Department of Zoology, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2010 Feb 10;6:6. doi: 10.1186/1746-4269-6-6.
There is evidence that human beings are familiar with use of animals for food, cloth, medicine, etc. since ancient times. Enormous work has been done on ethnobotany and traditional medicine. Like plants, animal and their products are also possessing medicinal properties that can be exploited for the benefit of human beings. In India, many ethnic communities are dispersed all over the country and these people are still totally depended on local traditional medicinal system for their health care. India is gifted with faunal and floral biodiversity, Mount Abu wildlife sanctuary is also one of them, and thus the aim of this work was to take an ethnozoological field survey among Garasiya people (main tribal group of this area) in the adjoining areas of this sanctuary.
In order to document the ethnozoological information about animal and their products prevalent among these people in the adjoining area of Mount Abu wildlife sanctuary, a study was carried out from January, 2008 to April, 2008. Data were collected through semi-structured questionnaire and open interview with 25 (16 male and 9 female) selected Garasiya people. The name of animal and other ethnozoological information were documented. Photographs and discussion were also recorded with the help of camera and voice recorder.
A total of 24 animal species were used in 35 different medicinal purposes including asthma, weakness, tuberculosis, cough, paralysis and blister and for other religious purposes. It has been find out that animal used by Garasiya, consist of fourteen mammals, five birds, three reptiles, one arthropods and one amphibian. The meat of Cynopterus sphinx used to relieved fever and cough has the highest FL (96%) although flesh of Sus scrofa and tooth of Elephas maximus have the lowest FL (12%). Some protected species such as Elephas maximus (elephant), Semnopithecus priam (monkey), Cervus unicolor (sambhar) were also mentioned as important medicinal resources. We also found that cough, asthma and other respiratory diseases are the most frequently cited disease, as such, a number of traditional medicine are available for the treatment.
The present work indicates that 24 animal species were being used to treat 34 various ailments in the surroundings areas of Mount Abu wildlife sanctuary. The results show that ethnozoological practices are an important alternative medicinal practice for the Garasiya people. This study also indicates the very rich ethnozoological knowledge of these people in relation to traditional medicine. So there is an urgent need to properly document to keep a record of the ethnozoological information. We hope that this information will be useful for further research in the field of ethnozoology, ethnopharmacology and conservation point of view.
有证据表明，人类自古以来就熟悉利用动物作为食物、衣物、药物等。在民族植物学和传统医学方面已经做了大量的工作。与植物一样，动物及其产品也具有药用特性，可以为人类所利用。在印度，许多少数民族社区遍布全国各地，这些人仍然完全依赖当地的传统医疗体系来维持健康。印度拥有丰富的动物和植物生物多样性，阿布山野生动物保护区就是其中之一，因此，这项工作的目的是在阿布山野生动物保护区附近的加拉萨亚人（该地区的主要部落群体）中进行民族动物学实地调查。
为了记录阿布山野生动物保护区附近地区加拉萨亚人普遍使用的动物及其产品的民族动物学信息，我们于 2008 年 1 月至 4 月进行了一项研究。通过对 25 名（16 名男性和 9 名女性）加拉萨亚人进行半结构式问卷和开放式访谈，收集了数据。记录了动物的名称和其他民族动物学信息。在相机和录音机的帮助下，还记录了照片和讨论。
共使用了 24 种动物，用于 35 种不同的药用目的，包括哮喘、虚弱、肺结核、咳嗽、瘫痪和水疱以及其他宗教用途。研究发现，加拉萨亚人使用的动物包括 14 种哺乳动物、5 种鸟类、3 种爬行动物、1 种节肢动物和 1 种两栖动物。尽管 Sus scrofa 的肉和 Elephas maximus 的牙齿的 FL（12%）最低，但 Cynopterus sphinx 的肉用于缓解发烧和咳嗽，其 FL（96%）最高。一些受保护的物种，如 Elephas maximus（大象）、Semnopithecus priam（猴子）、Cervus unicolor（鹿）也被认为是重要的药用资源。我们还发现，咳嗽、哮喘和其他呼吸道疾病是最常被提及的疾病，因此有许多传统药物可用于治疗。
本研究表明，在阿布山野生动物保护区周围地区，有 24 种动物被用于治疗 34 种不同的疾病。结果表明，民族动物学实践是加拉萨亚人重要的替代医学实践。这项研究还表明，这些人在传统医学方面拥有非常丰富的民族动物学知识。因此，迫切需要妥善记录以保存民族动物学信息。我们希望这些信息将对民族动物学、民族药理学和保护观点的进一步研究有用。
