ETHNO MEDICINAL HERITAGE OF SHOPIAN (JAMMU & KASHMIR): TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLK HEALING PRACTICES.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53555/6scb1g55Keywords:
Folk Medicine, Ethnomedicine, Traditional Healthcare, Medicinal Plants, Diseases, Himalayas, Shopian, Rural Communities, Indigenous Knowledge, Plant-Based RemediesAbstract
The practice of folk medicine is not new to the healthcare of the rural populations in Kashmir, and thus, it has been practiced since ancient times in the treatment of various ailments. The high dependency on the traditional remedies is due to the fact that there are few modern medical centers in the rural areas and the high number of medicinal plant species in the region. In the current times, folk practitioners have remained critical to healthcare in most developing countries and the district of Shopian (J&K) is not an exception. The majority of the world population, estimated to be five billion, out of the seven-point five billion people, rely entirely or partly on traditional medicine, which is mainly plant-based, either grown locally or collected in the wild forests. The paper will aim to show the importance of folk and ethnic medicine to the healthcare system of Shopian district and its cultural and therapeutical importance.
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