The Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya is organising the next chapter of its popular series, Curatorial Talk Show, on Friday. In this Curatorial Talk, Museum Assistant of Manav Sangrahalaya, Rajesh Gautam will speak on ‘Ethno-medicinal Study & Specimen Collection among the Hill Korwa of Chhattisgarh’.
Rajesh Gautam pursued his PG degree in Social Anthropology Subject from Guru Ghasidas University, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. He started his practice in Anthropology in TRI Raipur at the capacity of Surveyor. later on, he was selected for the position of senior research fellow in Anthropological Survey of India, Kolkata. At present Gautam is serving in IGRMS, Bhopal as a Museum Assistant. Besides all professionalism, he has also qualified UGC NET in the same subject for seven times.
The Hill Korwas of Chhattisgarh are residing in the dense forest and Hilly rocks since long years. The north region of the State which is also a part of Chhota Nagpur Plateau is their main area of living. Thus, their ecological knowledge can’t be considered in a minimised way in any sense.
The ‘Dewars’ (Traditional Healers) are the main modality for the existence of Ethno-medicinal knowledge among the Hill Korwas. They have preserved their knowledge by following the “do and learn” process in oral tradition. Their traditional method of healing is amazing and contains deep knowledge. This study has been conducted on all these bases. As well as being a museum anthropologist, the material culture of Hill Korwa has also been discussed in brief in this study.