Tribal Medicine

Dr. K. Paochunbou *

In Manipur, as in other states in India, herbs or plants have all along been used for promotion of health and prevention and treatment of diseases. They were used in most cases as infusion or decoction from the parts of plants such as roots, stems, leaves, flowers, or fruits. In addition to herbals, in ancient times, the subject of human sufferings and its alleviation was intimately associated with religion, myth and magic.

In tribal context, it is quite amazing thing to learn that when a patient had suffered from chronic pulmonary tuberculosis, the family would invite the local witch-doctor, a magician who will detech witches and counteract evil- magical influences, or he will profess to heal by means of magic.

In certain case, he will advise the family to slay a dog and the blood of the dog is to sprinkle on the body of the patient and the meat is to be cooked and the patient is to eat lung, liver and others jointly with the witch-doctor & family. If desired, the magician will try to cure the disease by incantation, oracles, and will perform ritual ceremony to heal the sick.

There was also oral tradition of treatment based on certain seeds, roots, plants and herbs related with many magical properties. All these systems have prompted to carry out the tribal research in Manipur. The essential nature of tribal medicine is the treatment of people as a whole, unique individual rather than merely as cases of some disease.

The tribal medicine used is prepared solely from plant materials yet it is not a codified system like ayuvedic or unani system. Though the system is as old as human civilisation, it becomes a new perspective in tribal society. As per recent research study suggests, the potent free radical destroying substances in green tea, garlic, amla slow down the ageing process which is my major breakthrough in my research study.

Now the research study has been duly completed and it is printed as book fully illustrated with coloured photographs. This book is a veritable pharmacopeia that all the interested qualified herbalists, indigenous herbal practitioners, laymen, researchers or young scholars need to read to appropriate it as a reference book. This book is the property of the Tribal Research Institute, Govt. of Manipur and the institute had officially retained the ownership thereof.

As there is no old literature or no new book or literature on tribal medicine as a specific conception it seems hard to take up the research study on medicinal herbs and plants as tribal medicine to substantiate the ancient wisdom. Accordingly, I have carried out the study through folk-lore in most cases.

With much labour I have made comprehensive study of the therapeutic value of herbs, plants, fruits, foods and cash crops in the midst of absence of records about ancient medicinal herbs. It is officially known fact that due to the impact of allopathic systems of medicine, lately by the rapid scientific progress and spread of modern medicine and surgery, faith in tribal medicine, otherwise folk medicine has been gradually declining.

However, WHO had its estimates made that the use of herbal medicnes exceeds that of modern drugs by two or three times. Confronted with solid scientific evidence, now the scientists are rediscovering the efficacy of nature's simple remedies and re-learning the simple skills of our forefathers.

The National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources, New Delhi had already compiled several volumes known as "The Wealth of India" Raw materials, purely medicinal herbs and plants with therapeutic uses for promotion of health in India.

Our late Prime Minister, Shri. Jawaharlal Nehru had commented in 1952 about the volumes as follows:
"I have found this dictionary fascinating and it has opened out vistas of thought to me. I have no doubt that this book, produced by many scholars and experts and after much labour will be of great value to the builders of new India." - Jawaharlal Nehru.

Some of the selected well-researched articles from the book called "Tribal Medicine" are as follows:

1. Treatment of malaria.
2. Treatment of epilepsy and hepatitis-B.
3. Research oriented cancer treatment.
4. Anticancer, antrmutagenic and immunoenhancing herbs for cancer patients and for HIV/AIDS positive people.
5. Treatment on opportunistic infections (HIV-TB inter-face)
6. Some specific fruits, cash crops and diets to promote longetivity of life.
7. Tribal healers used insects and birds as medicine.
8. Galactogenic plants & herbs to increase milk production in breast-feeding mother.
9. Diabetes and high blood pressure.
10. Treatment of heart-disease with cardio-protective herbs & plants.
11. Substitute of insulin shots purely herbs only.
12. Kidney failure (renal failure) and kidney stone.
13. Sting of bee, scorpion, centipede, mad-dog bite and snake bite.
14. Best herbs for low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
15. Any type of tuberculosis is highly curable to be treated with plants & herbs,
16. Cyst formation on a person's body internally or externally,
17. Male impotence.

The book has its contents upto 120 pages and I am sure, one will find the book quite informative and absorbing. The book is a compilation of 110 medicinal herbs and plants which have been classified according to the latest botanical nomenclature. Out of 110 medicinal plants, 72 only are lavishly illustrated with beautiful coloured photographs which provide fascinating glimpses to facilitate identification.

I have already identified more than 12 herbs/plants to cure cancer at any stage and to destroy the cancer cells thereby regressing cancer, but yew tree (Taxus baccata. L) was excluded in the selected list of the plant species as this is a very poisonous plant with the exception of the red-berries covering the seed. The substance is found in very small amounts in the bark and leaves of the yew, hence the direct use of the plant is useless, besides being toxic due to the taxine found in its barks and leaves.

An Associate Professor, an expert of the Department of Life Sciences, Centre of Advanced Study in Life Sciences, Manipur University had evaluated the research study on medicinal herbs & plants-tribal medicine early in March - 2011.

The M/S. SINO-VEDIC CANCER CLINIC, Shivaji Enclave, Rajouri Garden, New Delhi-27 has its motto as " Fight cancer with herbs" which is indeed a community health challenge in a fresh perspective based on herbal formulations which do not contain bhasmas (heavy metals) or corticosteroids.

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* Dr. K. Paochunbou wrote this article for Hueiyen Lanpao (English Edition) . This article was webcasted on Ocotber 21, 2011.

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