Journal of Traditional Medicine & Clinical Naturopathy
Open Access

Diseases; Treatment; Poumai; Traditional; Knowledge

The Poumai Naga community holds considerable cultural and historical importance as one of the indigenous Naga tribes residing in the North East region of India. The predominant residential areas of their population are primarily concentrated within the Senapati district of Manipur, with a little presence observed in select villages situated in the Phek district of Nagaland. The etymology of the name "Poumai" may be traced back to its constituent syllables. The phrase "Pou" refers to an individual from whom the Poumais are said to have descended, while "Mai" signifies a collective reference to the people [1].

Therefore, the phrase "Poumai literary" refers to those who are the progeny of the Poumai ethnic group. The official recognition of this tribe by the Indian government took place in 2003, as stipulated in the Constitution of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Order (Amendment) Act of 2002. The Poumai ethnic group is recognised by many names, including Poumei, Pumei, Paumei, Pome and Pomai (Veikho and Khyriem, n.d.). Their population is distributed among around 100 villages located within the states of Manipur and Nagaland [2]. Based on the 2011 census data of India, the Poumai Naga tribe's population in India is estimated to be around 187,180 individuals. Their population residing in Manipur is recorded at 127,381, whereas the estimated population of Poumais resident in the state of Nagaland is between 6,000 and 10,000 ibid.

The Poumai Naga community racially belongs to the Indo-mongoloid stock. Before Christianity, the Poumais were heathens and they practiced traditional forms of rituals that are still prevalent in many aspects. Traditional folk practices play a significant role in transmitting ethnic knowledge. No matter how abstract it may appear, knowledge to the Poumais is usually action-oriented. The traditional knowledge of the Poumai revolves around the individuals and the social group. It is the unwritten and undocumented knowledge system of the community traversing the past and present. The knowledge about plants, animals and their natural surroundings is based on the experiences and stories of the people that have been passed down through generations.

Diseases and ailments are as old as human existence. According to David J. Hufford, folk medicine refers to “unofficial health practices and beliefs found in all societies”. As cited by Don Yoder in his article, the editors of the recent Worterbuch der deutschen Volkskunde have defined folk medicine as “the substance of all traditional viewpoints on sickness and the healing methods applied against disease which exist among the people”. Folk medicinal practises include the use of natural or herbal remedies as well as magical and religious items [3].

Since time immemorial, medicinal plants have been used by humankind to treat their day to day sufferings. Amid the advancement of modern technology, traditional knowledge plays a significant role among the Poumai Nagas of North East India in dealing with the problems that are related to health. Traditional medicine plays a very important role among rural people in their health care system for all types of ailments. This article examines the traditional knowledge, ethnomedicinal practices and resource management of the Poumai Naga community. It also recognizes the gradual causality of the traditional knowledge system and its sustainable practices among the Poumais in the present-day context. According to Michael A. Weiner, “Ethno-medicine is an area of research that deals with medicines derived from plants, animals, minerals, etc. And their use in the treatment of various diseases and ailments, based on indigenous pharmacopoeia, folklore and herbal charms”.

Therefore, this paper primarily aims to study, identify and document the ethnomedicinal plants used by the Poumai Nagas in treating different diseases and ailments. This paper also attempts to study and understand the traditional methods of treating human diseases using plant-based drugs from the Poumai Nagas.

The primary objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive account of the ethnomedicinal practises seen within the Poumai community. The study focused on the Poumai Naga group residing in the Senapati area of Manipur as the population of interest. The primary source of data for this study was obtained through direct interaction with informants, supplemented by the utilisation of secondary literature to get additional information about the target group. The data gathering process involved the use of a semi-structured interview schedule. A survey was undertaken, involving five traditional herbalists hailing from distinct villages, namely Tungjoy, Koide, Saranamai and Purul. Additionally, a series of in-depth interviews were undertaken with a cohort of ten older individuals and who possessed a comprehensive understanding of the therapeutic properties associated with various plant species and ten younger adults between the age group of 20 to 30 years. During the interviews, participants were asked about the nomenclature of plants, their identification, the specific plant parts utilised, vernacular names, techniques of preparation, treatments for various ailments, modes of utilisation, doses and the ethnomedicinal applications of these plants across all four seasons (winter, spring, monsoon and autumn). In order to conduct the field study, the researcher utilised a diary for the purpose of note-taking, while a mobile phone was used to make video and audio recordings. Additionally, photographs were captured of the ethnomedicinal plants. In order to document the interviews and capture visual images, the researchers received before informed consent (PIC) from the indigenous communities before to conducting each interview [4].

Traditional medicine plays a vital role in the lives of Poumai people living in rural areas. Since time immemorial, the Poumai Naga people have used several medicinal plant species to heal their day to day sufferings. Ethno-medicinal plants play a significant role among the Poumai people in their healthcare system for almost all types of ailments. Various parts of the plant are used in decoction, juice or paste to treat multiple illnesses like colds, coughs, fever, headaches, toothaches, throat infections, skin diseases, diabetes, jaundice and wound healing in asthma, dysentery and erysipelas. Other uses for plant parts include leaves, stems, flower buds and the entire plant, seed and root. The information gathered during the fieldwork on ethnomedicinal plants for the treatment of various diseases and ailments is provided in tabular form below for simple reference [5].

The tables reveal that a number of diseases and ailments often affect the Poumai people, including high blood pressure, fever, diarrhoea, dysentery, cuts and wounds, cough, gastritis, allergy, sore eyes, cold, diabetes, toothache, piles, jaundice, malaria, headache, rashes, labour pain, burns from fire or hot water, swollen bones, post-delivery, sinus, kidney (stone), blister, ulcer, acidity, sprain of legs and joints, blood in stool, nose bleed, blood purification, blood circulation, periods irregularity, urine problem, body act, stomach pain, snakebite, ear pain, fish bones stuck on the throat and blood refilling. It is found that the Poumais depend on numerous plants, animals, insects, etc., to cure about 39 diseases and ailments [6].

Table 1 shows that the Poumai Naga tribe of Manipur uses a total number of 48 ethnomedicinal plants from 31 families. The families like Asteraceae (12), Lamiaceae (7), Solanaceae (5), Apiaceae (4), Fabaceae (4), Meliaceae (3), Phyllanthaceae (3), Musaceae (3), Cucurbitaceae (3), Araceae (3), Amaryllidaceae (2), Acanthaceae (2), Rosaceae (2), Verbenaceae (2) and others like Brassicaceae (1), Poaceae (1), Euphorbiaceae (1), Anacardiaceae (1), Ericaceae (1), Rutaceae (1), Asphodelaceae (1), Caryophyllaceae (1), Zingiberaceae (1), Onagraceae (1), Melastomataceae (1), Passifloraceae (1), Geraniaceae (1), Myrtaceae (1), Myricaceae (1), Birch (1), Acoraceae (1) are the most commonly used ethnomedicinal plants for the treatment of these 39 types of diseases and ailments. Most of these plants grow in a specific environment rather than at home. The leaf and fruit of the plants are found to be the most often employed portions in traditional medicinal preparations. The parts of the plants used in treatment, such as leaf-40, fruit-9, tuber-4, stem-3, seed-2, whole plant-3, rhizome-2, bark-2, root-3, flower-2 and pseudo stem-2 are the frequencies stated above. According to them, some medications are made by combining two or three plant parts with additional ingredients such as honey, mustard oil and even thatch.

However, Table 2 illustrates how the Poumai tribe treats different ailments using various parts of insects, animals and amphibians. In certain cases, the treatment includes magical spells and charms. For example, the smashed rice and charcoal are pasted for fracture and swollen. Like the Maring tribe, the mud used by the wasp to build its home is mixed with a little water and applied to the mumps developed on the cheek, especially on children. The pangolin shell or own naval is worn as an amulet to ward off the evil eye and witch spell [7].

Table 1: List of ethnomedicinal plants used by the Poumai Naga people of Manipur.

Table 2: List of other forms of indigenous medicines used by the Poumai tribe.

The present study has determined that the indigenous population residing in the studied region have distinct methods of utilising medicinal plants for the treatment of various disorders. It was found that, in addition to pharmaceutical medications, many Poumai still depend on their indigenous medicinal plants for health treatment. Thus, observed that ethnomedicinal plants play a considerable role as part of their healthcare system. According to the findings of the study, it is documented that the Poumai Nagas apply 48 plant species from 31 families to treat 39 different types of diseases. Although, leaves were the most often utilised plant component, different parts of the plant were also used to treat specific ailments [8]. This study is first qualitative study of ethnomedicine among this Naga tribe. The indigenous community's ancestral wisdom was mostly transmitted orally, from one generation to the next. This study also found that individuals belonging to the younger demographic, possess little or negligible understanding of the process of preparing herbal medications and their subsequent use, in comparison to older cohorts. This is mostly attributable to the fact that current therapeutic medications are readily available in the rural areas. Therefore, the traditional knowledge and practices of medicinal plants in the region under investigation are in some way in danger of being lost. It is for this reason that it is essential to document the useful knowledge, in addition to ensuring the preservation of the taxonomic species. Due to the rising of modernization, the younger generations prefer to use the pharmaceutical drugs for minor ailments such as headaches, stomachaches, cough and small cuts. However, this does not imply that people have completely abandoned their traditional indigenous remedies [9].

Natural products, particularly those of botanical origin, persistently provide novel and significant prospects within the realm of medication research. The initial stage in the process of drug discovery involves the documentation of substances that have been traditionally employed for the treatment of a certain medical condition. The knowledge of how to use medicinally significant plants and practices is passed down from generation to generation, and because of this history, there is concern that indigenous knowledge of traditional medicine is progressively declining. There is a significant surge in public, academic, and government interest in traditional medicines. This can be attributed to the escalating occurrences of bad medication responses and the fiscal strain associated with the contemporary healthcare system. Thus, the documentation of the information provided by our study will contribute to its preservation and support future study on the safety and effectiveness of medicinal herbs, with the aim of validating their traditional usage and preventing any detrimental change in knowledge throughout intergenerational transfer [10].

The study showed that the locals of the Poumai community depends heavily on the medicinal herbs and plants. And they adopt the indigenous knowledge systems to maintain health care. Therefore, a thorough scientific study is required so to discover new compounds for developing into a modern medicine. Despite of the richness of plant wealth in the area the numbers are dwindling every passing day due to deforestation for various developmental activities. Therefore, the present study aims to contribute to biodiversity conservation and understand the folk medicine of the tribe.

The authors are thankful to all the Folk medicine practitioners, elders and the people of the Poumai Naga tribe for their helped and sincere co-operation throughout the survey and field trips. We want to appreciate the respondents in our sample for setting the time for our interviews and providing valuable information. The responsibilities for the interpretations and conclusions still remain those of the authors.

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

MV: Methodology, investigation, data collection, writing-original draft preparation; RG: Conceptualization, supervision, guided analysis, writing-review and editing.

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