Traditional knowledge of ethnomedicine in Jaunsar-bawar, Dehradun district

Abstract

In Jaunsar-bawar area (Chakrata tehsil of Dehradun district), different kinds of medical

practitioners (priests, magicians, exorcists and quacks) abound . Many cures are effected by one or more persons treating a single patient at a time or in succession. In traditional societies, herbalists and midwives frequently acquire their skills from their mothers or other close relatives. In most of these rural societies, their localities are almost bereft of modern health facilities. In such a situation, they use their traditional knowledge about the locally available plants to cure many diseases. In this paper, an attempt has been made to see how these ethnomedicines are useful in Jaunsar-bawar to maintain their healthy life.