Inter generational role of ethnic medicines in the livelihoods of tribes people in Malappuram

Abstract

Conservation of traditional knowledge of human health has recently become a global concern. Medicinal plants and herbs are being lost due to lack of awareness and deforestation. In Kerala, the diversified system of traditional practices based on their ethnic medicine knowledge has prevailed among the tribal communities since time immemorial. Medicinal plant collection is one of the major livelihood avenues for the tribespeople. They are being exploited by the external tradesmen in medicinal plants trade, which push them to further economic backwardness. The study was conducted at Malappuram district of Kerala. Three major tribal communities viz., Paniyans, Aranadans and Kattunaikkans were selected. The study followed ex-post facto research design conducted among 180 tribal respondents. Thirty members were selected randomly from different stakeholders for perception study. The study revealed that only 36.96% of the elderly tribespeople, 27.54% of the middle aged tribespeople and 26.15% of the young tribespeople had ethnic medicine knowledge. Ethnic Medicine Knowledge Score (cumulative sum of citation, knowledge use pattern and knowledge use frequency) was used to measure the ethnic medicine knowledge of the tribespeople in the study. The mean Ethnic Medicine Knowledge Scores of the young, middle and elderly age categories of the tribespeople were 6.41, 5.16 and 7.94 respectively. Further, a chi square test was performed and found that there is a significant relation existing between age and ethnic medicine knowledge. The relationship between the Knowledge Use Behaviour and the age was compared by using Kruskal-Wallis test. It was found that there is significant difference in Knowledge Use Behaviour among the three age categories. The study also documented the ethnic medicine knowledge of the tribal respondents in three age groups. It was found that the elderly, middle aged and young tribespeople knew the usage of 75, 42, 30 medicinal plants respectively. The three tribal communities viz., Paniyans, Arandans and Kattunaikkans shared their knowledge about 61, 37 and 47 numbers of medicinal plants respectively. A chi square test was done and found that knowledge of three communities differs significantly. The mean Ethnic Medicine Knowledge Scores of the respondents of Paniyans, Aranadans and Kattunaikkans tribal communities were 6.85, 6.45 and 6.62 respectively. The study found that only 24 (29.27%) of the tribesmen and 29 (29.57%) of the tribeswomen had ethnic medicine knowledge. The mean Ethnic Medicine Knowledge Scores of the tribesmen and tribeswomen were 5.79 and 7 respectively. Out of 72 tribespeople depending on the medicinal plant collection, only 15 (21.13%) are women, the rest of the 56 (78.87%) people are men. But in case of number of Vaidyas in selected colonies, the number of women Vaidyas are more (15) compared to male Vaidyas(11). The weighted mean knowledge use behaviour score was 2.77 and mean ethnic medicine knowledge score was 6.45, which means the use of knowledge is lower compared to their actual knowledge. Categorical Principal Component Analysis (CATPCA) of the three tribal communities was carried out separately. Twenty four variables were reduced into 2 factors which explain 61%, 61% and 60% of the total variance of the data for Paniyans, Aranadans and Kattunaikkas respectively. In case of Paniyans, the variables were grouped into Natural resources dependency factor and Cosmopoliteness and social connectivity factor. For Kattunaikkans, the variables were grouped into Personal empowerment factor and Social empowerment factor. For Aranadans, the variables were grouped into Economic activities factor and Cosmopoliteness and social connectivity factor. Binary logistic regression was performed to calculate the relationship between the natural resources utilization of the tribespeople for their livelihood requirement and the independent variables. This test revealed that the variables such as age, number of income sources, medicinal plant collection experience, and leadership quality had positive and significant effect on the natural resources utilization among the tribespeople. Ethnic medicine value chain with the involvement of tribespeople was studied. The major marketing channel was the channel involving primary collectors, commission agent, wholesalers, Ayurvedic Medicine Manufacturing Units (AMMUs), retailers and consumers. All the marketing channels of the ethnic value chain involving tribespeople were figured out. Share of the primary collectors (tribespeople) in the value chain was found out for the major 12 medicinal plants. Low price for the medicinal plant sold was major constraint in marketing and the unavailability of the produce was the major constraint in the collection as perceived by tribespeople. To measure the perception of the stakeholders and to identify the constraints of tribespeople, Kendall`s coefficient of concordance was used. According to the stakeholders, “middlemen selling these products for a huge sum of money to wholesalers while tribespeople are not paid enough for their effort” and “awareness on importance of value addition activities is very low among the tribal people” were the major constraints experienced by the tribespeople in ethnic medicine trade. Multi dimensional analysis diagram for a problem viz., lower return in ethnic medicine trade by tribespeople was developed by using RAAKS (Rapid Appraisal of Agricultural Knowledge System) framework. A focused and participatory approach by understanding the essence of tribal culture and their actual need is the actual solution of the existing problems. Value-based training on the importance of the tribal culture and its unique relationship with the forest, skill-based training on the identification of medicinal plants, and scientific plucking procedures of the plant parts can be imparted to tribespeople.