JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOMEDICINE Man-animal relationships in Central Nepal

Background: Nepal is small in size but rich in bio-cultural diversity. The rugged terrain of the country is home to a number of unique assemblages of fauna, some of which are endemic. Not only faunal resources the country also harbors some very ancient populations whose interrelationship with these diverse faunal resources is very intimate and thus demands scientific study. Animals play important role in both material and spiritual spheres of their life. There are more than hundred groups of such populations in the country and the group Tamang is one of these. The present paper studies Tamang-animal relationships in central Nepal. There is a growing trend of scientific ethnozoological studies all across the globe, but this field is yet in its infancy in Nepal. The country is losing important fauna as well as ancient human cultures at the advent of development processes. As a result, ethnozoological knowledge is also teetering on the brink of extinction. Methods: Ethnozoological data were collected by applying different participatory approaches techniques such as semi-structured interviews, participatory rural appraisal, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Quantitative data were obtained by employing a household level questionnaire survey. Data were collected from the period of September 2004 to August 2005. Most of the animals were identified up to the species level with the help of standard taxonomic keys. Results: The Tamang community treasures knowledge on various uses of 41 genera belonging to 28 families. Out of total number of animals, 14.6% belong to the Invertebrate group and the rest to the Vertebrate group. Of the total uses 58% fall in the food and medicinal use category, 16% in the magico-religious use category, 18% in the category of omen indication, and 2% each in the categories such as weather forecasting, trophy, ethnomusical and taboos. Conclusions: The Tamang maintain strong ties with animals both at a material as well as spiritual level. While some animals are the sources of important traditional medicines, others are omen indicators and weather forecasters. High priority should be given in conservation of those animals which are of high consensus value to the community. Background Mankind’s relationship with animals has been intimate right from the beginning of civilization. Animals have been playing an important role in human economy, culture, religion and magico-religion. Human beings, especially the ancient or the ethnic people, in turn have been maintaining a healthy natural environment by making prudent use of the surrounding biological resources. There is a recent trend of erosion of this type of age-old mananimal relationship because of the loss of animal resources primarily due to rapid urbanization. Nevertheless, the world’s high biodiversity areas are found in the land of ancient populations even now [1]. Animals, whether domestic or wild, have always been providing a number of goods and services to human beings. Wildlife provides protein and other necessary food materials to the rural communities in 62 countries of the developing world [2-4]. Besides this, animal and animal derived products have always been sources of traditional and modern medicines. Even now, animal parts and products such as bile, excreta, urine, endo and exoskeletal parts, skin and viscera all form important parts of the traditional pharmacopoeia across the globe [5-13]. So far as modern medicine is concerned, it is reported that more than half of the world’s modern drugs are of biological sources [14,15]. Of the 252 essential chemicals Correspondence: [email protected] Central Department of Zoology, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal Lohani Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2010, 6:31 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/6/1/31 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY AND ETHNOMEDICINE © 2010 Lohani; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. that have been selected by World Health Organization, 8.7% come from animal sources [15]. Animals occupy an important position in culture and religion of traditional societies all over the world. In this context, many of the useful animals are given sacred status because of their important roles in human culture and religion. Examples could be cited of various domestic cow species which are worshipped by the traditional Hindu societies on a regular basis in recognition of their values to mankind [16]. Not only this, even products such as excreta and urine of these animals are smeared in the floor areas of their houses with a belief that these products would sanctify their dwellings. Similarly, certain body parts such as the horn, hide, tail and feathers of some other species of animals are used in their religious rituals as well. Traditional societies use a number of animals in their magico-religious sphere. Normally animal parts and products such as the exoskeleton, bone and glandular secretions are used as pendants and amulets to ward off the perceived evil spirits. In many places it is a common practice to offer animal sacrifices to appease specific deities and ancestral spirits. The sacrificial offerings are regarded as gifts to the deities that are supposed to maintain health and general well-being of those involved in the process [17,18]. Some animals indicate omens and forecast future weather conditions to the traditional societies of different places [19-21]. The Eastern Himalaya a region spanning Nepal, Bhutan, north-eastern India, Tibet and far-north of Burma, is known as a global biodiversity hotspot. Nepal, though small in size is thus rich in biodiversity. The presence of valleys, gorges, mountain cliffs, rivers and rivulets within a small area of the country has further contributed to a number of specific niches, which harbor unique assemblages of flora and fauna. Such specific habitats also harbor quite a few numbers of endemic species of fauna and flora. The country though small in size is thus home to an estimated 300 spp. of mammals, 977 spp. of birds, 176 spp. of reptiles, 105 spp. of amphibians and 269 spp. of freshwater fish [22]. Co-existing with such unique and varied flora and fauna in the difficult mountain terrain are a number of ancient groups of people popularly called ethnic groups. Like other ancient populations of the world, these people too have been interacting with the surrounding biological resources through ages to fulfill their material and spiritual needs. Much of the historical and contemporary indigenous knowledge of numerous ethnic groups around the world is at as much risk of being lost; as is the case with biodiversity [23]. Nepal is not an exception to this ground reality. Deforestation is resulting in an increasing loss of habitats for birds, wild animals and reptiles. IUCN reported that 24 species of mammals, 9 species of reptiles, 27 species of birds, 2 species of insects and 13 species of plants have become endangered in Nepal till now [24]. Also, there is a gradual loss of varied human cultures, where such knowledge is deeply rooted. Very low population share of 0.05% and 0.02% of two of such ethnic groups namely Pahari and Jirel respectively is indicative of their fragile and vulnerable status [25]. In view of an increasing relevance of the ethnobiological knowledge all across the globe, scientific study of such valuable knowledge has just made its beginning in Nepal. Ethnozoogical research in the country has often been much neglected in comparison to ethnobotanical research. That is why a number of scientists in the country have emphasized for a strong need for the scientific study and documentation of such a valuable and ever relevant body of ethnozoological knowledge [26]. Hence, the present work is aimed at studying the interrelationship that exists between animal resources and a small group of people belonging to the ethnic group Tamang from the Central Mountainous region of Nepal. A database of ethnozoological knowledge can also serve as baseline data for further research in the country. Animals that have more use values are often the most exploited ones and thus the most threatened [27]. The present work would also draw attention of the concerned authorities on keeping such animal resources in the highest priority of conservation. Also, since higher percentages of animals in this study are of food and medicinal value, the work would be all the more important especially at a time when modern medicine is turning towards animal parts, products, and secretions to cure humans.