Importance of the Indigenous Plant Knowledge: Study of Selected Plant Species Culturally Used by the Karbi Community of Karbi Anglong District, North-East India

The North-East region in India is recognized as a major hotspot of biodiversity with a vast range of flora and fauna. The region extends from the plain areas such as the Barak-Brahmaputra Valley of Assam to the mountainous regions of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. The population in the region is just as diverse as its biodiversity with people residing in plain areas as well as in the hilly and mountainous areas. The vast forest area and availability of forest resources provide food, medicine, and, to some extent, livelihood for the different Indigenous people residing in the region; and hence their dependency and relationship with forest resources are tight knitted. The Karbi tribe is an ethnic community residing in the Karbi Anglong district in Assam state of the NE region. Their knowledge of forest resources, familiarity with the intricacies associated with it, utilization of various plants is found in the natural habitats for everyday purposes along with owning small and micro-farms have made them quite adaptable to the hilly environment. In the past, the Karbis mainly resided in the mountainous and hilly areas; but to access better facilities, most of the people have migrated and settled in the plains. The era of connectivity and urbanization has affected the forest areas that have gradually led to the loss of plants in their wild natural habitat, some of which hold a significant cultural identity and religious beliefs. In the present day, the younger generation has shifted from old ties and traditions, which might have contributed to the loss of knowledge about plants used for various purposes and certain Indigenous practices.


Introduction
For centuries, plants have contributed to fulfilling the different needs of humans for their food, protection, medicines, and livelihood representing the tightly knit relationship of human interaction with nature and its resources.In developing countries like China and India, plants are used as medicines by the Indigenous peoples, especially those residing in rural areas.They incorporate the various parts of plants in their traditional medicines and practices to treat minor injuries and ailments.There are several traditional systems of medicine practiced in India, but among them, the most widely accepted and recognized systems are Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani system (Shakya, 2016;Chauhan, 2020).Ayurveda, which means the science of life, has originated in India through folk medicine, and is believed to be a complete medical system because the well-being of the human body from physical, psychological to spiritual is taken into consideration under this science (Ravishankar and Shukla, 2007).The earliest use of plants for medicinal purposes was documented in the Vedas around 4,500-6000 BC representing the oldest repository of human knowledge comprising 67 plant species (Pei, 2001).Chauhan (2020) stated that the country has a rich flora and fauna cover and, hence is an inventory for more than 20,000 plant species having different medicinal properties.But 7% of the flora are on the verge of extinction.However, in recent years, there has been renewed interest and ongoing research about the pharmacological traits found in medicinal plants leading to the rediscovery of new drugs or medicines for the treatment of illnesses (Shakya, 2016).The majority of the population worldwide is gradually going back to their roots of using by-products such as medicines or cosmetics sourced from nature.Such by-products are stated to have lesser harmful side effects compared to the synthetic drugs and cosmetics widely available in the markets.
The North-East region of India contributes significantly to the medicinal plants' repository of India, and, hence, it is recognized as one of the major hotspots of biodiversity.This region comprises eight states and is inhabited by more than 180 major Indigenous communities out of the total 427 tribal communities existing in India (Sajem, Rout and Nath, 2008).The different Indigenous people of the region have a close relationship with plants and are dependent on plants to augment their daily lives in the form of food, medicines, livestock feed, and livelihood; therefore, the plants have both economic and medicinal values.Apart from using plants for commercial and medicinal values, each tribe in the region has its unique interpretation of utilizing plants following the local traditions, customs and culture, religious rituals and ceremonies or festivals.Karbi Anglong is a hill district situated in Assam state.The geographical area covered by the district is 10,434 sq.km situated between 92°10´-93°50´ E and 25°33´-26°35´ N. The district comprises two different areas -the western part, which is also known as the Hamren sub-division, and the eastern part, which comprises Diphu and the Bokajan subdivisions (Basumatary, Teron and Saikia, 2014).Many tribal communities reside in the district, but the Karbi tribe is the major ethnic community in the district.Karbi is the local dialect spoken by this particular ethnic group.These people are deeply embedded with nature and its resources to meet their daily requirements contributing to their vast knowledge of wild and medicinal plants.Their traditional medicines are used to treat minor injuries and ailments, especially by those inhabiting the rural and hilly areas that do not have immediate access to modern facilities and modern medicines.Originally, the Karbis are animists in nature, and are known as Aron Ban, as they offer their prayers to unseen and territorial spiritual beings because they believed that everything in the universe can be seen and felt.According to them, the sun, moon, sky, forest, rain, wind, stream, hill, fire, or house all have spirits in it.The Karbi tribe is widely spread over the East Karbi Anglong district as well as in the West Karbi Anglong district of Assam.
They are said to be the worshippers or followers of 'Hemphu-Mukrang-Rasinja', and, hence, preferably called themselves as 'Hemphu-Mukrang Aso' meaning the child of Hemphu and Mukrang.Both plants and animals play an essential role in most of the religious rituals and ceremonies of the Karbis (Timung and Singh, 2019).Slash and burn or Jhum cultivation is widely practiced by this tribal community, especially by those residing in the hilly areas.In the past, the majority of the Karbis inhabited the hilly regions with easy accessibility to forest resources.Traditional attire also represents the cultural identity of a person belonging to a particular group in a region or a country, and the Karbis also have their own traditional attire as well.The Karbi woman attire usually consists of four parts of cloth, the first being the pekok, a blouse known as jiso, and lastly, the pini tied around the waist with the help of a vangkok.In the past, most of the cloth wore by the Karbis were usually dyed with the colors obtained from natural sources, and the pekok and the pini received their rich dark indigo color from the dye obtained from the leaves of Sibu or Bujir ( Marsdenia tinctoria R.Br.).The leaves of Sibu are allowed to soak overnight in warm water and then the thread is dipped into the colored water for few minutes before it is hanged out to dry for a few days before it can be woven.The yellow dye is obtained by boiling the peels of several Citrus grandis (L.) called as Rui-bap in the local language.The traditional attire is woven using traditional techniques including handloom, which consists of several components such as Har-pi, The-ning, The-hu, The-langpong, Ah-hieh, Edoi, and Barlim.Almost all the components are carved out from bamboo, except the Har-pi that is made from the wood of Caryo taurens Linn.(known as Dok-kichu Arong in the local dialect).
Other than having a diverse culture and traditions, the Karbis also have a vast knowledge of wild and medicinal plants that are widely used in traditional medicines and practices as part of their primary healthcare.Traditional knowledge is the accumulation of forefathers' knowledge, personal experiences with all the trials and errors passed down orally from one generation to the next generation, and hence, there are no proper written records or documents found.Most of the knowledge is either kept in the family or shared only with a few selected people who wished to learn and practice it later on.In this way, the knowledge is passed on in an unspoken way.At the same time, the beliefs and traditional rituals, especially among the people in the rural areas, have indirectly kept the traditional practices and medicines prevalent even in modern times.In a way, the traditional ceremonies and rituals have been kept alive for a long time.Nowadays, since there is a demand for natural medicines and products, this knowledge can be unearthed and documented properly which can even lead to the rediscovery of drugs.On the other hand, the human population is increasing worldwide and the demand for more living spaces and food production are eventually leading to more tampering and loss of natural habitats.Nowadays, medicinal plants are destroyed or lost when the natural habitats are spoiled for building different infrastructure and more emphasis is given on growing cash crops, such as wheat or sugarcane.Degradation of the natural habitats due to farming and lack of awareness about the importance of the plant is also one of the main reasons why the population of plant species has declined in their wild habitats.

Methodology
The present study was undertaken among the Karbis residing in Diphu town situated in Karbi Anglong district of Assam, whereas its adjacent areas such as Rongjangphong, Lorulangso-II, Ram Teron Village, and Rongkhelan were visited during June 2021-August 2021.From the adjacent villages of Diphu, a total of 25 respondents were interviewed (age between 27 and 56 years).They were randomly selected consisting of 10 males (4 of them were traditional practitioners) and 15 females.The sampling was snowball sampling wherein the information was gathered from traditional healers, religious practitioners and local households through unstructured interviews and personal observations.Unstructured interviews can be defined as the interviews that are flexible and does not consist of a prepared questionnaire beforehand, hence there are no specifications in the wording or order of the questions to be asked.The questions in this type of interview are spontaneously asked depending on the interest of the respondent in a specific topic and the said topic is explored in an unrestricted manner (Ahuja, 2001).Before the interview, the purpose of the study was explained along with the verbal consent from each of the informants was taken.The information along with photographs of the selected plant species was documented along with referring to relevant past articles and works of literature for their identification along with the scientific names (Teron, 2006;Teron, 2008;Borthakur andTeron, 2012, Basumatary, Teron andSaikia, 2014;Singha and Timung, 2015;Timung and Singh, 2019).Few of the questions that were asked during the interview included: 1. What are some of the plants and their parts used in religious rituals and ceremonies in Karbi culture? 2. Are there any taboos or beliefs involved when performing the religious ritual?3. What are the reasons that have caused the loss of traditional knowledge and traditions among the Karbi youth? 4.Among the plant species mentioned, are there any plants used in the preparation of traditional medicine? 5. Other than being used in Karbi traditions and customs, are there any other uses of the selected plant species?

The Cultural Identity of the Karbi Tribe, Jambili Athon
The traditional symbol of the Karbi tribe is known as Jambili Athon, which is usually made during the death ceremony observed by the Karbis.It is known as Chomangkan, and, among the other festivals or ceremonies, it is considered the most expensive festival of the Karbis (Teron, 2008).This festival is held to honor many generations of ancestors who have passed away so that a safe passage is ensured for their souls to reach the village of the afterlife known among as Chom Arong.It is believed that if the Chomangkan festival is not held properly, the souls or spirits will wander on the Earth and never reach the spiritual village.Therefore, the festival is held only after meticulous planning and utmost care.It goes on continuously for 4-5 days from dusk to dawn without any breaks in between.The mourn songs are sung, and ritual rites are chanted by the elderly women (religious women).Jambli Athon, which is used for the mourn festival Chomangkan, can only be made using the wood of Wrightia arborea (Densst.)Mabb.The local informants mentioned that, in the past, after carving the Jambili Athon it was kept aside for several weeks until the wood eventually had to blacken.Nowadays, as the symbol has become part of cultural identity for the Karbi tribe, it is carved out on a large scale and dyed with a synthetic black dye.It can be seen in almost every household of the Karbis even if it is a miniature version that has added commercial value.

Se-Karkli, An Important Religious Ritual of Cultural Identity
There are many religious rituals, ceremonies or festivals observed among the Karbi tribes, such as Chomangkan, Chojun and Rongker.These are socio-religious ceremonies when the entire community or entire village comes together.Se-Karkli is the most significant among them, as it is only practiced by the Karbi tribe contributing to the cultural identity Se-Karkli is a religious ritual where the prayers and offering of a sacrifice are carried out to appease the various deities or supernatural beings that the Karbis believed in, such as the sky God.Arnam means God in the local dialect, and among all the supernatural beings, Hemphu Arnam is the most dignified and supreme God of the Karbis.The religious ritual can only be performed by the religious man (priest) known as Kurusar.Some of the Kurusar are also traditional practitioners or healers owning to their vast knowledge of wild and medicinal plants.The knowledge of one Kurusar is passed on to the next male or son in the family.The practice of Kurusar is mostly preserved or kept within the family.If a person from outside the family wants to learn or practice, he has to be an apprentice of a previous learned Kurusar.Several plants are involved for performing the ritual of Se-Karkli such as freshly powdered rice is mixed properly with water to prepare the Hor Alang and the prepared Hor Alang is stored in a small, cleaned and dried bottle gourd (Langenaria siceraria Standley) at the beginning of the ritual.Usually, the young and slender stalk of a particular bamboo species known as kaipho (Dendrocalamus hamiltonii) is used for the ritual.The resin, known as hijung ke-ik, is obtained from Canarium resiniferum (Brace ex.king) along with the leaves of banana (Musa) locally called Loh or Lothe Arvo, and the leaves of tuluhi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) play major roles for performing the ritual.The plant parts used in the ritual have different purposes and meanings.The leaves of banana are used as a platter to keep the offerings; tulukhi is used for purifying the water; resin of hijung ke-ik is ignited as incense when the sacrifice is offered; and smoke is emitted from the resin continuously until the ritual is complete.

Hor, An Important Alcoholic Beverage of the Karbis
The alcoholic beverage of the Karbi tribe, known as Hor, plays an integral role in their socio-cultural life.Different ethnic tribes in the region have their unique method of preparing the alcoholic beverages made from almost the same or different ingredients.Several ingredients and processes are involved in the preparation of Hor and the ingredients are mainly obtained from different plants.The locally prepared rice cake (thap) is the yeast starter for the alcohol, and it is prepared by pounding the soaked rice together with the leaves of Croton joufra Roxb.(locally known as Marthu).It is added to the mixture along with the bark of Acacia pennata Willd.commonly known as Themra (Teron, 2006).Sometimes, the leaves of Jangphong (jackfruit, Artocarpus heterophllus Lamk.) are added to the mixture.The mixture is then shaped into little rice balls that are allowed to dry for 3-4 days before using for the preparation of traditional rice beer.There are two types of Hor prevalent in Karbi culture: Hor Alang and Hor Arak.The former is prepared by soaking the cooked rice already mixed with thap in cold water for 2-3 days in a pot.It is consumed in the summer season, as it has a cooling effect.To prepare the latter, the soaked rice is mixed with the thap and kept for a maximum of 5 days before it is cooked over the fire for several hours when the steam is allowed to accumulate leading to the production of distilled alcohol.The Karbis use Hor Alang more than Hor Arak on several occasions, such as cultural and religious rituals including SehKarkli, Chojun and Rongker.The traditional marriage of the Karbis, known as Adam-Asar, is incomplete without HorAlang stored in Bongkrok, which is made from the dried and empty shell of the bottle gourd, Langenaria siceraria (Mol.)Standl.Depending on the occasion, the different sizes and shapes of the bottle gourd serve different purposes.The larger size is preferred for the marriage ceremonies, whereas the smaller one is used for Se-Karkli (Teron, 2006).

Knowledge Based on Plants
Although the selected plants play a significant role in the cultural identity and traditions of the Karbi tribe, few of them are also used as medicine by the traditional healers or practitioners who incorporate plant parts in traditional medicines for treating minor injuries or ailments.The plant species are enumerated in alphabetical order with information regarding its botanical name, vernacular name, part of the plant used as medicine, and lastly, the preparation and uses of the plant species have been mentioned in the table 1 below.The resin is crushed into a fine powder, which is pounded together with fresh turmeric (Curcuma longa Linn.) until a fine paste is obtained and applied to wounds and boils and bandaged with a clean cotton cloth.

Poaceae Kaipho
The whole plant The outer or inner part of the bamboo is scarped continuously with the help of a knife until a fine powdery substance is obtained and applied directly on minor cuts and injuries to stop the bleeding.

Apocynaceae Bengvoi kelok
Bark A thin layer is scraped carefully from the bark and ground into a fine paste.The paste is applied directly onto the skin to treat boils.
Bamboo, which is a versatile plant species known to mankind, has been used by the Karbi tribe for ages for various purposes.There is bamboo (Chek) folklore (Chekkeplang alun) passed from one generation to the next generation through oral traditions (Singha and Timung, 2015).The particular bamboo species, locally known as Kaipho, is extensively used by the Karbis as food, medicine, or shelter to craft artifacts and objects used in their daily lives.Karbi houses, called Hem Theng-song (meaning house built on top of a wood or tree), mostly seen in remote rural areas, are entirely built using bamboo from the flooring and doors to the walls and ceilings.To main entry to the house, the ladder called Don-Don, is also made using bamboo.Some of the cultural artifacts and objects weaved by the Karbis from Kaipho are Beleng (it is a large circular mat bound with cane splits around the rims) often used for winnowing paddy and rice.Hak (it is a cylindrical basket that has various sizes) is mostly used for carrying jhum byproducts other than being used for special occasions and festivals such as during Adam-Asar.It is customary to carry the bongkrok filled with horlang in Hak as part of marriage ritual.Some products used for daily purposes such as Vo-um (cage for domestic fowls having various shapes and sizes) or Tar (bamboo mat) are also made from bamboo.Therefore, it can be stated that the bamboo is a very valuable plant resource for the Karbis (Borthakur and Teron, 2012).
Edible food items are also prepared from the young bamboo shoot called Han-up, which acts as a souring agent in meat dishes, especially in pork and fish.Themra, which is sold in the local markets mainly by the women of the Dimasa tribe, is one of the most important ingredients needed to make and is used to ferment the cooked rice before the alcoholic beverage is prepared.Hor is very important for the people in the rural areas, as they are dependent on it for their source of income.At the same time, it can ruin the well-being and health of the person who consumed at an excessive rate.Hor is always prepared by the woman in the family.If it is needed in bulk for a big festival or large occasion, then a group of women is formed who handle the preparation of the alcohol.Apart from being used for carving the traditional symbol of the Karbis, Wrightia arborea (Densst.)Mabb., it also plays the role as medicine since its bark is used for treating boils.The resin of the Canarium resiniferum is important for many religious ceremonies and rituals and sold in the local markets at large scale thus adding to its economic value.The resin is mostly used as medicine or as a mosquito repellant.

Conclusion
The present study is a contribution towards preserving the traditional knowledge along with creating awareness and curiosity simultaneously for future researchers, as there is still a huge scope to explore the plants used by different Indigenous people in the region.Documenting the knowledge will be helpful in the long run as most of younger generation of 21st century has no interest in following the footsteps of the older generation.There is also a reluctance among the traditional healers in sharing the information of the medicinal plants with the local people, and hence only a few or no written records are found.But there has been a renewed interest in the plants used in traditional medicines.Ongoing research can be used for the improvement and discovery of new drugs and medicines, which will be beneficial for human healthcare in the present and future.Considering the present scenario, the human population are becoming aware of using the products sourced from nature due to lesser or negligible side-effects compared to the allopathic medicines.The people in rural areas should be made aware of the importance of medicinal plants in their wild habitats.In a way, it can aid their conservation; but, there is an urgent need to conserve and preserve germplasm of such plants so that there is a sustained supply of raw materials to meet future demands and research.

Acknowledgement
The author is thankful to all the traditional, religious practitioners and local informants for their hospitality and for sharing their valuable knowledge regarding the importance of plants in the traditions and culture of the Karbi tribe.Yes.What kind of membership?By birth, as a member of an indigenous community (Karbi) of Assam, India.
1.3 Did/does the research seek inputs from participants (members of the Indigenous community) regarding a community's cultural heritage, artifacts, traditional knowledge, biocultural or biological resources or unique characteristics/practices? Yes 1.4 Did/will Aboriginal identity or membership in an Indigenous community used or be used as a variable for the purposes of analysis?Yes

Community Engagement
2.1 If you answered "Yes" to questions 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 or 1.4, have you initiated or do you intend to initiate an engagement process with the Indigenous collective, community or communities for this study?Yes 2.2 If you answered "Yes" to question 2.1, describe the process that you have followed or will follow with respect to community engagement.Include any documentation of consultations (i.e., formal research agreement, letter of approval, PIC, email communications, etc.) and the role or position of those consulted, including their names if appropriate: The study was carried out by conducting a field trip to nearby areas of local residents in Diphu, Karbi Anglong District.The respondents who were familiar with the territory were randomly selected from the indigenous community having knowledge of their traditional rituals and practices.The respondents were guided by people known to me and the information was gathered by asking relevant questions and noting down their responses apart from personal No formal consent was obtained from local authorities but the verbal consent of each and every respondent was taken before the interview.

No Community Consultation or Engagement
If you answered "No" to question 2.1, briefly describe why community engagement will not be sought and how you can conduct a study that respects Aboriginal/ Indigenous communities and participants in the absence of community engagement.
Not applicable.
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Fig 1 :
Fig 1: Map of Karbi Anglong district showing the block and sub-divisions headquarters

Fig. 2 :
Fig. 2: The cultural identity and symbol of the Karbi tribe, Jambili Athon

Fig. 5 :Fig. 6 :
Fig. 5: A Karbi woman weaving a clothing piece of the women traditional attire known as the Pekok

Table 1 :
Some of the plants with medicinal value used by the Karbis to treat minor ailments