Concept of Health, Hygiene and Medicines: A Study of Kondh Community of South Odisha

Scholars discuss aspects related to a major tribal community of Odisha, the Kondh who live in the hilly and inaccessible tracts of southern Odisha. They deal with the climate, flora and fauna of the Kondh inhabited areas and the social organisation of the community. They focus on the concept of health and hygiene and medicinal traditions, taking into consideration the Kondh’s awareness about health and factors contributing to the degradation of their health. They discuss the environment, habitation and food habits that impact upon health. They view their religious beliefs relating to health and diseases and the divine influence of gods and goddesses including taboos and festivals celebrated for the cure of some diseases. Including a comparative study of tribal and modern medicine, they take up the diseases, their local names, their symptoms, the technique for preparing medicines for the diseases and the administration of the medicinal treatments in detail.