Ethnomedicinal Knowledge of Tamang Communities in Rasuwa District, Nepal
Date
2007
Authors
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of Botany
Abstract
Langtang National Park (LNP) is the second nearest park from Kathmandu situated
directly to the north of it and lying in the central Himalayan region. LNP encompasses
three districts: Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Sindhupalchowk in Central Nepal. Rasuwa covers
almost 56 % of the total area of the park. The park offers a rich cultural diversity. The
main ethnic group in the LNP is Tamangs. They are thought to have originated from Tibet
and they occupy the entire portion of Rasuwa district. Tamangs constitute about 65
percent of the total population of Rasuwa. Flora of LNP represents many species, which
are highly valuable to local people for medicine, food, fodder, timber, fuel, condiment,
dye, etc. The present study was undertaken in three VDCs of Rasuwa district within LNP
to document ethno-botanical information of ethnic Tamang communities. The study was
accompanied by three field visits which were made between Jun 2005 and Sep 2006.
Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect traditional ethnomedicinal
information. Preference analysis was carried out to assess the most preferred species of
medicinal plants in the area.
Rich traditional knowledge of the Tamang community on utilization of plant
resources has unraveled medicinal value of many useful plants. The present study has
documented 46 species of highly utilized medicinal plants from the area that are used for
the treatment of 24 different ailments. The most commonly used part is the root. Root of
about 47 % of the plants is used in local therapeutics. Similarly, leaves and stem constitute
about 13 % of the total utilized plants, followed by fruit and bark (8 %), whole plant (6
%), flower (3 %) and seed (2 %).
Cultivation of medicinal plants is in preliminary phase and is limited to few
households and few medicinal herbs only. Out of 120 households in Thulo syaphru
village, only 6 households have cultivated medicinal herbs in their farm lands. The species
that are in cultivation includes Swertia chirayita, Rheum australe, Paris polyphylla and
Valeriana jatamansii. About 10 % of the people in Thulo Syabru village depend upon
cultivated products and the remaining 90 % utilizes forest resources. Higher dependency
of the local community on wild resources and less availability of these resources in nature
has put them under high threat risk. Promotion of cultivation practices and sustainable
utilization of the resources seems to be the most viable option for their effective
management.
Description
Keywords
Medicinal plants, Cultivation practices