Zootherapeutic uses of animals and their parts: an important element of the traditional knowledge of the Tangsa and Wancho of eastern Arunachal Pradesh, North-East India

Abstract

Using animals and their products to treat patients suffering from a range of health conditions has a long history and is still common in many parts of the world. We investigated such zootherapeutic uses among two tribes who inhabit different areas of NorthEast India: the Tangsa and the Wancho. Overexploitation of the animals they use, however, could endanger some species' survival and create imbalances in the ecosystem that ultimately could affect humans and animals of the region. In order to find solutions how humans and animals can continue to coexist harmoniously, it is essential to know which species and their products are sought after by the local healers. We found that the Tangsa make greater use of animals than Wancho and use predominantly a variety of mammals (47%) followed by birds (16%) of the 55 species of animals considered therapeutic by them. The Wancho informed us of using 20 species, of which birds and their products account for 37%, while mammals and insects feature in 26% and 21%, respectively. In both tribes, the remainder are distributed across different animal taxa. To treat ailments and diseases like joint, bone and muscle pains, Tangsa prefer to use the body fats of tiger, civet, hornbill, eagle and python. Wancho do not use any animal fats very often and prefer animal parts and marrow to be given to a sick person in cooked or roasted form. The bile of bears is used by both Tangsa and Wancho in that it is supposed to ameliorate pain-causing conditions such as stomach, head and toothaches and to reduce labour pains. The use of leeches to remove blood clots and the consumption of earthworms to ward off malaria has been recorded only from the Wancho, while Tangsa treat malaria sufferers with tortoise carapace extracts. The use of the flesh of roasted bat wings fed to children older than 4 years of age to stop bed-wetting seems unique to the Tangsa. Being aware of such folk medicinal traditions is important not just with regard to safeguarding the animal resource, but also in connection with the introduction of possible alternative treatment methods not involving animal zootherapies.

Role of wild mammals in traditional medicine and mystic practices in the province of Oubritenga, Burkina Faso

“…On the other hand, poverty pushes population to have recourse to this traditional medicine which is generally available and affordable for all (Rivière et al, 2005;Jugli et al, 2019). Finally, this could explain the inefficiency of modern medicine regarding certain human diseases (Azanlin, 2015;Jugli et al, 2019). The study has also reported 7 mystical practices related to wild mammals identified in the area of study.…”

“…Another important factor is the loss of traditional knowledge related to medicinal animals caused by the lack of interest of young people for this activity. According to Jugli et al (2019), the problem is that traditional healers are often reluctant to share their knowledge and young people are nowadays less and less interested in learning about the "old ways".…”

“…This high number of diseases proves that populations conserve their traditional knowledge despite the effectiveness of modern medicine. On the other hand, poverty pushes population to have recourse to this traditional medicine which is generally available and affordable for all (Rivière et al, 2005;Jugli et al, 2019). Finally, this could explain the inefficiency of modern medicine regarding certain human diseases (Azanlin, 2015;Jugli et al, 2019).…”

“…The populations must understand that the preservation of their traditional knowledge on animals and their products to treat diseases and perform mystical practices depends on the availability of the raw material, i.e. animals (Jugli et al, 2019). In addition, as recommended by Ouoba (2009), i) in order to avoid the poaching of these species, it would be wise to involve the associations of traditional healers during hunting periods so that they recover products that are not generally not consumed and, ii) initiatives should be developed for the promotion of the most used species such as the lion and the aardvark and others.…”

“…Using animals and their products to treat patients suffering from a range of health conditions has a long history and is still common in many parts of the world (Alade et al, 2018;Jugli et al, 2019). According to several authors, this traditional utilization does not end to curing diseases, but is also known in the field of mystical practices (Nasi et al, 2011;Alves et al, 2012;Camino et al, 2018).…”