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Introduction

Ethnobotanical Studies on Korku Tribes ofMadhya Pradesh

Rajiv RaiExtension Division, Tropical Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur - 482 021

The tribal people and ethnic races throughout the world have developedtheir own culture, customs, religious - rites, folk-songs, medicinal practices,etc. Numerous wild and cultivated plants play a key role among tribal

cultures in primary health care and this relationship has been continuing from onegeneration to another since last several centuries. The knowledge acquired by forestdwellers, folk-healers, vaidys, etc. in understanding the properties of roots, stems,leaves, flowers and fruits of these plants have immense value in traditional folk-medicines. Traditional healers have developed the medicinal use of these plants basedon their experiments on human beings; i.e., tribal community (Rai and Nath, 2005).

India has a centuries old heritage of medicinal and aromatic plants.Medicinal plants and herbal medicines are used in curing of human illness andpromotion of health in tribal and rural areas. Medicinal plants are often, the onlyaccessible health care alternative for most of the population and traditionalmedicines are integral part of tribal health care. Our country has one of the largestconcentration of tribal communities in the world, accounting for about 68 milliontribal people belonging to 573 tribal communities (MoHA, 2001) living in differentgeographic locations within our country. Indigenous people have shown evidencesof historical continuity of resource use and possess a broad base knowledge ofthe complex ecological system existing in the vicinity of their habitat.

In the state of Madhya Pradesh, there are about 28 tribes spread overthe entire state. These indigenous people have been using with a historicalcontinuity of resource use, often possess a broad knowledge base of the complexecological system in their own localities. This knowledge has accumulated througha series of observations transmitted from generation to generation. The state ofMadhya Pradesh is enriched with primitive tribes such as Baiga, Bhariya, Korku,Korwa and Sahariya. The other prominent tribes found in the state are Kol, Bhil,Gond, Pao, Khairwar, Maria, Kamar, etc. Korku tribes are found in districts ofNarsinghpur, Chhindwara, Betul, Hoshangabad, Harda, Kargone and Khandawa(Tiwari, 1984). These tribes are utilizing the plants for food and medicinal values(Fig. 1) and have been conserving them since last several years in their habitat(Rai and Nath, 2005).

These tribal communitiesuse medicinal plants

and prepare formulationof the drug and apply

on tumour or oncancerous growth. They

also consume extractand decoction for

internal healing

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Most of the tribal pockets are undulating, denselycovered with thick forest and they are inhabited at hill tops,foot hills in state of Madhya Pradesh for last severalhundreds of years (Saxena, 1988; Rai et al., 2002; Rai et al.,2003; Rai et al., 2004a and b). These communities usedifferent formulations made of plant parts in cure of ailmentsin primary health care. Keeping in view vastness of forestarea and richness of vegetation, systematic efforts to exploitthe valuable potential is still lacking with exception tosporadic attempts being made as evidenced by review ofliterature being done for investigators earned in MadhyaPradesh on traditional health care by numerous ethno-botanists such as Bhalla et al. (1992); Jain (1963, 1975,1981); Jain and Tarafdar (1963); Saxena and Shukla (1971);Maheshwari (1984, 1989, 1996); Tiwari (1984); Maheshwariand Dwivedi (1988); Saxena (1988); Oomachen andSrivastava (1996); Pandey et al. (1991); Pandey (1998);Pandey (2005); Ram Prasad et al. (1990); Rai and Nath (2005,2006); Rai et al. (1996, 2002, 2003, 2004a and b).

Material and Methods

a. Study Area and PeriodKorku tribes inhabit the heart of Madhya Pradesh in Indianpeninsula which has a large concentration of tribal population.The state lies between latitude 17o 482 N and 26o522 S andbetween longitude 74o -22 N to 84o 242 E. The detailed ethno-botanical studies were conducted by organizing field trips indifferent seasons in each quarter of the year for a period oftwo years during 2004-2006 in the selected tribal pockets ofKorku tribe in the villages of Sohagpur, Itarsi, Bagra Tawaand Kesla blocks in Hoshangabad district and Irchawar,Sehore and Nasrullaganj blocks in Sehore districts.

b. MethodologyThe information recorded in field was as per the methodologyrecorded by Chopra et al. (1965, 1982); Nadkarni (1982); Kapur(1990); Jain (1981, 1991, 1996).

Result and Discussion

I. Concept of Bamboo Conservation in KorkuTribe

Bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant on this planet. Itgrows three times faster than the fastest growing tree. Somespecies can grow up to 1 meter per day. One can almost ‘watchit grow’. This growth pattern makes it easily accessible in aminimal amount of time. It fetches income in a short period oftime.

Bamboo is a critical element in the balance ofoxygen/carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Bamboo is thefastest growing canopy for the regreening of degraded areasand generates more oxygen than equivalent stand of trees.It lowers light intensity and protects against ultraviolet raysand is an atmospheric and soil purifier.

Bamboo is a viable replacement for wood. It is oneof the strongest building materials. Bamboo’s tensile strengthis more than that of steel.

Bamboos provide basic necessities of life; i.e., fuel,food, shelter and clothing. India is endowed with a largenumber of bamboo species (24 genera and 134 species) andis perhaps having the world’s largest reserve of bamboos. Inrecent years, bamboos have entered the highly competitiveworld market in the form of pulp for paper, parquet, plybamboo and as a canned vegetable.

Thus, bamboo is useful from cradle to coffin, forpeople of India, as well as in other parts of the Asia.

Women in tribal community prefer to get their bodyparts – hands, legs and neck covered with colours. Theywear different kinds of ornaments made of bamboo, seedsand metals. The information on socio-economic utility ofbamboo as prevalent in Korku tribe has been tabulatedprecisely in Table 1.

The tribals living in Madhya Pradesh realizedthis fact long before, which they prefer for their domesticuses. It is seldom observed any courtyard of tribal hutwithout bamboo clump. They worship bamboo duringsome of their festivals and use bamboo in their tradi-tional rituals.

The data documented on social utility of bambooare similar to findings of numerous ethnobotanist (Jain, 1963,1975, 1981, 1991; Saxena and Shukla, 1971; Oomachan andSrivastava, 1976; Patta, 1988; Maheshwari, 1989, 1996; RamPrasad et al., 1990; Jain, 1996; Pandey, 1998; Rai et al., 2002,2003, 2004; Shukla, 2004; Pandey, 2005).

II. Documentation of Ethno – Botanical Informationon Korku Tribe

a. Ethnobotanical surveyConducted in different sites in M.P. for documentation aspresented in Table 2. The living standard of Korku tribalsis very simple. The tribe is concentrated in Hoshangabaddistricts. They have recently shifted from jhum cultivationto forestry. Their houses are made of mud, bamboo sticks,paddy straw and local tiles. Tribal men wear dhoti, bandi,fatohi and head gear. Women wear saree named kaanshsaree in the local dialect. The saree is always of bodycolour.

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S. no. Utility of bamboo Remark Locality (tribal blocks) in Hoshangabad

1. Construction of house House is made of mud, bamboo stick with paddy straw and local tiles.

Bagra Tawa

2. Ornaments made of bamboo Women folk wear ornaments made of bamboo. Kesla 3. Collection of bamboo twigs

from forest Women folk and children collect bamboo twigs from forest.

Bagra Tawa, Kesla, Hoshangabad, Seoni malwa and Kesla

4. Use of bamboo as fuel-wood Bamboo is used as fuel wood as it is an excellent.

Bagra Tawa and Kesla

5. Use of doors and windows Shutters made of bamboo mats, fixed on bamboo frame is common in housing. Small openings framed with bamboo or wood are provided in the walls to serve as windows.

Hoshangabad, Seoni malwa and and Kesla

6. Flooring Houses constructed on raised platforms use bamboo for flooring while bamboo culms are used as floor joints and beams act as framework. Over this frame work, covering sheathing of split bamboo, bamboo boards/mats, small full culms or flattened bamboo strips are suitably fastened.

7. Bamboo mats Mats are made by women folk used in their homes and sold in weekly market

Sold in weekly market at Bagra Tawa

8. Bamboo baskets Baskets are made of bamboo and sold in weekly market for income generation.

Sold in weekly market at Kesla and Seoni Malwa

9. Bamboo toys Toys are made from bamboos. 10. Musical instrument Flute – a common musical instrument in

Hoshanagabad district is made out of bamboo. Bagra Tawa

11. Bamboo furniture frames Furniture – sofa set with chairs made of bamboo.

Kesla and Seoni Malwa

Table 1. Socio-economic utility of bamboo among Korku tribe

b. Plants used by tribes as anti-diabetic propertiesEtyomologically the term diabetes can be defined as ‘topass through’ Diabetes is derived from a Greek word(‘dia’means through, ‘betes’ means pass). Moreappropriately it has been defined as the secretion of aninordinate quantity of sweet in urine with high content ofblood sugar, urine with a peculiar smell, accompanied withgreat thirst and dryness of skin and deficiency of insulin inthe human body. In urban areas the disease is controlledby restricted intake of sugar and synthetic medicine. Intribal pockets of Korku, it uses different medicinal plantsand formulations as evident from Table 3.

c. Plants used by tribes as natural drug in cure of cancerand tumours

Cancer is one of the most dreaded disease of the 21st centurywhich is plaguing the life of mankind. It is a painful syndromeof modernization, where even modern medicines have failedto bring out a curative medicine for it. On the other handseveral drugs have severe side effects which instead of givingsolution to the problem, creates more problem and bafflingconditions. The traditional herbal healers have become moreaware about the problems and are striving hard to find the

solution. Some of the herbal and folk healers have recordedmedicinal plants which possess anti-cancerous and anti-tumour properties. Such plants are listed in Table 4 which arebeing used by such traditional healers belonging to Korkutribe.

Cancer cause a variety of symptoms such asthickening or lump in the breast or any other part of the body,changes in bowel or bladder habits, obvious change in a wartor mole, a sore that does not heal, nagging cough or hoarseness,indigestion or difficulty in swallowing, unexplained changes inweight and unusual bleeding or discharge. When these orother symptoms occur, they are not always caused by cancer.Infections, begin with tumours, or other problems may alsocause them. It is important to meet the traditional healerregarding any of these symptoms or about other physicalchanges. Some symptoms are specific to certain types of cancer,such as difficult urination for prostrate cancer, or flu-likesymptoms for acute leukemias. Diagnostic tests are availablefor most common cancers. If diagnosed early, chances ofsurvival are greatly increased. One should not wait to feel pain:Early cancer usually does not cause pain. These tribalcommunities use medicinal plants and their parts and prepareformulation of the drug and apply on tumour or on cancerous

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Table 3. Plants used as anti-diabetic properties by tribal communities

Table 4. Plants used by tribals as natural drug in cure of cancer and tumour

Table 2. Localities surveyed: Korku tribe in M.P.

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growth. They also consume extract and decoction for internalhealing of the disease (Table 4).

d. Plants used by tribes as carminative drug in cure ofgastro-intestinal problems indigestion, acidity, flatulence

Gastro-intestinal problems have become very common inour day to day problems in urban areas. Infestation ofworms both the helminths and protozoan in the intestineof children and adult has become a common ailment in oursociety. Chemical and biological infestation of food andwater due to deteriorating environmental condition andconsumption of processed food with less fiber contenthas been attributed to increase in problems leading toindigestion, acidity and flatulence. Nature has providedseveral herbs to over come the existing ailments. Suchplants are enlisted in Fig. 2 and Table 5 which are beingused by such traditional healers.

e. Plants used by tribes in cure of diarrhoeaDiarrhoea is referred to frequent passage of watery stoolwhich lead to the depletion of fluids and salts (sodium andpotassium) that are responsible for maintaining the fluidbalance in our body. Diarrhoea is caused due to foodpoisoning, allergy to certain foods, overeating and over useof laxatives. Diarrhoea is also caused by parasites andbacterial infections. In traditional and indigenous system,the best way to cure diarrhea is to replenish the lost fluids bymixing a teaspoon each of salt and sugar in a cup of waterand sip it many times as one can. In tribal pockets manyplants are used which are presented in Table 6.

f. Plants used by tribes in cure of baldnessBaldness has been attributed to hectic lifestyles not only in urbanareas but also seen in rural areas and tribal communities, they alsosuffer from problem of baldness. Generally patients are associated

Fig. 2. Plants used for treatment of gastro-intestinalproblem.

Fig. 1. Documentation of indigenous knowledge from Vadiya Raj of Korku tribe.

a. Treatment by the Korku Vidya Raj. b. Bilarikand/Patalkumhra. c. Abrus precatorius (Ratti) used in cure ofcancer.

with mechanized work, unbearable stress levels, consumepackaged foodstuff, lack of manual activity or excessive physicalexercise and environmental pollution have all resulted in a constantdeterioration in health with an increasing number ofpsychosomatic ailments. Those persons who have more exposureto fumes, exposure to sun and dew, sleeping too much or too lessare also affected by process of mental stress. Stress is alsoattributed to patients on account of crying or preventing tears,drinking lot of water or alcohol, talking too much and consumingvery spicy, salty food have been found to bear the symptoms ofhair fall and suffer from baldness, along with graying of hair.Baldness may also be a hereditary problem. The traditional herbalhealers use a number of plants and apply paste, powder, oilextracted from seed, leaves and oil in order to check baldness.Such plants and their parts are presented in Table 7.

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g. Plants used by tribes in cure of sexual impotency andweakness

Impotency is also called erectile dysfunction, is most oftenthe result of some underlying physical (organic) condition.Impotency in about 85 per cent cases is physical in origin.Earlier about one to two decades ago it was thought to becaused due to emotional problems. It is estimated that 15per cent patients are suffering from impotency due to

Table 5. Plants used by tribals as carminative drug in cure of gastro-intestinal problems-indigestion, acidity andflatulence

S. no. Plant species Local name Family Plant part used Formulation

1. Ardisia solanaceae Roxb. Myrsinaceae Seeds Powder 2. Commiphora wightii

(Arn.) Bhandari Guggul Burseraceae Bark Resin Extract

3. Eugenia heyneana Duthie Myrtaceae Flower Extract 4. Cocculus pendulus (Linn.) Diels Menispermaceae Bark Powder

Table 6. Plants used by tribals in cure of diarrhoea

S. no. Plant species Local name Family Plant part used Formulation

1. Anogeissus latifolia (Roxb.) Wall

Dhawa Combretaceae Bark Powder

2. Hibiscuss rosasinensis Linn. Gurhal Malvaceae Flower ,bud Powder 3. Curcuma angustifolia Roxb. Tikhur Zingiberaceae Tuber Decoction 4. Mentha piperita Linn. Jangali podina Lamiaceae Leaves Oil 5. Acorus calamus Linn. Bach Araceae Root Extract 6. Soymida febrifuge (Roxb.) A. Juss. Rohan Meliaceae Bark Decoction

Table 7. Plants used by tribals in cure of baldness

S. no. Plant species Local name Family Plant part used Formulation

1. Nyctanthes arbortristis Linn. Harsinghar Oleaceae Seed Paste 2. Allium cepa Linn. Piyaj Liliaceae Bulb Powder 3. Lawsonia inermis Linn. Mehndi Lythraceae Seed Oil 4. Xanthium indicum Koeing Lapetevana Asteracee Leaves Paste

psychological problems. The causes of impotency whichhave been observed by traditional healers are due tohardening of arteries, heart disease, high cholesterol, andblood pressure. Diabetes has also been observed in somepatients by local healers in Madhya Pradesh to be a causeof impotency. Tribal communities use indigenous plants incure of sexual impotency and weakness are enlisted in Table8 as below.

Table 8. Plants used by tribals in cure of sexual impotency and weaknessS. no. Plant species Local name Family Plant part used Formulation

1. Abelmoschus esculentus (Linn.) Moench

Jangali bhindi Malvaceae Roots and seed Powder

2. Abrus precatorius Linn. Ratti Fabaceae Root Decoction 3. Acacia nilotica (Linn.)

Willd. Babul Mimosaceae Seeds Powder

4. Bombax ceiba Semal Bombaceae Roots Powder 5. Curculigo orchioides

Gaertn Kali musli Hypoxidaceae Root Powder, extract

6. Sida spinosia Linn. Kantibel Malvaceae Root Powder

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Conclusion

The utilization of 40 medicinal plants have been recordedduring field survey which revealed different uses of plantparts with formulations being used by Korku-Pardhi tribe incure of ailments such as anti-diabetic, cure of tumor and cancer,as carminative to check flatulence, diarrhoea, to check baldness,to eliminate impotency and sexual weakness. The presentinvestigation focuses on use of medicinal plants by tribalcommunities in cure of various ailments. Such plants need tobe examined for phyto-chemical studies to know activeingredient and chemical compound present in them which arebeneficial in cure of ailments.

Acknowledgement

The author is thankful to Director, Tropical Forest ResearchInstitute, Jabalpur for providing financial assistance forconducting the studies. Head, Biodiversity and SustainableManagement Divison, TFRI, Jabalpur is also beingacknowledged for providing necessary facilities forcompleting the aforesaid investigation.

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