Ethno-ophiology - A traditional knowledge among tribes and non-tribes of Bastar, Chhattisgarh

Abstract

In India, snakes are one of the most sacred second only to the cow. Snakes pose threat to human beings by their appearance and specific characters. In reality both poisonous and non-poisonous types exist, but people dying of fear are more than of poison. Modern medical science has taken the use of snake venom as medicine from the traditional one, but much more is there to be analyzed, studied and incorporated in to the modern medicine for the better of the mankind. The paper deals with traditional medicinal knowledge of the venomous creature, practiced among tribals and non-tribals of Bastar.