Intercontinental Ethnobotany
The Bodo Tribe.
were also known as the silkworm rearing tribe. They were from Nepal and north-eastern India. The Bodo were a strong-knit community, who practiced Obonglaoree. Each family had their own silkworms and females learned how to spin silk at a young age. They were very fond of zu(wine) and mai(rice), and two main dishes were Onla, and Narzi.
Three plants that the Bodo tribe used were Sterculiaceae, Grewia hirsuta Vahl, and Averrhoa carambola L. Sterculiaceae plant is used as food and extracted to make silk cotton. Grewia hirsuta Vahl can be eaten and is also used to treat dysentery and diarrhoea. Averrhoa carambola L can be eaten either raw or cooked, and is used as medicine for kidney stones and jaundice.
Mao Naga Tribe.
Naga tribe has their own way of constructing their homes. Mao Naga tribe is from north-eastern india & north-western myanmar. The Maos inhibited the northern part of Manipur. Mao Naga tribe practiced headhunting, which is preserving the heads of their enemies as trophies.
Three plants that the Mao Naga tribes used were cannabis, prunus, & girardina.
Cannabis sativa: The people from Mao Naga use the whole plant as a vegetable and also to cook along with rice leaves and inflorescence are fried with flour or grounded cereal and consumed.
Prunus Persica: The people from Mao Naga use the flowers. Flowering indicates plantation can be done to potato, maize, cabbage and other cash crops in the jhum fields.
Girardinia palmata: The people from Mao Naga use the stem. After retting, fibers extracted are used for weaving traditional clothes and shawls.
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