Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge Vol. 6(2), April 2007, pp. 342-345 Ethnobotany of Shompens - a primitive tribe of Great Nicobar Island R Elanchezhian, R Senthil Kumar*, S J Beena & M A Suryanarayana Central Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair 744 101, Andaman; *National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, Regional Station, Thrissur, Kerala Email: [email protected] Received 21 May 2005; revised 6 October 2006 Shompens are the aboriginal inhabitants of Great Nicobar Island. They probably migrated into this area, several hundred years ago from nearby Malaysian regions. They are one of the Mongoloid aborigines whose number may not exceed a hundred at present. They are semi-nomadic, food gatherers and hunters with stone-age civilization. They live in small groups in dense interior forests of the island and are entirely dependent on forest resources and sea products for their sustenance. These primitive aboriginals use a host of edible plants; make use of a few plants for and use various plants and their parts for constructions, cover, brush, dugout canoes, utensils, fishing harpoons, mat and baskets. Key words: Biodiversity, Great Nicobar, Shompen tribe, Ethnobotany Livelihood strategy IPC Int. Cl.8: A61K36/00, A61P1/04, A61P1/06, A61P1/14, A61P17/02, A61P29/00, A61P31/00, A61P31/04 The Great Nicobar Island, the southernmost island dense interior forests of the island and exclusively group of Andaman and Nicobar Islands is situated depend on forest resources and sea products for most between 6° 45N & 7° 15N latitude and 93° 38E & 93° of their sustenance3-8. 55E longitude covering an area of 1045 km2. The island occupies a phyto-geographically strategic Methodology position among mainland India, Thailand, Malay An exploratory survey was carried out at Great Peninsula and Java-Sumatra. It represents Nicobar islands to document the Biodiversity based comparatively undisturbed patch of tropical evergreen livelihood strategy of Shompens, a primitive tribe of forests in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Its rich flora Great Nicobar. Interviewing the Shompen tribes with and fauna, high endemism and unique genetic the help of forest department personnel and local richness play a vital role as a reservoir of genetic settlers collected the information. A qualitative material as part of this island has been declared as analysis of the biodiversity based livelihood strategy Biosphere Reserve1. The primitive people living in the has been enumerated. Great Nicobar include Shompens (Fig. 1) and Nicobarese (native tribals). They are considered two Results and discussion distinct ethnic groups, albeit they have originated Shompen tribes use various plants or plant parts as a from the common Mongoloid stock of SE Asia. source of food, shelter, clothing, medicine, timber and Shompens are the aboriginal inhabitants of Great for other miscellaneous purposes (Fig. 2-9) in the Nicobar Island. They probably migrated into this area, Great Nicobar islands (Table 1). Shompen tribes several hundred years ago from Malaysian regions inhabiting the interior forest of the island are mainly and got admixtured with Nicobarese tribes at later forest people and their relationship with forest is in a stages2. They are one of the Mongoloid aborigines balanced state. They live in cohesion with the nature whose number averages to a few hundreds at present. with least or negligible disturbance to the fragile They are semi-nomadic, food gatherers and hunters ecosystem. The tribes depend completely on the forest with stone age civilization; live in small groups in and marine resources for their livelihood. The semi- nomadic nature of these tribes within the forest area, _________ allow them to use the resources judiciously without *Corresponding author over exploiting them. A quantitative analysis of the ELANCHEZHIAN et al.: ETHNOBOTANY OF GREAT NICOBAR ISLAND TRIBE 343 344 INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL 6, NO. 2, APRIL 2007 Table 1⎯Plants/plant parts used by Shompen tribe of Great Nicobar islands Plant name Local name Plant parts used Edible Anacardium occidentale Linn. Fruit Ardisia solanacea Roxb. Kanheyo Raw fruit Calamus andamanicus Kurz Stem juice as drinking water, raw fruit eaten Capsicum frutescens Linn. Fruit as condiments Cocos nucifera Linn. Taoko Fruit - kernel Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott Kamum Rhizome boiled and eaten Dioscorea glabra Roxb. Lailong Tuber boiled and eaten Ficus fulva Reinw. Ex Blume Hampam Fruit boiled and eaten Mangifera camptosperma Pierre Raw fruit Morinda citrifolia Linn. Lurong Leaves & fruits are eaten Musa acuminata Colla Hipuh Raw/ boiled fruit eaten Pandanus leram Jones var. Munkung Raw/ boiled fruit eaten andamanensium Pangium edule Reinw Roasted seeds eaten Piper betle Linn. Takoocho Leaf eaten, digestive Tacca leontopetaloides (L.) Kuntze Sanuch Boiled rhizome eaten Terminalia catappa Linn. Tohangko Raw fruit Thespesia populnea Soland. ex Correa Tebokala Leaf as vegetable Medicinal Actoplanes canniformis K. Schum. Amokyoang Stem and root decoction taken orally in fever Alstonia kurzii Hook. f. Tachoroi Vapour of bark, root or leaf inhaled for curing fever Alstonia macrophylla Wall. Tachoroi Vapour of bark, root or leaf inhaled for curing fever Ardisia solanacea Roxb. Kanheyo Root boiled in water and taken internally for washing uterus after childbirth; root decoction also taken orally to remove blood clot and cure internal haemorrhage Citrus medica Linn. Limong Raw fruit as an antibiotic Costus speciosus (Koeing) Sm. Manola Leaves used for curing stomach disorder Croton argyratus Blume Mintuna Seeds as laxative and in stomach disorders Dischidia bengalensis Colebr. Talima Leaf pounded and applied externally for reducing pain on mumps and sores. Twigs paste applied externally for healing of fractured bone Garcinia nervosa Miq. Kintul Leaf paste is applied on body to relieve body pain, roots used for washing uterus after child birth Glochidion calocarpum Kuna Kinsan Seeds or bark pounded and applied externally in skin diseases; decoction of leaf taken orally for curing fever Leea grandifolia Kurz Takteyu Leaf eaten in fever Macaranga nicobarica N.P.Balakr & P. Panah Leaves used for curing stomach disorder Chakrabory Mallotus peltatus Mull. Arg. Kisoh Leaves for curing stomach disorder and menstrual pains Melastoma malabathricum Linn. Kiyang Leaves, stem and roots used to heal wounds Myristica elliptica Wall. Kinhanmo Seed or bark pounded & applied externally for skin diseases Ophiorrhiza nicobarica N.P.Balakr Fresh leaves paste for curing wounds Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn. Kingihyem Leaves used for general health complaints Semecarpus kurzii Engler Pep Fruit used to cure injuries Miscellaneous Actephila excelsa Mull. Arg. Branches used for poles, beams and thatching sticks Aglaia edulis A. Gray Kinya Making vessel for cooking Areca catechu Linn. Tisaa Making floor of hut, thatching, spathe as utensils Areca triandra Roxb. Kahkoh Nut as stimulants Barringtonia asiatica (L.) Kurz Kinyav Fruit powder as fish poison, trunk for making canoe Calamus andamanicus Kurz Leaves for thatching, strip of cane for mat or basket Cocos nucifera Linn. Taoko Shell used as mug Coix lachrymal - jobi Linn. Adlay Seeds for making necklace Contd ELANCHEZHIAN et al.: ETHNOBOTANY OF GREAT NICOBAR ISLAND TRIBE 345 Table 1⎯Plants/plant parts used by Shompen tribe of Great Nicobar islands⎯Contd Plant name Local name Plant parts used Dinochloa scandens Kuntze Making floor of hut, stem as fishing harpoons, twig pieces as ear ornament Ficus fulva Reinw. ex Blume Hampam Bark fibre is worn in ankles for anchorage at the time of climbing coconut tree Garcinia nervosa Miq. Kintul Branches for making paddle of canoe Hornstedia fenzlii Hami Rhizome extract as bee repellant, tranquilizer Macaranga nicobarica N.P.Balakr & Panah Leaf as plate or cover P. Chakrabory Mallotus resinosus Merr. Kisoh Branches used for poles, beams & thatching sticks Nicotiana tabacum Linn. Chukha Leaf as narcotics Nypa fruticans Wurmp Lanceolae Leaves for thatching, fruit fibre used for cleaning hands Pandanus leram Jones Munkung Leaves for thatching, fruit fibre used for cleaning hands Pterygota alata R.Br Inbot Dry wood is used to produce fire Semecarpus kurzii Engler Pep Branches used for poles, beams and thatching sticks livelihood strategy in terms of cost benefit analysis Acknowledgement with special emphasize on the fragile ecosystem and The work was carried out under NATP Mission environment should be made to save the rich natural mode project on Sustainable Plant Biodiversity. heritage that we have at present as no amount of Authors are thankful to the Director, Central compensation or sacrifice can replace or bring back Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair for the those resources once they are lost or have become facilities provided to accomplish the present work. extinct forever. Authors are also thankful to BSI, Port Blair for their However, the floristic resources, the richest natural kind help in authenticating the plant names. endowment of this island are increasingly under threat and extinction owing to deforestation for the purpose References of cultivation of cereals and plantation crops by the 1 Balakrishnan N P, Hore D K & Dwivedi R P, Great Nicobar settlers and migrant populations and for various Biosphere Reserve Project, Document II, (Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India, New Delhi), 1989. anthropogenic reasons. Moreover, the island 2 Rizvi S N H, The Shompen, A vanishing tribe of the Great ecosystem is so complex and fragile that a small Nicobar Island, (Seagull books, Calcutta), 1990. imbalance could be disastrous for the existing flora. In 3 Awasthi A K, Folklore medico-botany of the aboriginal order to conserve the biodiversity including the floral inhabitants of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, J Andaman and faunal wealth, a multi pronged strategy is needed Sci Assoc, 3(2) (1987) 80. 4 Awasthi A K & John J, A contribution to the forest resources to use them on sustainable basis. The tribal land of great Nicobar islands, J Andaman Sci Assoc, 3(1) (1987) 24. should be demarcated and outside interference by the 5 Awasthi A K, Plants used as food items by the tribals of settler or migrant population should be stopped.