand (Issar, 1981), Santhal Pargana (Srivastava & Verma, 1981; Goel et al, 1984) and Sind valley (Dar et al, 1984). iii) Ethnobotany of selected tribes Coahuilla Indians (Barrows, 1900), Southern Appalichian Aborigines (Core, 1967), Choco Indians and Cuna Indians (Duke, 1970, 1975), Mexican Kickapoo Indians (Dolores & Lattorre, 1977) and Nothem Cheyenne Indians (Hart, 1981). 61

4 Santhals of India (Bodding, 1925, 1927, 1940), Miris (Hajra & Baishya, 1997), Korkus (Kamble & Pradhan, 1980) and Mikirs (Karbis) (Jain & Borthakur (1980). iv) Individual plants and plant groups Lichens (Llano, 1956), Marine algae (Zaneveld, 1959), Crescentia cujete (Morton, 1968), Strychnos (Bisset, 1970), Agave and Prosopis (Felger & Moser, 1970, 1971), Yams (Ayensu & Coursey, 1972), Cannabis (Martin, 1975), Cuscuta (Broundeguard, 1978), fern and fern allies (May, 1978), Agave lechegilla and Yucca carnerosana (Sheldon, 1980), Peganum harmala (Hassan, 1967), Tagetes (Neher, 1968), Vajradanti (Mishra & Dixit, 1973), Coix (Jain & Banerjee, 1974), Acorus calamus (Shah & Kapoor, 1977), Coptis teeta (Mudgal & Jain, 1980), Pigeon pea (Raju, 1980), Selaginella hryopteris (Dixit, 1982), Kuchila (Sen et al., 1983), Costus specisous (Janaki Amal & Prasad, 1984) and Betelvine (Mudgal et al., 1984). v) Wild plant foods, drinks Uncultivated food plants of American South West (Castetter, 1935), emergency wild foods (Irvine, 1952, 1957) and food plants of marsh dwellers in South Pacific Island (Barrau, 1959). Famine food of Marwar (King, 1869), meals and food habits of rural India (Behura, 1962), wild food plants of Bastar (Jain, 1964d), famine foods of Rajasthan desert (Bhandari, 1974), less known foods of Andra Pradesh (Pal & Banerjee, 1971), jungle leaves (Chaudhuri et al., 1977), wild edible fruits (Gaur, 1977). Nutritive value of tribal beverages (Sengupta, 1956), alcoholic beverages in tribal India (Roy, 1978) and a tribal drink in Tripura (Devbarman, 1976). vi) Medicinal plants, hallucinogens, poisonous plants, dyes Native medicine in Sudan (Ahmad, 1970), Medicinal plants of Samoa (George, 1974), Taos of New Mexico (Belcove, 1976), West Africa and West Indies (Ayensu, 1978, 1981), Madagascar and Senegal (Bonati, 1980), Zuni Indians (Camazine & Bye, 1980) and Colombia (Gonzalvez, 1980). Medicinal plants of Bhagirathi Valley (De, 1962), tribals of Bastar (Jain, 1965b), around religious shrines (Kapoor et al. 1971), Mysore (Rao, 1977), Assam and Meghalaya (Majundar et al., 1978), Mayurbhanj (Mudgal & Pal, 1980), Meghalaya (Rao, 1981) and Nagaland (Rao & Jamir, 1982). 62

5 Plants used by primitive people to effect fertility (De Lazio & Hanshaw, 1954; Lai & Lata, 1980). Preparations used for obstetrics and gynaecological disorders (Tiwari et al, 1982) and plants used for anti fertility, conception and abortion (Tarafder, 1983a, b). Ethnopharmacologic search for psychoactive drugs (Effron, 1967), Hallucinogenic cacti (Bruhn, 1973), Hallucinogenic plants of new world (Schultes, 1963), Hallucinogenic fungi (Wasson, 1962), poisonous plants of Venejuela (Blohm, 1962), poisonous plants from tribal areas of India (Thothathri et al, 1985), a Chinese vegetable dye (Me Clure, 1927) and dye from Kuchila (Sen et al., 1983). Folklore about plants used in veterinary medicine in Bengal, Orissa and Bihar (Pal, 1980). vii) Diseasewise Influenza (Menon, 1919), Leucoderma (Biswas, 1856), Leprosy (Das & Sharma, ), Eye diseases (Pal, 1973), Jaundice (Goel & Bhattacharjee, 1981), Rheumatism and Leucorrhoea (Hemadri, 1981), infectious diseasea (Saxena & Vyas, 1981) and skin affections (Khan & Chaghatai, 1982). viii Scrutiny of Literature/Herbaria Herbaria, source of medicinal folk-lore (Von Reis, 1962), The Welcome material medica collection and herbarium as research aids (Crellin, 1967), Psychopharmacological, ethnobotanical, ethnogynaecological, ethnopediatric notes in Harvard University Herbaria (Altschul, 1967, 1968 & 1970a, b), revival of Bodding s work on Santhal medicines (Jain & Tarafder, 1970), economic plants mentioned in Shih Ching (Keng, 1974), ethnobotanical notes from Central National Herbarium (Choudhuri et al. 1977, 1980), Hortus Malabaricus (Manilal, 1981) and Indian Purans (Sensarma, ). ix) Arts and Crafts Musical and other sound instruments of South American Indians (Izikowski, 1935), Bark cloth of Garos (Guha, 1939), Musical instruments (Kaufmann, 1961), bows and arrows (Mani, 1964), water bottle and lodgu- a device to keep trespassers away (Jain, 1964a, c), Musical instruments of Gonds (Jain, 1965a), personal adornment (Mehra et al., 1975) and Musical instruments of Madhya Pradesh (Parmar, 1978). 63

6 x) Nomenclature and Vernacular Names Local names of food plants in South Pacific Islands (Barrau, 1957), Origin and utility of some vernacular plant names (Jain, 1963c), growth of ethnobotanical nomenclature (Berlin, 1971), some names of plants in East Africa (Huntingford, 1876) and Malayalam plant names in Hortus Malabaricus (Manilal, 1980). xi) Conservational practices Sacred groves and conservation (Gadgil & Vartak, 1973, 1976) and Conservational practices of tribals of Purulia (Pal & Mudgal, 1985). xii) Palaeoethnobotany Prehistoric Pueblo foods (Barrows, 1931), Archaeoethnobotany of Cordova Cave (Kaplan, 1963), Palaeoethnobotany of the near East (Helback, 1960), prehistoric food plants of the near East and Europe (Renfrew, 1973) and plants represented in ancient Indian sculptures (Sithole, 1976). xiii) Bibliography and Dictionary Bibliography of folklore and related subject (Sengupta & Parmar, 1967), ethnobotanical dictionary (Duke, 1968, 1986), bibliography of interest in utilization of vascular aquatic plants (Boyd, 1972), Bibliography of ethnobotany in China (Metailie, 1981), Bibliography of ethnobotany (Jain et al., 1984) and Dictionary of Indian Folk Medicine and Ethnobotany (Jain, 1991). Some voluminous publications containing ethnobotanical articles on different aspects include, The domestication and exploitation of plants and animals (Ucko & Dimbleby, 1969), Gastronomy, the Anthropology of Food and Food Habits (Amott, 1976), Cannabis and Culture (Rubin, 1975) and All India Coordinated Research Project on Ethnobiology Annual Report (Annonymous, 1984) Ethnobotany in India Majundar (1938) wrote a book titled Some Aspects of Indian Civilization (in plant perspective). An advertisement of this book in Bulletin of Botanical Society of Bengal (quite unusual) added a sub-title Ethnobotanical Studies in India even though such a line does not appear on the original work. Organised and systematic field and related studies in the subject were steered by Botanical Survey of India (BSI). 64

7 E. K. Janaki Ammal studied subsistence food plants of certain tribals of south India. Faulks (1958) almost deals with whole economic botany. Researches of Schultes (1962, 1963) in Amazon and Barrau (1959, 1966), and Conklin (1962) in Melanesia and South East Asia greatly prompted Indian workers into Ethnobotany. Jain (1981) undertook extensive field study among tribals of Central India, and also devised methodology for ethnobotany, particularly in the Indian context. The publications from his group in the early sixties triggered ethnobotanical activity in many other centres, particularly among botanists, anthropologists and ayurvedic medical practitioners. During the last two decades, work has been initiated at inter alia, National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), Delhi, Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha (CCRAS) and Central Council for Research in Unani Midicine (CCRUM). Several Botany Departments of Universities like Mysore, Kashmir, Bhubaneswar, Jabalpur, Calicut, Gharwal, Jodhpur, Jaipur and Shillong have not only included Ethnobotany in their syllabus but also raised its status as special paper. Several doctoral theses have been prepared in the Universities at Gauhati, Rajasthan, Calcutta, Bombay, etc. In addition Indian Folklore Society, Calcutta, Kerala Folklore Academy, Trichur and Department of Folklore Research, Gauhati University have done noteworthy contribution in the field of ethnobotany. Realising the importance of the subject, today many Universities have included ethnobotany in the syllabus for Undergraduate. An All India Coordinated Research Project on Ethnobiology was conceived in 1974 and after a few years of spadework the project came into operation from 1982, at NBRI, Lucknow, four centres of BSI (Shillong, Howrah, Coimbatore and Port Blair) and some other institutions. Ethnobotanical work in India falls in the following major categories. But these are by no means exhaustive as newer areas of research have been unfolding with time. a) Ethnobotany of certain ethnically distinct primitive or otherwise interesting human societies, e.g. on Mikirs (Karbis) of Assam (Jain & Borthakur, 1980), on Bhils of Rajasthan (Joshi, 1982), on Tharus of Uttar Pradesh (Maheshwari et al., 1981) and on Boxa tribe of Bijnor and Pauri Garhwal (Maheshwari & Singh, 1984). b) Ethnobotany of any specific geographical region, which may have one or more distinct ethnic groups, e.g. on Central India (Jain, 1963, 1981), on Kumaon (Shah 65

8 & Joshi, 1971), on Lahul in Punjab (Koeltz, 1979), on Araku valley in Andra (Banerjee, 1974), on Santhal Pargana (Goel et al., 1984), on Mirzapur (Maheshwari et al., 1989), northern India (Shah, 1982), Balphakram Sanctuary, Meghalaya (Haridarsan & Rao, 1980), Koraput, Orissa (Pal & Mudgal, 1985), Kashmir (Dar et al, 1984) and on Indian desert (Shekhawat & Anand, 1984). c) Ethnobotany of particular utility groups of plants like food (Jain, 1964; Bhandari, 1974; Gaur, 1977; Arora, 1997) and on medicine (Bodding, 1925 and Jain, 1965). Further, specificity is also seen in some publications, e.g. plants in particular diseases, like papers on ethnogynaecology by Tarafder (1983, 1984), on ethnodermatology by Khan and Chaghatai (1982), on rheumatism by Hemadri (1981), on snakebite and ethnoorthopaedics by Jain (1963, 1967), and on contraceptive herbs by Billore and Audichya (1978), on plants used against diarrhoea and dysentery (Sahu, 1982, 1983) and as veterinary medicines (Pal, 1980). d) Ethnobotany of a particular plant, genus or family of plants, e.g. on Bauhinia (Jain et al, 1973), on Coptis (Mudgal & Jain, 1980), on Selaginella (Dixit, 1982), on Coix (Jain & Banerjee, 1974) and on Ficus (Chattopadhyaya, 1976). e) Many ethnobotanists have turned their attentions to the diverse tools, appliances, gadgets and articles of personal adornment, which the primitive people have been designing and using since ancient times and even today. Most ethnographers working in these areas proved the dictum necessity in the mother of invention. There are reports of single-pan balance among the Mikirs of Assam, a variety of cattle traps among Gonds and Bhils (Jain, 1964d; Joshi, 1982), a heat-proof water bottle among Marias (Jain, 1964), a large variety of musical instruments (Parmar, 1978; Jain, 1965), containers and utensils (Jain, 1986), articles of personal adornment (Mehra et al, 1975) and agricultural tools. f) Ethnobotanical aspects of conservation and management of plant resources include studies on preservation of primeval forests in the form of sacred groves (Vartak & Gadgil, 1981; Hajra, 1981), of individual species (Sen Gupta, 1965), and of plant genetic diversity (Arora, 1973, 1977; Arora & Nayar, 1984), and of ecological implications of traditional agriculture (Ramakrishnan et al., 1981). Recently, Indigenous Knowledge of Management and Sustainable Utilization of Natural Resources was studied among the Karbis of Assam (Teron & Borthakur, 2008). 66

9 g) The study of mythological associations or faith in plants among the folk is a fascinating area with immense possibilities of insight into the causes of these associations. Many authors have studied tree worship (Sen Gupta, 1965; Bhatla et al., 1984), plants is offerings (Jain, 1963d), plants depicted on carvings in temples (Gupta, 1987), plants in Indian epics (Agarwal, 1997; Gupta, 1987) and witchcraft (Alukh & Mukherjee, 1984). h) Another category of publications deals with rather miscellaneous subjects like local names of plants and their etymology (Jain, 1963b; Manilal, 1980), taxoethnobotanical studies of Rajouri, Jamu (Virjee et al., 1984), folk taxonomy, resource concepts and weather forecast from behaviour of plants (Joshi, 1985) Ethnobotany in North East India The north eastern region of India has an estimated population of approximately 32.4 million people, of which about eight million of them constitute the tribals of the hill and plains. It is amazing to note that about 130 major tribal groups are settled in North East India. If the fractions of the major groups are taken into consideration, the figure will reach about 300 (Dutta & Dutta, 2005). The region has always been considered realm for ethnobotanical research. But for the large number of tribes in the region only a few tribes have been studied in relation to their ethnobotany in general. A review of literatures on ethnobotany from the region reveals there are many tribal areas/tribes, remained ethnobotanically unexplored. The peculiar geographical position and the location of the hills compounded by rough terrains, kept those areas and tribes out of ethnobotanical studies and extreme isolation (Dutta & Dutta, 2005). Lack of researchers/workers from local communities is also one of the reasons overlooking some areas. Because, initial workers were researchers from mainland India and are not familiar with the place and the diverse ethnic groups and their languages. In such a situation there is always chance for error in interpreting ethnobotanical information. Work done so far suggest that their association and dependence on forest forced them to depend on the nature, which has been reflected in their traditional culture, local beliefs, folklores and the interesting/valuable knowledge of ethnobotanical importance (Dutta & Dutta, 2005). So far different authors from the north east region have reported 1350 ethnomedicinal uses, 665 uses as food plants and 899 miscellaneous uses. It is known that the tribal people are not only familiar with the knowledge of plant species in their ecosystems, but also understand the ecological interactions of the various components of 67

10 their resources. This indigenous knowledge of plants is central for the identification, cataloguing and documentation of plants (Maheswari, 1995). Ethnobotanical studies on various tribes of North Eastern Region reported so far includes, Assamese, Manipuri, Naga (Islam, 1996; Rao, 1997; Jamir, 1999), Tai Ahom, Tai Khamyang, Tai Trung, Sonowal Kachari and Thengal Kachari (Pandey et al., 1996), Mishing (Singh et al., 1996), Shan (Bora & Pandey, 1996), Arunachal Pradesh (Tiwari & Tiwari, 1996), Meitei (Singh, 1996; Singh & Singh, 1996), tribes of Tripura (Singh, 1996), tribes of Mizoram (Lalramnghinglova, 1996, 1999), North East tribes (Arora, 1997), Monpas (Dam & Hajra, 1997), Miris (Hajra & Baishya, 1997), Mikirs (Karbis) (Borthakur, 1997a & b), Garo (Vasudeva & Shanpru, 1997), Khasi and Jaintia (Joseph & Kharkongor, 1997; Kharkongor & Joseph, 1997), Nishi and Apatani (Rawat & Choudhury, 1998), Meghalaya (Syiem el al., 1999; Kharduit, 1999), Yobins (Yobin, 1999), Meitei, Hmar, Rengmai, Halam, Dimasa, Kuki, Devbarma (Dutta & Dutta, 2000), tea tribes/castes (Dutta & Dutta, 2000), Hmar, Jaintia, Khasi, Kuki, Reang, Rengmai (Nath & Dutta, 2000). When all the plants reported by various authors are grouped in different heads based on use, if gives a figure as given below. Numbers of plants reported are given in parenthesis Medicinal plants i) Islam (1996) - Assamese (35 plants), Naga (2 plants), Manipuri (4 plants) ii) Pandey et al. (1996) - Tai Ahom, Tai Khamyang, Tai Turung, Sonowal Kachari (22 plants) iii) Singh et al. (1996) - Mishing (44 plants) iv) Tiwari & Tiwari (1996) - Arunachal Pradesh (56 plants) v) Singh & Singh (1996) - Meitei (20 plants) vi) Lalramnghinglova (1996) - Mizoram (238 plants) vii) Dam & Hajra (1997) - Monpas (15 plants) viii) Hajra & Baishya (1997) - Mishing (32 plants) ix) Borthakur (1997) - Karbis (Mikirs) (24 plants) x) Khongor & Joseph (1997) - Khasia, Jaintia (100 plants) xi) Rao (1997) - Naga (26 plants) xii) Rawat & Choudhury (1998) - Nishi, Apatani (154 plants) xiii) Syiem et al. (1999) - Meghalaya (56 plants) xiv) Lalramnghinglova (1999) - Mizoram (64) xv) Kharduit (1999) - Meghalaya (55 plants) 68

11 xvi) Yobin (1999) - Yobin (20 plants) xvii) Jamir (1999)-Naga (14 plants) xviii) Dutta & Dutta (2000) - Meitei (25 plants), Hmar (16), Rengmai (20), Halam (3 plants), Dimasa (5), Kuki (25 plants), Dev Barma (8 plants) xix) Das et al. (2000) - Tea tribes (73 plants) Plants used for edible purposes i) Bora and Pandey (1996)-Shan (8 plants) ii) Singh et al. (1996)- Mishing (18 plants) iii) Arora (1997) - North East India (213 plants) iv) Dam & Hajra (1997) - Monpas (37 plants) v) Hajra & Baishya (1997) - Mishing (51 plants) vi) Borthakur (1997) - Karbis (25 plants) vii) Joseph & Kharkongor (1997) - Khasi, Jaintia (30 plants) viii) Rao, Naga (56 plants) ix) Rawat & Choudhury (1998) - Nishi (39 plants), Apatani (30 plants) x) Jamir, Naga (35 plants) xi) Nath & Dutta (2000) - Hmar, Jaintia, Khasi, Kuki, Reang, Rengmai (63 plants) xii) Das et al. (2000) - Tea tribes (35 plants) Plants used for miscellaneous purposes i) Dam & Hajra (1997) - Monpas (22 plants) ii) Hajra & Baishya (1997) - Mishing (29 plants) iii) Rao (1997) - Naga (3 5 plants) iv) Borthakur (1997) - Karbis (25 plants) v) Jamir (1999) - Naga (68 plants) vi) Das et al. (2000) - Tea tribes (8 plants) vii) Nath & Dutta (2000) - Hmar, Jaintia, Khasi, Kuki, Reang, Rengmai (19 plants) Saklani and Jain (1994) and Jain (1991) have reported a comprehensive account of plants and plant products used by various communities of north east India. There have been only a few studies on the ethnobotany as well as ethnic accounts of the different tribes of Karbi Anglong district. Among the earliest workers are the 69

12 British officers who have written many valuable monographs of different tribes of the north eastern region of India including Karbi Anglong (Waddell, 1901; Gurdon, 1907; Lyall, 1908; Endle, 1911; Mills, 1937; Johanstone, 1971; Mazkenzi, 1999;). Actual ethnobotanical work in Karbi Anglong district was undertaken by Borthakur and Jain in the seventies. A few research papers have been published in this regard (Borthakur, 1976a, 1976b; Jain & Borthakur, 1980; Borthakur, 1997a, 1997b). Borthakur (1981) was awarded Ph.D degree by Gauhati University for his thesis Medicinal Flora of Karbi Anglong (Mikir Hills, Assam) with special reference to ethnobotany. Sarkar (1993) also obtained her Ph. D degree from the same University for f her research titled Herbaceous Plants of Karbi Anglong district with special reference to their economic utilization. Teron (2005, 2006, 2008), Teron and Gogoi (2004) and Gogoi et al. (2005) had reported a few accounts pertaining to the ethnobotany and Traditional Knowledge of the Karbis. Medhi (2002) reported archaeological remains in Karbi Anglong district. Ahmed and Borthakur (2005) have published report of ethnobotanical wisdom of Khasis (Hynniew Treps) of Meghalaya. Besides ethnobotanical publications a few scanty books and published reports relating to ethnic tribes from Karbi Anglong in particular and other tribes of north eastern region in general are worth consulting. To begin with, the geography of Karbi Anglong and N.C. Hills has ready reference in the District Gazetter of United Mikir and N.C. Hills (Dutt, 1976) and Phangcho s (2001) Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills-a study of geography and culture. For detailed accounts of the different ethnic tribes the following books and publications have been consulted- Waddell (1901), Gurdon (1907), Lyall (1908), Endle (1911), Mills (1937), Choudhury (1958), Bareh (1967), Johanstone (1971), Mathur (1979), Gassah (1984); Bordoloi (1991), Sarma Thakur (1985), Bhattacharjee (1986), Bordoloi et al. (1987), Chattopadhaya (1988), Kathar (1997), Mackenzie (1999), Phangcho (2001,2004), Medhi (2004) and related books and research publications. For actual ethnobotanical work, published papers- on various tribes of Karbi Anglong and other tribes of north east were consulted and referred (Kanjilal & Bor, ; Rao & Verma, 1972, 1973; Borthakur, 1976a, b; 1997a, b; Jain & Rao, 1977; Jain & Borthakur, 1980; Balakrishnan, ; Haridarsan & Rao, ; Saklani & Jain, 1994; Bridson & Forman, 1998; Jain & Mudgal, 1999; Hooker, ; Teron & Gogoi, 2004; Gogoi et al., 2005 and Ahmed & Borthakur, 2005 and Teron, 2005, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009). Kanjilal Herbarium at Shillong and Central National Herbarium, Howrah and their libraries have been consulted to study plants 70

13 collected from the region and as well as survey literatures pertaining to ethnobotany of north east. One of the important sources of material for this research work is the rich folklores among the communities. Such lores have mention of their cultures, traditions and plant use of the concerned community. With scanty information relating to the ethnobotany of Karbi Anglong, the present research also depended on extensive field visits, sincere and close observations of plant use among the people, traditions and culture, festivals, rituals and careful analysis and interpretation of data collected from field. 3.2 METHODOLOGY Research design Most methods used in ethnobotanical studies are time consuming and can be expensive as well. It requires several trips to the field, particularly in rural villages or blocks not connected by road with urban areas, which often proves costly. In these areas Traditional Knowledge is said to have been existing in undiluted forms amongst elders and learned persons. Usually, the most successful projects are those which span several seasons and continue for a number of years. Long term projects allows one to work with local people to record ecological knowledge in a variety of contexts, including ritual occasions and seasoning farming activities (i.e. jhum). However, it is not always possible to conduct long-term project and in such situation Rapid Ethnobotanical Appraisal (REA) may be adopted. REA is derived from Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), which is originally developed to guide and evaluate development initiatives. The techniques are conducted in a short time without requiring expensive tools because participants seek a sketch of local conditions rather than an in-depth-study. A small group of people is selected and interviewed qualitatively about a wide range of topics in a semi-structured way, allowing a comprehensive view of how community acts as a whole. The techniques are highly visual and are carried out by community members, often in collaboration with researcher (Martin, 1995). Ethnobotanical fieldwork requires researches to collaborate with government officials, scientists, and local people. In most countries, researchers must obtain official permits before conducting research, especially when conducting research in indigenous communities. Fieldworkers should also obtain permission from community members before initiating any research activities. Researchers need to clearly and honestly discuss 71

14 their goals, methodology and consequences of the research to local communities. Another important point in ethnobotanical fieldwork is selection of local informants. A common mistake often encountered is assuming that one is dealing with culturally homogenous groups. There is often considerable degree of intracultural variation and specialization and this factor must be taken into account when selecting informants. Researchers are also expected to compensate the informants and communities with a fair amount of money and/ or through gifts and services. Last, but not the least, the intellectual property rights regarding ethnobotanical knowledge of indigenous people must be taken into consideration and respect the national legal frames about biodiversity prospecting. Furthermore, they should handle according to the Code of Ethics of the Society of Ethnobiology (International Society of Ethnobiology, 1998) Data collection in ethnobotany Collecting and identifying plants: Plant collections, considered among the most basic skill in ethnobotany, are valuable because they serve as voucher specimens, which are permanent records of plants recorded in a certain place or community. They allow taxonomists to identify the family, genus and species of a collection (Martin, 1995). The selection of samples should be based on the representativeness of the plant species. Plants should include flowers, fruits or both in order to make identification easier. Specimens should be pressed in the field whenever possible and voucher specimens should be made based on standard methods (Jain & Rao, 1977; Bridson & Forman, 1998). A good herbarium specimen consists of a dried and pressed section of a plant containing well preserved vegetative and reproductive structures (Alexiades, 1996). The herbarium label should include the name of the institution, and of the collector, the project title, local name, family, genus and species of the specimen, specialist and date of determination, locality, vegetation and habitat, latitude and longitude, altitude, plant description and collection date. The collector should carry a field diary where a brief note about the plant, particularly those traits which get disappeared after pressing, such as colour, aestivation, etc., and uses. A standardized numbering system should be used to label all collections and cross reference them with the field notes (Alexiades, 1996). Indigenous plant names contain interesting information about the use and perception of plants by a particular culture. Field investigators should acquire basic linguistic skills of the local language and work with or seek the advice and cooperation of a linguist familiar with that particular language (Alexiades, 1996; Martin, 1995). The 72

15 names should be recorded, if possible, using audio cassettes or MD recorders, for subsequent transcription. Beyond this, it is recommended to document the collected specimens using a photo camera. Pictures of a plant in its natural state can be very useful i for its identification, as they include information about its morphological, architectural and ecological characters, and can be used to support plant and checklist interviews Retrieval of Information The main approach of gathering ethnobotanical information is to talk with people, to watch what they do and to participate in their activities. Native language should be used, and in general questions should not be complicated or ambiguous. Various field interview techniques are briefly explained below Techniques of approach (Alexiades, 1996; Cunningham, 2001; Martin, 1995). Participation observation: This technique is based on human-plant interactions, such as wild plant gathering or home garden management. The ethnobotanist accompanies the local people and participates in gathering of fruits or other forest products, in hunting activities, in farming or in the use of medicinal or hallucinogen plants Ethnobotanical inventory or field interview: It consists of walking in the field or in the forest with an informant, listens to him about plants and collecting and taking notes on them and their uses. This technique is very time consuming, allow informants to see the plants in their natural state, which minimizes the risk of misidentification and offers an excellent context for the interview. Plant interview: The plant interview consists of collecting plants in the field, bringing back to the village and presents them to informants. Pressed plant specimens or even pictures of the plant species can be used for this purpose. This technique is very helpful during preliminary or short studies or in order to reconfirm collected data. Artefact interview: In the artefact interview, the researcher asks the informants, for example while visiting them at home, about the plants which are employed in the manufacture or preparation of particular items, like parts of the house, tools, baskets, etc. The technique is a good way of beginning an ethnobotanical study, as it is simple and will familiarize the local community with researcher. 73

16 Checklist interview: The researcher compiles a list of plant names and presents it to the informants. This option is interesting for well-known plants, but errors can occur as names may be used as contemporary aids during the interview. This approach is useful as part of a structured interview. Group interview: As the name suggests, the ethnobotanist conducts interviews with a group of informants. Group discussions can produce a wealth of data and lead to discovery of new topics and questions. Some people will be more willing to share their knowledge in a group of environment, while others will be reluctant to disclose certain types of knowledge in front of other community members Types of interviews (Alexiades, 1996; Martin, 1995) The techniques of ethnobotanical studies described above employ one or more of the interview types listed in this section. The setting of the interview and the degree to which questions are predetermined, as well as the questions asked determine the degree of control of the interviews. Informal interview: The informal interview has no structure; the researcher simply makes notes during and after casual conversations. Unstructured interview: This type of interview has the appearance of a casual conversation, but the actors involved know that it is an interview. Semistructured interview: In this type, the field worker has a list of questions and topics that need to be covered, but this list is only a guide, it allows the researcher to be flexible. As the discussion gets underway, new lines of inquiry arise naturally while some of the prepared questions will fall to the wayside. Structured interview: This interview is based on fixed questions and is mainly used for the evaluation of local knowledge. The structured interviews should be reserved for later stages of the ethnobotanical study, when a high degree of confidence between researchers and local exist. 74

17 2.4 Mapping (Townsley, 1996). The topographic distribution of the plant specimens, home gardens, households and local infrastructure is covered in a map. Existing maps, Global Positioning System (GPS) records taken during survey and aerial photographs represent the basic topographic information. The latitude, longitude and altitude of the collected plant specimens should be recorded using GPS. As a starting point for discussion with some individuals and groups of local people, rough maps of area can be drawn up. Nearby highs can be used as a means of obtaining a bird s-eye view from which informants can directly indicate particular features of the landscape and territory which are of importance to them. These maps provide a physical focus for discussion, giving something concrete for people to refer to when talking about local circumstances, changes in conditions or particular matters and allow them to illustrate their view of the environment and what is of relevance in it for them. At the same time, mapping helps to complete limited information provided by existing maps, which are often incomplete, and to get a better understanding of key local particularities. Finally, maps provide a basic sketch of map for use for filling in thematic information, as historical changes in settlement and land use, social and economic particularities among the local inhabitants or land cover. 2.5 Market survey (Alexiades, 1996; Cunningham, 2001) Most cities in a region have markets with sections where plant products like fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants are sold. Such products however, are sold in informal or local markets, mainly in rural areas and/or along roads. Such markets often become flooded with wild and cultivated plant products and animal products also. These places are important sources of information for conservation, rural development and resource s management programmes. Direct observations, interviews and surveys of traders, vendors and consumers can be used to obtain both qualitative and quantitative data concerning socio-economic, ecological and cultural aspects of wild plant products and horticultural products. For instance, market survey allows the identification of overexploited wild plant species or of plant products with a high potential for horticultural or industrial development as new crops or products. 2.6 Quantitative methods for analysing ethnobotanical knowledge (Phillips, 1993) Quantitative ethnobotanical techniques are contemporary to the more traditional qualitative techniques of inquiry. This technique cannot replace the need for qualitative description of indigenous knowledge, but allow analysis of patterns of plant use 75

18 knowledge. But there are important advantages in their use. Numerical data can be analysed statistically and allow the researcher to check the credibleness of the data collected, increasing the methodological scientific rigor of the research Informant consensus: This method is used to establish the relative importance of each use, directly from the degree of consensus in informants responses. It requires high structured questionnaires. The relative importance of each species is evaluated by the proportion of respondents who cited it Subjective allocation: In this method the researcher assigns subjectively the relative importance of each plant use. The method has been mainly used to evaluate the cultural significance and usefulness of plant species and families or to assess the importance of subjectively assigned use categories Uses totalled: When using this method no attempt is made to quantify the relative importance of each plant use. The number of plant uses are simply totalled, by category of plant use, plant taxon or vegetation type. This method does not differentiate the relative importance of uses or species. 2.7 Ecological methods for ethnobotanists (Hall & Bawa, 1993; Martin, 1995; Peters, 1996) The ecological methods allow ethnobotanists to analyse the ecological context within people how they interact with plants. These methods go beyond the traditional ethnobotanical plant collection, plant identification and use documentation and take into account the fact that things happen when people use plants Quantitative assessment of species density: This method measures the number of individuals per unit area, informing researcher about how much of a given plant resource is available for exploitation and where the greatest abundance of this resource is located. It offers the possibility of estimating the long term sustainability of plant resource exploitation too. The study requires systematic or random plots transects, which will vary in size in dependence of the selected plant species. 76

19 2.7.2 Growth yield studies: The basic objective of a growth yield study is to provide an estimate of the quantity of resource (fruits, seeds, latexes, resins, gums, stems, leaves, inflorescence, flowers, roots, barks, etc) produced by a given species growing in a particular area. As it is very difficult to monitor all the individuals of a selected species, a subsample of plant must be selected which should be stratified by two main variables: diameter and condition. Using the results from a plot survey as a guide, the fieldworker should randomly select individuals from different size classes and habitats. Ideally, the number of sample trees selected from each size class should be the same in each site condition or forest type. 2.8 Processing and analysis of ethnobotanical data (Martin, 1995) Processing: Ethnobotanical data should be organised in a way that facilitates statistical analysis. A matrix with different fields should be defined. Potential fields are: Collection number, local plant name, scientific plant name, habit, plant parts used, uses, preparation, habitat, locality, name of the informant, commentaries, etc. The data collected on each separate item (a plant species, for instance) constitute a record. The values are specific data that correspond to each field and record Analysis: By analysing the matrix several quantitative interpretations can be done, for instance the total of used wild and cultivated plants subject to different ethnic groups, the number of used wild and cultivated plants according to the different use categories, etc. In addition, descriptive and inferential statistics represent a very important tool to understand the use or classification of plant resources across a set of plant specimens collected or categories elicited Presentation: The results can be presented as tables and graphs. Tables preset data in rows and columns, permitting the contrast of values or related categories. Graphs typically relate two dimensions, such as quantity or membership in a category. Bar graphs compare the quantity of single dimension of various related categories or objects. The height or length of each bar indicates the quantity on a numerical scale which is shown in the bottom of the graph. Pie charts are divided into series, indicating the relative proportion or percentage of one category as compared with others. 77

20 3.3 Approaches adopted in the present work Karbi Anglong district is inhabited by many ethnic tribes of Mongoloid origin such as Karbis, Dimasa, Garo, Tiwa, Rengma Naga, Pnar (Jaintia), Kuki and a few non-tribal groups, thus, reflecting an ideal state of ethnic and cultural diversities. The people are mainly agriculturists and jhum is still the means of agriculture at least in the hills. Many rural areas are not connected by roads and thus, people s access and encounter with urban markets and people is not adequate or satisfactory. The majority of rural folk, who comprise the main source of information for the present research, are illiterate are not much aware of urban environment. Therefore, the present research was designed to accommodate mainly the rural folk and local languages are the means of communication with informants. Local guides, particularly well known about the area and the informants were hired during filed study. When working in Pnars, Tiwas and other non-karbi villages, Karbis with fluency in Pnar or Tiwa language was hired as mediator. All the techniques of ethnobotanical data collection except the structured interview technique were applied during field work. Because the informants were illiterate, those techniques applicable to the informants and the ground realities were applied to collect ethnobotanical data. Frequent visits to different parts of Karbi Anglong district was undertaken to collect information. On reaching the study area the village headman was contacted for permission he was appraised about the purpose and objectives of the study. Informants were pooled from folk of various age groups belonging to both sexes. They were first explained about the object of the research and their consent was obtained. The investigator have stayed in various villages for many days to observe and study actual plant use and many times accompanied rural folk to jhum fields. Many festivals and rituals of the tribes under study have been attended to collect information and also study dynamism in culture and religious practices. Local markets were surveyed to study wild plants or its products sold in the markets (Plate 7e-f) and vendors were interviewed about their dependence on the trade and availability of edible plants. In this way it was possible to learn about the availability and distribution of plant resources. It may be mentioned that some vendors still use single pan balance to measure plants/plant products (Plate 8a). Ethnobotanical studies were also conducted among urban population to compare degree of dependence on plant and plant products with their rural counterparts. Ethnobotanical and related information collected as above was compared with elders and learned persons of concerned community to avoid confusion. Lastly, ethnobotanical data of different ethnic tribes under study viz.. Karbi, Tiwa and Pnar, was compared to find out ethnobotanical affinities among the groups and dynamism of TK. The following 78

21 places in Karbi Anglong district was visited to collect information for the present work- Dengaon, Samelangso, Langlokso, Dolamara, Chokihola, Dolamara, Baguri. Dhansiri, Diphu Amang, Bakalia, Longnit, Singhasan Hills, Dillai, Silonijan, Dokmoka. Dengaon, Rongkimi (East Karbi Anglong), Khanduli, Rongpangpong, Ampu, Longle Ethan, Ronghang Rongbong, Hamren, Longpai, Socheng, Monjili, Rongchek, Baithalangso, Bichikri, Kunggripi, Doloi Arong, Thelu Ke-er, Borgaon, Vangjong Rongpi, Kro Kengdang, Morten, Umpanai, Archon, Mynser, Putsari, Kheroni, Jirikindeng, Makoilum and Umkhyrmi (West Karbi Anglong) (Map2). DISTRICT KARBI ANGLONG Scale Kilometres LEGEND U-jpur Brahmaputra S.tbhcdd P.irchm* K.ilwni* Sub Drvn Headquarter) Important Place National Highway MamRoad Local Road Railway Aamm ± Ompanat* v I.IvnMr HAMREN k.iihi-ii. ixtutli / f).mb i rrx L.ink.1 HAMREN X S U B - D I V N KhCT*?? Ooar Dikharu DikTOtgaon Ml. Singhasan (1358 m.) A DoJdbm L* "^ Lanpoithon^ Bakubafetat ixikma) Lonfmt Lanfrit DIPHU Bardamb Mflfa Choo.tihaia Silonij; niwpur NJdhmg Zirikin<Unf«NORTH CACHAR District * * Map 2. Karbi Anglong district (** places visited for field study). (Source: ABD s School Atlas) Further, for any research work it is imperative to look into details of previous works done in order to authenticate the information reported earlier. For this, the investigator visited different institutions (Academic and Research) to consult literatures and voucher specimens reported and collected from Karbi Anglong district. Some such institutions visited include Gauhati University (Guwahati), National Botanical Research Institute (Lucknow), Institute of Ethnobiology (Gwalior) and Botanical Survey of India (Shillong and Kolkata). 79

22 Plants collected from the field were dried, poisoned and preserved as voucher specimens following standard methods (Jain & Rao, 1977; Bridson & Forman, 1998) and deposited in the herbarium of Botany Department, Gauhati University, Guwahati for future reference. A set of the voucher specimens was also deposited in the Life Science Department of Assam University- Diphu Campus, Diphu. Plants collected from field were identified with the help of available literatures for the region (Kanjilal & Bor, ; Haridarsan & Rao, ; Hooker, ; Balakrishnan, ; Rao & Verma, 1972, 1973). 5 Presentation of the Thesis The present Thesis is divided into three parts. The first part includes preliminaries, that is, the contents, list of tables, list of maps and plates. The second part includes the main text comprising chapters on introduction, analytical and synthesis. The last part includes bibliography. The second part i.e., the main text is divided into seven chapters. Chapter 1 deals with introduction to ethnobotany and its subdisciplines and interdisciplines, brief history and approaches in the study of ethnobotany. It also includes statement of the problem and objectives of the present research. Chapter 2 explains the general physical aspects of Karbi Anglong district, i.e. the land- location, area, topography, geology and minerals, soil, climate, drainage system and vegetation types, and the people which deal with a brief account of the different indigenous tribes of the district. This chapter also introduces brief account of traditional concept of diseases and traditional medicinal practices and Bachelors Dormitory. Chapter 3 is materials and methods including organisation of the thesis. The first part explain review of literatures, that includes ethnobotanical works at international level, work done in India followed by ethnobotanical reports from north eastern region and reports of ethnobotanical work from Karbi Anglong district, the present study area. Methodology includes explanation of the various standard methods of ethnobotanical inquiry, both qualitative and quantitative, and brief account of techniques adopted in the present thesis. This chapter ends with an explanation of organisation of the Thesis. Chapter 4 includes detailed description of plant use by the Karbis. Plant use have been divided into many categories like food (staple food, famine food, vegetables, edible fruits, spices and condiments), beverages, ethnomedicines, ethnoveterinary, ethnoichthyotoxic plants, socio-religious practices (sacred plants and taboos), material culture (house building, crafts, textiles, dyes, cosmetics and detergents, similes and 80

23 metaphors and miscellaneous) and some topics of special interest such as traditional knowledge of preparation of lime and alkali, biological indicators and utilization and conservation of natural resources. In chapter 5 the ethnobotany of the Pnars (Jaintias) was discussed on the same line of inquiry as among the Karbis. The chapter carries discussion on Chat Paste, a religious festival and said to have been introduced by the legendary Karbi warrior Thong Nokhe. Inclusion of this topic is significant as it narrates historical relationship between the Pnars and Karbis. Chapter 6 contains discussion on ethnobotanical plant use among the Tiwas ending with a special note on the tradition of Bachelors Dormitory and the associated Wanchoa festival. Result and discussion of the present research is summarised in Chapter 7. It is divided into two parts- data presentation and comparison and analysis of dynamism of Traditional Knowledge (TK). Ethnobotanical information of the Karbis, Tiwas and Pnars are analysed separately along use categories such as food, ethnomedicines, ethnoveterinary, ethnoichthyotoxic plants, socio-religious practices and material culture. Over all similarity of plant use and similarity in plant use among the tribes under study and ethnobotanical data of plats with significant and multiple uses was discussed. All data are presented in tables, bar and pie diagrams. Analysis of dynamism of TK includes study of TK lost or gained and influence of one s culture over another. Dynamism of TK was studied for all plant utility groups and exchange of knowledge of any forms among the Karbis, Tiwas and Pnars. The report carries a special note of acknowledgement to the Supervisor of the present research, all informants and local guides for their assistance in completing the work. Last, but not the least, the acknowledgement is followed by list of references of reported ethnobotanical works giving due acknowledgment and respect to their efforts without which the present research would not have been possible. Plants that can be cultivated in large scale to meet demand of local markets are listed in Appendix I while papers published during the course of research are listed as Appendix II. 81

24 Plate 1 la. Semi-evergreen forest at Monjili, Hamren subdivision. lb. Semi-evergreen forest along Siloni river, Longnit, Diphu. lc. A Pine forest in Zirikindeng, Hamren subdivision. Id. A deciduous forest in Umkhyrmi being cut for fuel. le. A Wetland near Diphu town under threat from encroachment. If. Forest under jhum cultivation at Morten, Hamren subdivision.

25 Plate 2 2a. Acorus calamus L. along Diphu- Dhansiri road. 2b. Teak plantation near Diphu town. 2c. A rubber crop near Diphu town. 2d. Thesolongdang, sacred grove of the Karbis in Hamren subdivision. 2e. Human-like rock in the sacred site Rek Anglong, near Baithalangso. 2f. Umtakhleng waterfall in Rongpangbong; considered sacred by both the Karbis and Pnars.

26 Plate 3 3a. A pond in Bichikri near Baithalangso, the most forbidden sacred site among the Karbis. 3b. Forest grove of the Tiwas near Borgaon, the abode of the deity Chokorbura. 3c. Mindeifather (in circle) near 3d. Collection of Dolmen and Menhir Morten, sacred site of the Tiwas. near Nongjerong, Hamren subdivision. 3e. The investigator (Right) with local guides in the sacred site of the Pnars in Murab. 3f. A stone cist in Kremlen forest near Mynser; Pnars keep bones of the deceased under the stone cist.

27 Plate 4 4a. A Traditional Karbi house. 4b. Meeting of the Pinpo or members of Karbi Traditional Institution. 4d. Elder Karbi man (L) and woman (R) in traditional attires. (Courtesy District Tribal Research, Diphu). 4e. Karbi women wearing costly ear ring or Nothengpi on festive occasion. 4f. Jambili Athon, traditional wooden craft of the Karbis. (Inset: The traditional bird Vojaru)

28 Plate 5 5a. A Tiwa couple on their way to 5b. A Tiwa woman at her loom jhum field. called Matihai. 5c. Tiwa men in their traditional attires. 5d. Tiwa damsels in their traditional attires. 5e. A traditional Pnar house at Mynser, Hamren subdivision. 5f. A Pnar woman at the loom.

29 Plate 6 6a. A Pnar man (Right) and woman (Left). 6b. A Pnar man wrap himself with eri cloth. 6c. An elderly Pnar woman wearing Randiastem, yellow-red stride lower garment. 6d. Pnar women heading for the jhum field. 6e. An insect cocoon (arrow) worn around the neck of baby to control sialorrhea. 6f. A girl wearing garland of root of Crinum sp. (arrow) for curing jaundice.

30 Plate 7 7a. Terank or Bachelor's Dormitory of the Karbis (constructed by Govt. Agency). 7b. Samadi, Bachelors' Dormitory of the Tiwas. 7c. Dolmens and Menhirs at Khatve, near Umbaso. 7d. A megalith erected in honour of Thong Nokbe standing by the Hamren-Khanduli road. 7e. A scene of local market in Diphu town. A vendor checking crabs before procuring. 7f. Some wild vegetables in a local markets. I. Colocasia sp., II. Phlogocanthus sp.; III. Musa sp. and IV. Gnetum gnemon.