The International Day of the World's Indigenous People is celebrated on August 9 as this was the date of the first meeting in 1982 of the United Nations Working Group of Indigenous Population.
It is observed to protect and promote the rights of the world's indigenous inhabitants. It also recognises the contributions of indigenous people to improve issues like environmental protection.
The day was first proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1994. The United Nations 2007 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples recognised that “respect for indigenous knowledge, cultures and traditional practices tributes to sustainable and equitable development and proper management of the environment.” However, indigenous peoples still experience racism, poor health and disproportionate poverty.
The UN estimates that there are 370 million indigenous people in some 70 countries, 84,326,240 indigenous people (tribals) in India and 8,145,081 in Odisha. Traditional knowledge has played a vital role in the daily lives of the vast majority of people. It is essential to the food security and health of millions of people in a developing country like India and State like Odisha. In many countries, traditional medicines provide the only affordable treatment to indigenous community. As per the World Health Organisation (WHO) Fact Sheet: 2002, in developing countries, up to 80 per cent of the population depends on traditional medicines. In India, out of over 7,500 species of medicinal plants Ayurveda uses about 1,769 species whereas the use of approximately 289 medicinal plant species were documented in Vedic literature. There are 2,727 plant species identified in Odisha, out of which about 1,200 are in use for medicinal purposes
Indigenous peoples are custodians to rich linguistic and cultural diversity, carrying unique knowledge of sustainable living and respect for biodiversity. They have unique cultures. Historically, these cultures are closely tied to their lands. They have been living in forest environment and developed their knowledge on flora and fauna of the forest that are known as folk or indigenous knowledge. They have also developed their own folk beliefs based on their traditional practices which help them cure various diseases. The common beliefs, customs, practices related to health and disease in turn influence their health seeking behaviour. Tribal groups have developed strong religious healthcare systems.
The biggest threat to indigenous people now is encroachment of their land. Various companies using their land threaten the ecosystem through mineral extraction, environmental contamination, cash crop production and genetically modified seeds.
According to the WHO, about 65-80 per cent of the population in developing countries depends essentially on plants for their primary healthcare due to poverty and lack of access to modern medicines. Traditional knowledge of medicinal plants and their use by indigenous healers and drug development are not only useful for conservation of cultural tradition and biodiversity but also for community healthcare and drug development in the local community.
Odisha’s climate and topography is highly congenial to growth of a large number of medicinal plants. In Koraput, Kandhamal and Mayurbhanj, a large number of medicinal plants occur naturally. The Similipal Biosphere Reserve in Mayurbhanj is rich in medicinal plant resources. The forest area is dominated by a number of tribes like Kol, Santal, Bhumij, Mankidias and Khadias who depend on forest for their food and medicines. Gandhamardan in Keonjhar is also famous for its rich medicinal plants. Out of the total 450 species of plants found there, about 250 have been identified as medicinal. Besides, medicinal plants are also available on hills and mountains like Megasan in Mayurbhanj, Malayagiri in Sundargarh, Nimragir in Koraput and Mahendragiri in Ganjam.
The important medicinal products collected from different parts of Odisha are Amla, Bahada, Banahaladi, Bana Tulsi, Chakunda, Chireita, Gaba, Harida, Kaincha, Kochila, honey, Nageswar flower, Palash, Sikakai, etc. These precious resources are immensely used by tribals as they have no alternative source. The medicinal products are used for curing common diseases like fever, cold, gastrointestinal disorders and skin diseases, asthma, jaundice, rheumatoid arthritis, etc., and for setting fractured bones. Most tribal villages have their own traditional healthcare practitioners. This indigenous knowledge is being eroded by a gradual depletion of forest cover. In Odisha, the medicinal plants are still not explored well. It is necessary to document the plants and take effective steps to conserve them. Traditional medicine is the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the experiences indigenous to different cultures.
A huge amount of lands have been alienated from the tribals for developmental projects depriving them of their source of livelihoods. land is not only a livelihood source for tribals, it is also connected with their sense of history and is a symbol of social status. The tribals of Odisha have been in the practice of preserving a rich heritage of information on medicinal plants and their usage. Such traditional knowledge system is important for modern societies and should be protected in its own right for the sake of sustainable use of forests, ecosystem services and management.
Indigenous peoples are carriers of ancestral knowledge and wisdom about local biodiversity. The Governmental and nongovernmental organisations must come forward to sustain such traditional knowledge and the medicinal plant species for further generation. There is a need to assess and document traditional knowledge and use of medicinal plants used by traditional healers.
(Dr Mayarani Praharaj works at the Department of Architecture, College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar)