Traditional healthcare practices among tribes: A study of Mandla district in Madhya Pradesh

Abstract

Traditional healthcare practices are an integral part of tribal life, especially in hilly and forest areas where modern healthcare facilities are still inaccessible and a convenient alternative in areas where modern healthcare are not very easily affordable. Although, even after considerable progress in modern healthcare services in the last few decades, tribal populations still depend on traditional treatment practices. In this context, a study was conducted in the Bijadandi block in Mandla district to examine the traditional knowledge for treating various illnesses/diseases with the help of medicinal plants. For this study, the primary field survey was conducted from August to November 2019. For this research work, purposive sampling was used. A total of 300 households were interviewed in the study from the selected ten villages in the block to gather the information on the traditional healthcare practices and to understand the tribal view points in the context of traditional healthcare practices. All selected villages have more than 90% of tribal households located in hilly and forest areas. The indepth interviews were conducted with local traditional healers or persons with rich traditional knowledge. Other than healers, the information on traditional medicinal knowledge and its method of treatment at home was also obtained from selected households with the help of open-ended questions. The information has been collected from total 39 tribal groups during this study. This study found two-fifths (41%), i.e., 19 types of species being utilized were from the trees group. On the other hand, 14 (30%) kinds of plant species, 6 types of herb (13%), 5 (11%) types of climber species and 2 types of shrub groups were being utilized by tribal communities for healthcare treatment.