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Medicinal Plants Used by the Folk and Tribal Medicinal Practitioners in Two Villages of Khakiachora and Khasia Palli in Sylhet District, Bangladesh

Md. Enamul Kabir Shaheen
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh.

Md. Afser Syef
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh.

Sudhangshu Shekhar Saha
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh.

Md. Shariful Islam
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh.

Md. Din Al Hossain
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh.

Md. Ariful Islam Sujan
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh.

Mohammed Rahmatullah
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Development Alternative, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh.

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

The inhabitants of Bangladesh are mostly Bengali speaking (about 98% of the population, the other 2% being tribal population). Folk medicinal practitioners play an important role in the Bengali-speaking rural society of Bangladesh, where people still rely on them for provision of health-care. This is not only because the rural population of Bangladesh lacks proper access to modern medical facilities, but also because of tradition, which dates back to centuries ago. The common feature of folk medicinal practitioners is use of single or multiple plants for cure of ailments. The ailments treated vary from simple ailments like coughs or cold to complicated ailments like diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, arthritis, or paralysis. Almost every village of the 86,000 villages of Bangladesh has one or more practicing folk medicinal practitioners, known as Kavirajes. Additionally, Bangladesh has over two dozens of tribes, who have their own tribal medicinal practitioners, and who as a group can be included within the Kavirajes, since both Kavirajes (of the Bengali-speaking majority people), as well as tribal medicinal practitioners, rely almost exclusively on medicinal plants for treatment. Since our ongoing studies have shown wide divergences in the selection of medicinal plants selected by any individual Kaviraj for treatment of a particular ailment, it was the objective of the present study to document the medicinal plant uses by the Kaviarjes of Khakiachora and Khasia Palli villages, which lie near the Lawachora National Park, a forest region in Sylhet district in northeastern Bangladesh. A unique feature of the villages, which were within 2.5 kilometers of one another was that Khakiachora village was inhabited by Bengali-speaking people, while Khasi Palli was inhabited by the Khasia tribal people. Khakiachora village was serviced by two Bengali Kavirajes, while Khasia Palli was serviced by one Khasia tribal medicinal practitioner. It was observed that the three Kavirajes, in between themselves, used 59 plant species for treatment of various ailments. These plant species were distributed into 40 families. The Combretaceae and the Euphorbiaceae family provided six plants per family, followed by the Lamiaceae family with 5 plants. The various ailments treated included pain, coughs, cuts and wounds, paralysis, sexual disorders, skin disorders, helminthiasis, gastrointestinal disorders, fever, bone fracture, puerperal fever, asthma, tongue lesions, diabetes, jaundice, tumor, and mental disorders. Surprisingly, only a few plants were mentioned by the Khasia tribal medicinal practitioner, suggesting that the majority Bengali culture represented in the medicinal field by the Kavirajes is eroding the tribal medicinal knowledge and practices, as practiced by Khasia tribal medicinal practitioners. It is concluded that (a) proper documentation of Khasia medicinal practices are important before they become totally lost, and (b) documentation of folk medicinal uses of plants by the Kavirajes is similarly important, because the plants present enormous potential for scientific research and new drug discoveries toward treatment of debilitating diseases like diabetes or paralysis. Notably, these two diseases cannot be cured with modern allopathic medicines. Also since drug-resistant microorganisms have developed against a number of allopathic drugs, the plants used by the folk and tribal medicinal practitioners of Khakiachora and Khasia Palli villages offer fresh opportunities to develop drugs against possible microbial diseases like coughs, fever, skin disorders or gastrointestinal disorders.

Keywords: Medicinal plants, Khasia Palli, Khakiachora, Bangladesh, Folk medicine

Location: Khakiachora and Khasia Palli villages in Sylhet district, Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Development of Host and Medicinal Plants

Commodity: Medicinal Plants

Objectives:

It was the objective of the present study to conduct a survey among the inhabitants of Khakiachora and Khasia Palli villages in Sylhet district, Bangladesh. The villages, because of their close proximity to Lawachora National Park, have abundant plant resources for non-timber uses, like uses for medicinal purposes. Khakiachora village was settled by Bengali-speaking inhabitants and was serviced by two Bengali-speaking Kavirajes. Khasia Palli village was about 2.5 kilometers from Khakiachora village, was settled by the Khasia tribal people, and was serviced by a Khasia tribal medicinal practitioner. It was of interest to document not only the use of medicinal plants in an area, which has abundant plant resources, but also to see whether the close proximity of Bengali people with their own Kavirajes is eroding the tribal healing practices of the Khasias.

Methodology:

Sylhet district falls in the northeastern part of Bangladesh. The district contains forest lands and small hilly areas, and is famous for its tea gardens. Lawachora Forest Reserve, now turned into a National Park also lies within the district. The district is primarily inhabited by Bengali-speaking inhabitants, but also has settlements of Khasia tribal population spread throughout the district. The Khasia population works in the tea gardens, but also does some betel leaf cultivation on their own. The two villages of Khakiachora and Khasia Palli lie in close proximity to each other (about 2.5 kilometers distant from one another), as well as in close proximity to Lawachora National Park. Khakiachora village is inhabited by Bengali-speaking people, who form the majority of the population of Bangladesh. Khasia Palli was inhabited by the Khasia tribal people. It was observed that the inhabitants of the two villages interacted with each other; however, the inhabitants of the two villages maintained as far as possible, their separate customs and rituals. The Khasias have started to be highly influenced by the majority Bengali culture, and now can speak fluently both the Bengali as well as the Khasia language. Also, a number of rituals and customs of the Khasia people are fast disappearing in modern times.

Khakiachora village was serviced by two Kavirajes, namely Md. Jholfu Miah and Mahendra Naik. Khasia Palli village had only one Kaviraj, namely, Rumplis Murong, who belonged to the Khasia tribe. Informed consent was obtained from all three Kavirajes prior to the interviews. Interviews were conducted in the Bengali language, which was spoken by all three Kavirajes (note that the Khasia tribal practitioner will also be referred to as Kaviraj in subsequent sections) with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method as described by Martin (1995) and Maundu (1995). In this method, the Kavirajes took the interviewers on guided field-walks during daytime through areas from where they collected their medicinal plants, pointed out the plants, and mentioned their local names and uses. All information was cross-checked with individual Kavirajes in later evening sessions. Plant specimens were collected on the spot, dried, and brought back to be identified at the Bangladesh National Herbarium at Dhaka.

Source of Information: Advances in Natural and Applied Sciences, 5(2): 100-110, 2011 ISSN 1995-0772

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

1.

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Since the Kavirajes of the present study were observed to treat difficult to treat diseases with allopathic medicine like diabetes, tumor or paralysis, it is important that the plants obtained in the present study be studied for their validity of use, phytochemical constituents, and relevant pharmacological activities. Such scientific research can pave the way for breakthrough discoveries not only in the treatment of the aforementioned diseases, but also in the treatment of common diseases like coughs, fever, skin and gastrointestinal disorders, many types of which are of microbial origin and have developed modern drug-resistant microorganisms.

Knowledge Management: Journal