Tribal health : social-cultural dimensions

Tribal development has received a great deal of attention since Independence resulting in spurt of studies on tribal communities. Unfortunately, specific studies on the tribals dealing with health, disease and treatment are practically absent.

This edited volume by Buddhadeb Chaudhuri, which is perhaps the first of its kind in India dealing with tribal health is based on papers presented in a seminar organised as a part of the 2nd International Congress of Tradi tional Asian Medicine held in Indonesia in 1984 and post Congress Seminar in 1985. It contains twenty-nine contributors from well-known doctors, anthropologists. socio logists, geographers, botanists, zoologists and social workers from all parts of India covering a good cross-section of different types of traditional method of treatment practised by different tribal communities of India. The study focuses the realities of tribal health problem and establishes that the success of any health programme would depend much upon the modification of human behaviour and careful consideration of socio-cultural dimensions of health. The papers based on empirical studies covering tribals from all parts of India reflect on the traditional concept of disease and nature of treatment, socio-cultural dimensions of health, inter-action of traditional and modern practices, constraints of acceptauce of modern practices. An interesting section on modern use of traditional tribal medicine, particularly herbs, concludes this books.

This unique volume would be of great impor tance both for the discipline of anthropology/ sociology to understand health problems and to medical sciences for policy and planning implications and to administrators and planners engaged in tribal welfare.