Abstract:

Indigenous medicine is an important component of indigenous knowledge system, which is widely practiced by tribal communities across India. The paper, based on an empirical investigation, describes the relevance of indigenous medicine and healthcare practices prevalent among the Bhotia tribe in Indian Central Himalaya, in terms of their contribution to physical well being of this tribal people. Documentation of more than 40 indigenous medicinal practices revealed that this indigenous knowledge system of medicine effectively serves to the tribal people. However, what is disturbing is the disappearance of the medicinal plants from their habitat under intense anthropogenic pressure and also because of high level commercial use, posing a serious threat to the continuation of indigenous medicinal practices, which may have adverse impacts on physical, social and economic well being of the tribal people.