Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya organised another chapter of its popular series, Curatorial Talk Show , on Friday where Museum Assistant of Manav Sangrahalaya, Rajesh Gautam spoke on ‘Ethno-medicinal Study & Specimen Collection among the Hill Korwas of Chhattisgarh’. The programme was chaired Prof Sarit Kumar Chaudhari (Director, IGRMS).
Gautam commenced his lecture by introducing Hill Korwas to the audience. He said “The Hill Korwas are residents of northern region of Chhattisgarh in dense forest and Hills of Chhota Nagpur Plateau since many centuries. The ‘Dewars’ (Traditional Healers) are the main modality for existing of Ethno-medicinal knowledge among the Hill Korwas. They have preserved their knowledge by follow the “do and learn” process in oral tradition. Their traditional method of healing is amazing and contains deep knowledge and it is an integral part of their culture.
Gautam has researched a long time the medical capabilities of the Dewars and he authored a book on the very subject. He said, “The community has deep knowledge of medical usage of each tree, leaves, plants, roots even insects for curing various common and critical medical problems. There are various such trees/ plants which are yet to get scientific names but are in medical use by the community.”
The Hill Korwas uses traditional seeds in agriculture resulting in zero-cost of production. They do not use chemical fertilizers, pesticides or any kind of machinery.
On this occasion, Prof Sharda Garg (Professor, Department of Sociology, Hamidia College) asked questions regarding spreading the traditional teaching method and medical treatment of Hill Korwas. Students from Sociology department of Hamidia College and Rekha Dhiman (Professor, Art) were present. Gautam clarified all doubts on the subject of the inquisitive audience present. The programme was coordinated by Rakesh Bhatt (Asstn Keeper) and in the end he delivered the vote of thanks.