Assessment of socio-behavioural correlates and risk perceptions regarding anthrax disease in tribal communities of Odisha, Eastern India

Background This study is a baseline survey to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices with regards to the anthrax disease among the communities before demonstrating a One Health approach for elimination of human anthrax in an endemic district of Odisha. A total of 2670 respondents from 112 villages of 14 blocks were interviewed for the study using a structured questionnaire by multi-stage sampling method. Descriptive statistics were reported and logistic regression was performed to estimate the relationship between the variables and knowledge of anthrax. Result Out of 2670 participants in the study, 76.25% were male and about half were illiterate. Most of the respondents (54.19%) were involved in agriculture as an occupation. 71% of the respondents had livestock in their houses and farming was the main purpose for keeping the livestock. Only one-fifth of the respondents (20.26%) knew about anthrax and a majority of them have come across the disease during community outbreaks. Almost 25.9% of livestock owners had knowledge about vaccination against anthrax disease although 83.4% of the livestock owners disposed the animal carcass by burial method. Conclusion The study findings indicated that the community members had poor knowledge of cause, symptoms, transmission and prevention of anthrax disease which may be improved by a One Health approach.

Ethnomedicinal survey among Kani Tribes and traditional healers in Selected Tribal populations of Trivandrum district

Indian tribes constitute around 8.3% of the total population. The health problems of tribal communities are influenced by the interaction of various socioeconomic and political factors. An attempt is made to document the traditional knowledge of the Kani tribes in the floristically rich Peringamala panchayath of Thiruvananthapuram district. The investigation revealed that the Kani tribes were using 127 species of ethnomedicinal plants, belonging to 57 families. The most cited family was Fabaceae and leaves were the most frequently used plant parts for the treatment of various diseases. Some medicinal plants used by Kani tribes which are included in the list of rare and endangered categories, such as Aristolochia tagala, Holostemma adakodien, Entada scandens, Anaphyllum beddomeii, decalepsis arayalpathra which are vanishing from the tribal settlement areas. So special attention should be given to cultivate and conserve these rare medicinal plants by making them available for mass cultivation, either through conventional methods or other non-conventional methods like micropropagation. The study showed that the Kani tribes have good knowledge about medicinal plants that have been passed orally from generation to generation. Current healers may be the final generation of Kani tribal healers. Due to rapid socio-economic and cultural changes, there is a possibility of losing the treasure of tribal knowledge in near future. The wealth of this tribal knowledge would lead to a greater potential for the Indian system of medicine towards new drug discovery and development.

Culturally Informed Services in Tribal Communities

Indigenous populations have experienced hundreds of years of historical trauma, systemic racism, and oppression since colonization began in the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. Settler colonialism has created and continues to perpetuate historical and ongoing trauma and systemic racism in Indigenous populations. Despite considerable diversity and resilience among Indigenous populations globally, there is a clear pattern of significant disparities and disproportionate burden of disease compared to other non-Indigenous populations, including higher rates of poverty, mortality, substance use, mental health and health issues, suicide, and lower life expectancy at birth. Substantial gaps related to access to healthcare and service utilization exist, particularly in low-income Indigenous communities. Implementation and sustainment of White dominant-culture frameworks of care in Indigenous communities perpetuate these systems of oppression. Development and implementation of culturally informed services that address historical trauma and oppression, and systematically integrate concepts of resiliency, empowerment, and self-determination into care, are issues of policy as well as practice in social work. The co-creation and subsequent implementation, monitoring, and sustainment of effective systems of care with Indigenous populations are essential in addressing health disparities and improving outcomes among Indigenous populations globally.

ASSESSMENT OF SOMATOTYPE IN INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED IN SOCCER PLAYING AT DIFFERENT POSITIONS

Total tribal population in India is 10.43 crore, consisting 8.6% of the total population. Santhals are one of the largest tribal communities inhabiting states of West Bengal., Bihar. Jharkhand. On the other hand, physical activity has been considered as the basic need for every work and particularly in team sports. Keeping this in view the present study has been undertaken in 43 Santhal males, of age range 18-26 years, involved in regular soccer playing, to compute the somatotyping characteristics and to find out whether there is any variation in such scoring among individuals playing at different positions. Anthropometric measurements included body weight, stature, skinfold thickness, breadths, girths. Somatotyping scores also calculated. Results of the study concluded that defenders and midfielders had high mesomorphic component whereas individuals, playing at forward position, possessed the highest ectomorphic component

Understanding phenomena of criminality: from dogmatic views to scientific theories

Criminality accompanies humanity for millennia. Despite the fact that this phenomenon has received much attention from researchers of different times and countries, its joint understanding is still missing. Taking into account the previous experience of cognition of this phenomenon, of course, should be the key to effective preventive action in current conditions. The purpose of the paper is to explore the main approaches in understanding criminality from prehistoric times to the present. It is claimed that historically the first awareness of mankind of socially dangerous behavior occurred during the reign of the primary tribal communities. People’s knowledge of the world around them was minimal at that time, and explanation of incomprehensible and undesirable was based only on the authority of tribal leaders and respect for social traditions. Given the actual lack of scientific and methodological basis as such, this format of views on violations of social norms can be described as a dogmatic approach. Religions have in their arsenal views on unacceptable behavior based on the authority of the Creator. At the same time, in the theological approach there is a variety of interpretations of the causes and essence of forbidden behavior – from purely fatalistic views to the recognition of human free will in the commission of encroachments. Examples in this regard are the Laws of Manu, the Old Testament. Genesis”, Books by J. Sprenger and G. Institoris “The Hammer of Witches”, “The Sum of Theology” by Thomas Aquinas,“Confession” by Augustine Aurelius and others. The scientific approach is characterized by the use of scientific methods of cognition in substantiating theories of criminality. The variety of views here includes theories of social causes, anthropological theories, theories of multiplicity of factors, and others. According to the anthropological direction, the essence of criminality was associated with the manifestation of biological (anthropological) properties of a human (genetic features, endocrine system, mental state, etc.). Sociological direction asserts the influence of social factors as factors in the formation of criminality (internal contradictions, class conflict, social exclusion, stigmatization, etc.). In this regard, there are theories that, along with the circumstances of social content as factors of crime outline also biological (anthropological). It is concluded that in the future understanding of the phenomenon of crime should take place on the basis of a scientific approach

Recounting coup as the recirculation of Indigenous vitality: A narrative alternative to historical trauma

Contemporary American Indians suffer from disproportionately high degrees of psychiatric distress. Mental health researchers and professionals, as well as American Indian community members, have consistently associated these disproportionate rates of distress with Indigenous historical experiences of European and Euro-American colonization. This emphasis on the impact of colonization and associated historical consciousness within tribal communities has occasioned increasingly widespread professional consideration of historical trauma among Indigenous peoples. In contrast to personal experiences of a traumatic nature, the discourse of Indigenous historical trauma (IHT) weds the concepts of “historical oppression” and “psychological trauma” to explain community-wide risk for adverse mental health outcomes originating from the depredations of past colonial subjugation through intergenerational transmission of vulnerability and risk. Long before the emergence of accounts of IHT, however, many American Indian communities prized a markedly different form of narrative: the coup tale. By way of illustration, I explore various historical functions of this speech genre by focusing on Aaniiih-Gros Ventre war narratives, including their role in conveying vitality or life. By virtue of their recognition and celebration of agency, mastery, and vitality, Aaniiih war stories functioned as the discursive antithesis of IHT. Through comparative consideration of the coup tale and the trauma narrative, I propose an alternative framework for cultivating Indigenous community “survivance” rather than vulnerability based on these divergent discursive practices.

Indigenous Communities Outline Their Climate Data Priorities

Native American tribal communities are actively engaged in adapting to climate change. What information and data will help them build resilience to the new normal?

Aesthetics and Politics of Poetry written in Tribal Languages of Kerala

Poems written in Tribal languages are a notable presence in contemporary Malayalam poetry. As there is no script for those endangered tribal languages, they are written in Malayalam script. They are being translated into Malayalam. These poems become a declaration of the aboriginal community and of the aesthetics that obscure mainstream aesthetic concept. Tribal communities in Kerala lives in the forest areas of Idukki, Wayanad, Palakkad, Kasaragod, Trissur, Cochin, Trivandrum and Kollam districts. These marginalized people are facing a crisis of survival. The neglect of the main stream society and the Government and the destruction of the habitat have made their lives miserable. Indigenous tribal languages are endangered. It is in this context that the new generation of educated Adivasis seek to document their survival problem through poetry in the tribal language itself. Poems are written in tribal languages such as Irula, Rawla, Malavettuva, Paniya, Mavila and Muthuvan appearing in social media and in print and book form, they symbolize a different sensibility. The aim of this paper is to findout the political attitudes, aesthetic concepts and features of languages of the aboriginal community by studying these poems.

India now has Naxalite threat well under control

Significance The epicentre of Maoist insurgency in India lies in neighbouring Chhattisgarh state’s southernmost division, Bastar. Naxalites accuse the Indian government of dispossessing tribal communities of their lands. Impacts Civilian casualties will mount as the authorities continue their crackdown on the rebels. Naxalite leaders will step up efforts to reach out to local communities. Popular protests in tribal areas over local grievances will increase.