Abstract:

Use of plants and animals in traditional medicines has been common since time immemorial by people all over the world and the people of India too are no exceptions. This paper focuses on the use of animals and their products in traditional healing practices by the Khasis, an indigenous tribe of Meghalaya, India. Use of hill mole (known as ‘kyndat lyndang’ in Khasi) or the bile juice of cows and bears for the treatment of malaria; tigress’s milk mixed with mud for curing burns; a spoonful of sun-dried deer foetus mixed in a glassful of water to cure ‘suh synria’ are some of the traditional healing methods practised by the Khasis in Khasi Hills of Meghalaya.