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Taboos: Traditional beliefs and customs for resource management in the western Himalaya

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Title Taboos: Traditional beliefs and customs for resource management in the western Himalaya
 
Creator Sharma, A
Thakur, D
Uniyal, S K
 
Subject Beliefs
Biodiversity
Resource management
Taboos
Traditional knowledge
 
Description 575-581
People residing in interior areas of the Himalaya are highly dependent on natural resources and thus have evolved their own beliefs and customs, the taboos, for conserving resources. Taboos form an important component of tribal lifestyle and guide sustainable utilization and management of natural resources. The present study was carried out in the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh that are known for their rich bio-cultural diversity. The study aimed at documenting and classifying taboos prevalent in the area. For this, field surveys were carried out and interactions were held with the local people (n=210) using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The results revealed a prevalence of 22 taboos that were mainly related to forest, water, farmland, and food resources. Of the total taboos, the maximum belonged to the segment and method category taboos (32% each) while the minimum (5%) were species-specific taboos. Adherence to taboos is high and breaking them is believed to bring the wrath of God. They, thus, are important for resource management. Studies targeting the history of taboos and their policy implications are much desired.
 
Date 2021-05-26T20:18:13Z
2021-05-26T20:18:13Z
2021-04
 
Type Article
 
Identifier 0975-1068 (Online); 0972-5938 (Print)
http://nopr.niscair.res.in/handle/123456789/57189
 
Language en_US
 
Relation Int. Cl.21: A61K 36/00, A23L S/00, A01B 49/00, A61K 45/00
 
Rights CC Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India
 
Publisher NISCAIR-CSIR, India
 
Source IJTK Vol.20(2) [April 2021]