Sustainable Healing Practices among Indigenous Border Communities of Arunachal Pradesh: An Indigenous Knowledge Systems Perspective

Abstract

Nocte, Nyishi, Adi, Tagin, Wancho and many other tribes constitute indigenous border communities in Arunachal Pradesh that are deeply rooted in ecological knowledge and their worldviews are embedded in their cultures. These populations live on ecologically sensitive and geopolitically strategic border areas where formal biomedical healthcare is still unavailable to them. As a result, their survival tactics and health behaviors are inherently connected to robust Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) that have been developed over the course of generations of close relationship with forests, rivers, mountains and biodiversity-rich environments. Indigenous medicine includes medicinal plants, animal-derived medicine, spiritual and ritual healing, divination and community-based socio-cultural ceremonies, which deal with physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of health.

These knowledge systems are practice of sustainable healthcare paradigm based on locally accessible resources, ethical harvesting techniques, seasonal ecological consciousness, and group norms which help in preserving biodiversity. Within this worldview, health is not only a biomedical state but a state of balance between humans, nature, ancestors and the spiritual world. The traditional healers, older adults and ritual experts assume a key role in the diagnosis of illness, restoration of balance and strengthening the social bond within the communities.

Based on a critical review and synthesis of the literature available, the paper will explore the diversity of ethnomedical practices of indigenous border communities of Arunachal Pradesh within a larger Indigenous Knowledge Systems context. It examines the issues that have been occasioned by modernization, the growth of formal healthcare systems, the loss of intergenerational knowledge transmission, and the changing socio-economic aspirations. Simultaneously, it sheds light on the importance of the indigenous healing systems in building the community resilience, cultural continuity, and environmental sustainability. The article provides contextual suggestions on how the indigenous knowledge of healing can be documented, preserved, and ethically incorporated into the modern healthcare systems. The paper highlights the importance of documenting and institutionalizing Indigenous Knowledge Systems as significant environmental assets to cultural survival, ecological management, and sustainable health governance as urgent.

Keywords: Arunachal Pradesh, Border Regions, Community Resilience, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Sustainable Health Practices, Traditional Healthcare