Abstract
Using animals and their products to treat patients suffering from a range of health conditions has a long history and is still common in many parts of the world. We investigated such zootherapeutic uses among two tribes who inhabit different areas of North-East India: the Tangsa and the Wancho. Overexploitation of the animals they use, however, could endanger some species’ survival and create imbalances in the ecosystem that ultimately could affect humans and animals of the region. In order to find solutions how humans and animals can continue to coexist harmoniously, it is essential to know which species and their products are sought after by the local healers. We found that the Tangsa make greater use of animals than Wancho and use predominantly a variety of mammals (47%) followed by birds (16%) of the 55 species of animals considered therapeutic by them. The Wancho informed us of using 20 species, of which birds and their products account for 37%, while mammals and insects feature in 26% and 21%, respectively. In both tribes, the remainder are distributed across different animal taxa. To treat ailments and diseases like joint, bone and muscle pains, Tangsa prefer to use the body fats of tiger, civet, hornbill, eagle and python. Wancho do not use any animal fats very often and prefer animal parts and marrow to be given to a sick person in cooked or roasted form. The bile of bears is used by both Tangsa and Wancho in that it is supposed to ameliorate pain-causing conditions such as stomach, head and toothaches and to reduce labour pains. The use of leeches to remove blood clots and the consumption of earthworms to ward off malaria has been recorded only from the Wancho, while Tangsa treat malaria sufferers with tortoise carapace extracts. The use of the flesh of roasted bat wings fed to children older than 4 years of age to stop bed-wetting seems unique to the Tangsa. Being aware of such folk medicinal traditions is important not just with regard to safeguarding the animal resource, but also in connection with the introduction of possible alternative treatment methods not involving animal zootherapies.
Highlights
Traditional knowledge (TK), often referred to as common knowledge or common sense (Erren et al 2013), is a cumulative body of awareness and understanding of practices and beliefs held by local people (Turner and Berkes 2006)
Traditional knowledge is integral to the identity of most local communities and key constituent of a community’s social and physical environment, and as such, its preservation is of paramount importance
Practices using animals for varied purposes like food, medicines, entertainment, hunting, handicrafts, trade and various sociocultural practices are an important component of the body of traditional knowledge of many tribal communities around the world (Turner 2005; Singh et al 2009; Mishra et al 2009; Alves et al 2017)
Summary
Traditional knowledge (TK), often referred to as common knowledge or common sense (Erren et al 2013), is a cumulative body of awareness and understanding of practices and beliefs held by local people (Turner and Berkes 2006). Practices using animals for varied purposes like food, medicines, entertainment, hunting, handicrafts, trade and various sociocultural practices are an important component of the body of traditional knowledge of many tribal communities around the world (Turner 2005; Singh et al 2009; Mishra et al 2009; Alves et al 2017). The World Health Organization stresses that a large proportion of the world’s inhabitants rely primarily on animal and plant-based medicine (WHO 2013) and it is widely accepted that even today traditional medicines remain the most available and affordable form of therapy in many low-income countries
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