The Hindu : Kerala News : Tribal healers display ‘wonder drugs’

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Tuesday, Jul 08, 2008
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Kerala

Tribal healers display ‘wonder drugs’

—Photo: S. Ramesh Kurup

An unique mixture: Tribal healers from Manipur with a visitor at their stall at KIRTADS, in Kozhikode, on Monday.

An exhibition of tribal medicines and ethnic healing methods, organised in connection with the five-day national workshop on ‘Tribal Healing,’ on the Kerala Institute for Research, Training and Development Studies (KIRTADS) campus here is proving to be a big draw.

The stalls have on display exotic shrubs, roots, leaves, nuts, seeds and fruits with medicinal value, which have been collected by the ethnic healers of different tribal communities from across the country.

Jakka Parthasarathy, a cultural anthropologist from Nilgiri who is working among various tribal communities in Tamil Nadu after his retirement, has brought a group of seven tribal healers from Nilgiri. They belong to ‘Kota,’ ‘Irula,’ and ‘Kurumba’ tribal communities. S. Achon, who belongs to the ‘Kom’ tribal community of Manipur is also the secretary of a cultural organisation working among the Kom community, says, “The Kom and Tarao tribal community are known for their unique treatment methods for cancer.”

The exhibition also features tribal medicine from Kerala, Orissa, Karnataka, and Andra Pradesh, with claims of distinctive curing secrets.

The exhibition, which is jointly organised by Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, KIRTADS and the Indian Indigenous People Service Society, will end on July 11.

Jabir Mushthari

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