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India'sMedicalDiversity:

Hybridizationinpeople’suseofmedicineinAdhi,Punjab

BhavneetK.Anand

GEOG100:HonorsEssayinGeography,Spring2016

Advisor:Dr.KariJensen

Committee:Dr.ZilkiaJaner,Dr.VeronicaLippencott

HofstraUniversity,DepartmentofGlobalStudiesandGeography

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TableofContents

Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..3

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...5

ImportanceofResearchTopicandPositionalityoftheResearcher……..…………………....……….7

BackgroundInformationontheResearchSiteanditsResidents…………………………….............12

LiteratureReview…………………………………………………………………………………………………………18

Methodology………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...27

QuantitativeDataAnalysis…………………………………………………………………………………………….35

QualitativeDataAnalysis………………………………………………………………………………………………62

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………70

References……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………73

Appendix1…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...76

Appendix2…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...77

Appendix3…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...79

Appendix4…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...81

Appendix5…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...83

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Acknowledgements

Aftertheyear-longprocessofdraftingaresearchtopic,proposingaviablestudy,

conductingthefieldworkinPunjab,andcompilingmyresultsintoacompletedthesis,I

haveseveralpeopleIwouldliketothank.Duringtheearlystagesofmyproject,Iworked

undertheguidanceofDr.JamesWiley.Wereitnotforhim,Iwouldnothaveeventhought

totakeonsuchagreattaskaswritinganhonorsdissertation.Itwashewhobelievedinme

andpushedmetonewacademiclimits.AfterhisretirementinSpring2015,Dr.KariJensen

assumedtheroleofmymentorandpreparedmeforthewondersofconductingresearchin

aforeigncountry.Fromthesummeruntilnow,Dr.Jenseneditedandreviewedcountless

draftsofeverysection,ensuredIwasstayingontopofmyworkandmeetingall

requirements,andtooktimeoutofherbusyscheduletomeetwithme.Icansaywithpure

confidencethatIwouldnothavebeenabletocompletemyprojectwithouther.Inthefinal

twomonthsoftheFall2015semesterwhenIlostmyhearingandbeganmyongoing

recovery,Dr.JensentooktheinitiativetomakesureIstillstayedontrackwithfinishingmy

thesisprojectandworkedcloselywithmetoestablishanewtimelineforitscompletion.

Shecoordinatedandscheduledanewdefensedate(setforSpringof2016)andmadethe

committeeawareoftheunpredictableandspecialcircumstancesofmysituation.Itwasa

trueprivilegeworkingwithher.InadditiontoDr.Jensen,Iwouldliketoextendmy

gratitudeDr.JanerandDr.Lippencottforservingasthetwoothermembersonmy

committee.Bothprofessorsalsotookthetimeoutoftheirbusyschedulestoreadsections

anddraftsofmythesis,givingmeprompt,constructive,andinsightfulfeedbackonseveral

occasions.IwouldalsoliketothankHarjeetNahalandherfamilyforhelpingmeconduct

myfieldworkandprovidingmeandmymotherwithfoodandhousingduringourstayin

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Adhi.Iwouldliketothankmymotherandfatherforallowingandfundingmytripand

transformingwhatwasjustaresearchproposalandproposedstudyintoareality.My

motherwasrecoveringfromsurgeryatthetimeandsheriskedherhealthandwellbeing

toaccompanyme.Additionally,I’dliketothankallmyfamilythathelpedmetranslatethe

namesofplantsfromPunjabitoEnglish.Finally,I’dliketoextendmyappreciationand

gratitudetoJerinUllah,astatisticianandformercolleagueofDr.Jensen’s,whotookthe

timetolookovermyquantitativeanalysisandprovidemewithadviceonwhatcouldbe

improvedorfixed.

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Introduction

DuetoongoinghybridizationofIndiancultureingeneral,evidenceofhybridization

canbeseeninmanysubdivisionsofculturesuchasfashion,music,food,sports,and

medicine.Forcenturies,useandknowledgeofmedicinehasdiffusedandbeencombined

fromvariousregionsoftheworldtoformthehybridanddiversehealthcareavailablein

Indiatoday.Westernmedicine,alsoknownasbiomedicineormodernmedicine,iswidely

availableinthecitiesofIndia;however,only30%ofIndiaisurbanized.Thus,themajority

ofthepopulationdoesnothavedirectaccesstowesternhealthcarefacilitiesandmust

traveltothenearestcitytoseeawesternhealthcareprofessional.Manystillpractice

herbalfolkmedicine,butaswesternizationcontinues,biomedicineisbecoming

increasinglyavailableeveninruralareas.Themorerecentdiffusionofwesternmedicineto

ruralvillageshasallowedvillagerstoadoptandrejectelementsoflocalmedicinalpractices

andbiomedicine,thusformingahybridmedicinalculture.

Therenownedpsychiatrist,philosopher,andauthorFrantzFanon,formedthe

conceptofthe“colonizationofthemind”withreferencetotheexploitationofcoloniesand

theindigenousandlocalpopulationsduringcolonialismandneocolonialism.Heproposed

thatEuropeanspsychologicallydehumanizednativepopulations,whichledthenativesto

believetheyweretrulyinferiortoEuropeans.Decadeslater,ex-coloniesoftenperceive

themselvesasinferiortowesternsocietyandcarrythenotionthattheymustadopt

westerncultureinordertobeconsideredequals.AsaformerBritishcolony,remnantsof

BritishcultureareevidentinIndia’sextremeloveforcricket,itsparliamentarydemocracy,

andtheadoptionofwesternfashion;however,toautomaticallydeducethatwhatweseeis

aresultofIndia’scolonialpastmaybetoosimplistic.Manypeopleindevelopingcountries

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todaywanttoemulatewhattheyseeindevelopedcountries,andalthoughFanonprovides

someinsightintothisphenomenon,itistoosimplistictoattributeallwesternizationtohis

theory.Fanon’stheoryandtheprevalenceofBritishcultureinpresentdayIndiahave

ratherinspiredmetoresearchthepresenceofwesternmedicineandhealthinfrastructure

inIndia.Thispaperservestoexploredifferentreasonsbehindtheadoptionofbiomedicine

inruralIndiaandwhethertheincreasingpopularityofbiomedicinehascausedadeclinein

thepractice,preparation,andknowledgeofherbalfolkmedicine.

Herbalremediesarepasseddownthroughgenerationsandrequireextensive

knowledgeofplantroots,plantextracts,herbs,spices,andothernaturalresources.This

ethnobotanicalknowledgeisgenerallypasseddownorallythroughgenerationswithin

families.Duetoadeclineofexperientiallearningandanincreaseininstitutionalized

westerneducation,somescholarsarguethatalossoflocalknowledgeoccurswhen

westernideologiesinfiltrateothercultures.Otherstudiesrevealoppositiontowestern

medicineandthecontinuedpracticeoffolkmedicinebyvillagers.Yetseveralscholarshave

ratherobservedthatpeoplepickandchoosemedicinaltreatmentsfromvariousregionsof

theworldbasedontheperceptionsofefficacyandefficiencyofremedies;thisintegration

ofdifferentformsofmedicineprovidesanexampleofthehybridizationparadigmof

culturalglobalization.HavingheardofincreasinguseofwesternmedicineinruralPunjab,I

decidedtotraveltheretocollectdataonthemedicinalpracticesinvillages.Usingthestate

ofPunjabasthedefinitionforparametersoflocal,Iproposethatadeclineinthepractice

andknowledgeoflocalherbalremediescouldbeoccurringwitheachsuccessive

generationinruralPunjabduetohybridizationofmedicineandanobservedtrendof

increaseduseofbiomedicine.Myquantitativeresearchwillfocusondeterminingwhether

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ornotalossoffolkmedicinalknowledgeisoccurring.Myqualitativeresearchwillnotonly

complementthequantitativedata,butalsofurtherexplorethereasonsbehindvillagers’

decisionstoacceptorrejectcertainelementsofhomeremediesandwesterntreatments.

InmyresearchIwillexploretherelationshipbetweenage,gender,education,

proximitytoahealthcarefacility,wealth,occupationandtheamountofknown

ethnobotanicalknowledge,aswellastheperceptionoffolkmedicineversusbiomedicine.

ImportanceoftheResearchTopicandPositionalityoftheResearcher

Globalizationhasledtohybridizationofculturesduetoflowsofinformation,

people,andcommoditiesworldwide.Informationonhybridizationofmedicineinseveral

regionsoftheworldiswidelyavailable;however,formyresearchIonlyconsulted

literaturewrittenintheEnglishlanguage.Mostofthisliteraturefocusesonmedical

pluralismandthecombinationofvariousmedicalpractices.Thereislittleresearch

regardingapossibledeclineintheuseoffolkmedicine.Furthermore,amongtheliterature

Iconsulted,therewasnoinformationonthediversityofmedicalpracticesinPunjab,India.

Afterdoingextensiveresearchofliteratureonthesurvivalorlossoffolkmedicine

inthelightofwesternization,Iobservedthatthemajorityofscholarlyworkfocuseson

ChinaandLatinAmerica,whilemuchoftheresearchoccurringinIndiaregardingherbal

medicineplacesanemphasisonrecordingthebiologicalcompositionoftheremediesused

andtheirpurposes.Theaimofmyresearchistogobeyondjustunderstandingthepractice

ofherbalfolkmedicineandinvestigatetheperceptionandquantifiableknowledgeoflocal

herbalremedies.

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AnimportantdistinctiontomakeisthedifferencebetweenAyurvedaandlocalfolk

remedies.AlthoughAyurvedictreatmentsandmedicineinvolvetheuseofnatural

ingredientsandaholisticmethodologysimilartofolkremedies,Ayurvedaisamillennia-

old,scientific,institutionalizedstudyofthehumanbodyandmedicine.Inordertopractice

Ayurveda,onemustgainaformaleducationandtrainingatanaccrediteduniversity.Unlike

folkremediesthatarepreparedathome,Ayurvedicmedicationcomesintheformof

manufacturedpillsortablets,availableatpharmacies,oralicensedAyurvedicphysician

directlyprovidesittopatients.Myaimwastoexploretowhichextentwesternmedicine

hascausedadiminisheduseoflocalherbalremedies,notAyurveda.

Thephenomenonof“biopiracy”shouldalsobeconsideredasevidenceofthemulti-

directionalflowofinformationandculture,especiallybetweenIndiaandtheWest.

WesternpharmaceuticalcompanieshavebeenappropriatingfolkandAyurvedic

knowledge,obtaininginternationalpatentsontheseformulasandingredients.This

meansthateventheterm“Western”itselfcanbeseenasinaccurate,asmanyingredients

in“Westernmedicine”arefromaroundtheworld. Furthermore,thereiscurrentlya

growinginterestinthewesterncountriesregardingherbal,natural,andtraditional

medicationsandtreatments.Forexample,AyurvedicproductsarenowavailableintheU.S.

invariousstores.Therefore,hybridizationmedicineisnotonlyspecifictodeveloping

nations.Theprocessinvolvestheconsciousadoptionandrejectionofcomponentsofboth

culturesbybothcultures.Informationisexchangedandpeoplehavetheautonomytopick

andchooseelementsofeitherculturetheyfindpracticalordesirable,thusforminganew

hybridculture.

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Iamafirstgeneration(bornintheUnitedStates)American-Punjabi.Theprimary

spokenlanguageinmyhouseholdwasPunjabi.IamalsoabletoreadandwritePunjabi.

DuetomybackgroundasaPunjabiandmyunderstandingofthePunjabiculture,Ifeltmost

inclinedtostudytheperceptionoffolkmedicineinruralPunjab.BeingaPunjabi-American,

IfeelasthoughIamaninsideraswellasanoutsiderinthisresearchproject.WhenIamin

theU.S.,IidentifyasbeingPunjabiandIactivelyincorporatethePunjabicultureinmy

dailylifethroughmusic,food,andspeakingthelanguage.WhenIaminPunjab,however,I

amoftenlabeledasanAmerican,whichhasanassociatednegativeconnotation.ItisasifI

amnotintunewithmycultureasmuchasnativePunjabisandIhavelostmycultureby

growingupintheU.S.Interestinglyenough,manyPunjabislivinginruralareashavethe

samenegativeviewsofthosewhohavemovedtothecitiesinPunjaborthosewhoare

educated.Manyopinionshavebeenexpressedinthemediaandsongshavebeensungby

PunjabisfromruralareasofthestateregardinglossofthePunjabicultureduetorural-to-

urbanmigrationorduetowesterneducation;however,theoppositeistrueaswell,many

songsdiscusswesternfashion,cars,andcitiesinaglorifiedmanner.

MypositionalityasaresearcherinPunjabthereforebecomesconflicted.When

geographersconductresearchinsettingsthatareculturallydifferentthanthoseofthe

geographer,theyengageincross-culturalresearch.Thiscanposechallengesinmaking

connectionswithparticipantsandconstantlybattlinganinsidervs.outsiderposition,due

todifferencesinculturalpracticesandacceptedbehaviors.Skelton(2009)describesthe

insider-outsiderpositionalityasabinarybecauseresearchersoftenexperiencebeingan

insiderandanoutsidersimultaneously.Oftentimes,researchersarenotfullywelcomedor

acceptedintothesocietywheretheywishtoconductresearch.Inordertocreate

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connectionswithlocalinhabitantsandenrolltheminthestudy,sometimesanintermediate

figureisneeded,suchasatranslator,interpreter,orlocalresearchassistant(Skelton,

2009).Becauseofmyconflictedidentity,Ichosetoconductmystudyinanareawithwhich

Iamfamiliar:thevillageofAdhiinPunjab,India.Ihavedistantrelatives,HarjeetKaur

Nahalandherfamily,thatliveinAdhiwhocanactasintermediatefiguresbetweenother

villagersandme.IwaswellawarethatinPunjab,outsidersarenotwelcomedintovillages

unlesstheyhavefamilythatresidethereoronehasancestraltiestofarmlandand

residentialpropertyinthevillage.Ifacedthechallengeofneedingtodemonstrateand

proveIamjustasPunjabiasthevillagers.Iftheydidnotviewmeassimilartothem,Iknew

Iwouldnotbeabletobreakthebarrierofbeingaforeigner.ButwithHarjeet’shelp,Iwas

introducedtovillagersandpotentialstudyparticipantsandIwasabletoengageindaily

conversationandactivitieswiththem.Hence,afteraweekorso,Iestablishedconnections

oftrustandfamiliaritywithvillagers.

Thedualityofmyculturalidentity,aswellastheabove-mentionedfeelings

expressedinPunjabifolkmusicandinterviewsontelevision,inspiredmetoresearchhow

commonsuchanti-westernizationattitudesare.PerhapsPunjabicultureiserodingas

urbanizationandwesternizationareincreasinglyoccurringinIndia,includingthestateof

Punjab.Although,asaPunjabi-American,myidentityisdynamicandhardtoprecisely

define,residentsofPunjabexperiencethesamecomplexitybehindidentityaswestern

cultureisincreasinglyavailableandintegratedintotheirlivesandthePunjabiculture.

VillagersinPunjabhavetheagencytofreelypickandchooseelementsofbothcultures

theywishtoincorporateintotheirlivesbasedonpracticality,personallikesand

preferences,andavailability.

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IfPunjabiculture,includingfolkmedicine,isindeeddiminishingashybridization

continues,however,importantmedicalknowledgeandskillswillnotbepassedontofuture

generationsinthetraditionaloralfashionashasbeenthecaseforcenturies.Thereare

severalbenefitsofcontinuingthepreparationanduseoffolkremedies,including:thereare

noadversesideeffects,itiscosteffective,andtheingredientsarenatural,organicand

locallyavailable,thusmakinghomeremediesgoodforbothhealthandtheenvironment.

Also,forpeoplewhohavelimitedaccesstomeansoftransportation,immediatereliefand

treatmentcanbeprovidedathome.

ItissignificanttostudythepracticeoffolkmedicineinPunjabsothatthelocaland

ethnicknowledgecanbesustainedamidsttheincreasinglymodernizedpracticeofIndian

medicine.Diminishingknowledgecanhaveseriousimplicationsforaculture.Oral

traditionspasseddownthroughgenerationscouldbelostandthiscanhavenegative

implicationsforthepreservationofcertainaspectsofaculture.Justaselementsofa

culture,suchaslanguage,canbecomeextinct,Ibelievetheexperientialaspectofteaching

andlearningtopreparehomeremediesmaypotentiallybelostinthefuture,andthis

wouldbeunfortunateduetotheessentialroleitplaysintheproperpracticeoflocal

medicine.AcorepartofthePunjabicultureinvillagesistorelyonknowledgepasseddown

fromgenerationstomaintainindependency(farmingpractices,cooking,preparinghome

remedies,etc.).Evenashybridizationallowsforthebestofbothlocalandwestern

medicinalculturestosurvive,thetraditionofrelyingonone’sknowledgeandfamily

practicesmaydecline.

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BackgroundInformationontheResearchSiteandItsResidents

Inordertoconcludewhetherornotthereisadiminisheduseandpracticeoflocal

ethnobotanicalknowledgeoccurringinruralPunjab,ItraveledtoAdhi,asmallvillagein

thedistrictofJalandhar,duringthemonthofJuly2015.Accordingtothe2011Indian

Census,thereare274householdsinAdhi.Itstotalpopulationis1,474.Ofthe1,474people,

50percentaremalesand50percentarefemales.Adhiislocatedapproximately2kmfrom

theverysmallcityofUggiandapproximately3kmfromthesmallcityofKalaSanghian.

Villagers,especiallyfemales,expressedthattheyrarelytravelfarfromAdhi.Localpeople

oftenwalkorridebicycles,mopeds,ormotorcyclestoUggiandKalaSanghiantopurchase

dailyhouseholditemssuchasgroceries,soap,haircareproducts,toothbrushes,and

cleaningproducts.

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Fromobservations,casualconversations,andinformalinterviews,Ilearnedof

genderrolesandresponsibilitiesandexpectationsofthevariousgenerations.Education

wasnotseenasapriorityamongtheelderlyandmiddle-agedpopulation.Manyofthe

middle-agedmenarefarmers,whileothersworkpart-timejobs(photographer,driver,

domesticworker,etc.).Somemenalsoownlargeplotsoflandthattheyhaveleasedfor

farmingorliveoffofremittancessenthomefromfamilymembersabroad.Throughoutthe

day,especiallyduringlunchtimeandthenagainfromthehoursof3:00pmto6:00pm,I

observedthatmanyofthemalevillagersconvenedatalargetreenearanopenfieldused

forrecreation(volleyballandsoccer).Undertheshadeofthetreeonalargeflatcement

structure,themenwouldgambleandplaycardsforseveralhours.Thiswastheirdaily

routine.Theyoungermales(approximatelyages18to30)typicallyeitherjoinedtheolder

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meninloungingandchattingorformedtheirownsmallergroupsinthelateafternoon

afterreturningfromtheirparttimejobsorhighschool.OfthemalevillagersImet,none

hadcompletedorhadanyintentionsofcompletinganeducationbeyond“plustwo”(“plus

two”signifiesthefinaltwoyearsofhighschoolthatinvolveaspecializedpre-

undergraduatestudy,sometimescalledjuniorcollege,inwhichstudentswillonlytake

coursesrelatedtothemajortheywishtopursueintheirundergraduatestudies).Ididnot

observepressureorexpectationsfromparentsandfamilymembersfortheyoungmalesto

gainahighereducation.Thegeneralconsensusseemstobethatasmen,theywillbe

expectedtomakealivingonewayoranotherandeducationrequirestoomucheffortand

time.MostoftheyoungermenaspiredtoleavethecountryaltogetherandcometotheU.S.

afterseeingtherichesthatneighborsorextendedfamilycouldbuywithremittancemoney.

Manyofthelarge,new,fourstoryvillasinAdhiarelockedupandvacantorareonly

occupiedbyamatriarchfigurebecausefamiliesandespeciallysonsorhusbandshave

traveledabroadinhopestomakemoremoney.Iwastoldthatalltheexpansivehomesin

Adhiwereallrecentlyconstructedandtheywerebuiltusingremittancemoney.After

spendingseveralweeksinAdhi,Icouldseethecleardistinctionbetweenthelavishhomes

ofvillagerswithatleastonefamilymemberworkingabroadandthesmall,poorly

constructed,sometimeslackingproperplumbing,homesofthosemakingalivingwithout

remittances.

ThefemalepopulationofAdhiheldeducationtoahigherstandardthanthemale

population.Althoughilliteracywascommonamongtheelderlyandmiddle-agedwomen,

manyofthemexpressedthedesirefortheirchildrenorgrandchildrentobeeducatedand

goontocollege.Theonlystudentscurrentlyenrolledincollegeorhavingcompletedan

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educationbeyond“plustwo”werefemales.Furthermore,frommyinteractionswith

villagersofallagesandgenders,Inoticedthatthemalesdidnottakeeducationasseriously

asthefemales.Daughterswereexpectedbytheirownparents,aswellasbyfuturein-laws

tonotonlyknowhowtocookandmanageahousehold,buthaveagoodeducationaswell.

Nosuchemphasisoneducationseemedtobeplacedonsons,however.Despitethe

disparityinlevelandreverenceofeducationbetweenmenandwomen,Ididnotencounter

anywomenwithemploymentintheformalsectororskilled-work.Womenwereeitherfull-

timehomemakersordiddomesticworkpart-timeinthehomesoftheirneighborsand

fellowvillagersduringtheday.Iftheywerenotyetmarried,theywereeitherstillinschool,

ortheirparentswerelookingtomarrythemoffsoon,andthentheywillbeexpectedtobe

diligenthomemakers.Thesegenderrolesanddynamicviewsofeducationandemployment

areimportanttounderstand,astheyinfluencetheperspectivesmenandwomenhaveof

thepracticeandpreparationofethnobotanicalknowledgeandremedies.

Right:3-dayoldcalf

standingnearitsmother

belongingtooneofthe

villagersinAdhi

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Above:Photographofafour-storyvillainAdhi,whichistypicalforahigher-incomefamilyinruralPunjabBelow:Photographofatypicallow-incomefamilyhomeinruralPunjab

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Left:Photographofthemain(ofthree)SikhtempleinAdhi

Below:wildcannabisplantgrowingonthesideofoneofthethreemaindirtroadsinAdhi.Cannabiscanbeusedinavarietyofherbalremedies.

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LiteratureReview

TheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO)estimatesthat80%oftheworld’s

populationstillpracticestraditionalformsofmedicine,nativetovariouscultures.Folk

medicineislargelypracticedinthedevelopingcountries,andespeciallyintheruralareas;

however,preparation,use,orevensimplyhavingknowledgeoffolkmedicineandlocal

medicinalremediesseemtobedecliningfromthepreviousgenerationstothenext.

Westernizationisanongoingphenomenonaroundtheworld.Westernideologiesare

rapidlyspreadingtonon-westerncountriesandoftentimestheWest(theGlobalNorth)is

viewedasthestandardmodelfordevelopmentthatdevelopingnations(theGlobalSouth)

shouldfollowandadopt.Theprimaryforcesbehindthisphenomenonaretheformationof

aglobaleconomyduringcolonialism,aswellasthecurrentneocolonialism,andthe

increasingflowsofinformation,people,andgoodsworldwideduetoglobalization.Flowsof

informationareusuallyseenasoccurringfromtheGlobalNorthtotheGlobalSouth.

Additionally,WalterRostow’sModernizationTheorydefinesdevelopmentfromtraditional

societytomodernsocietyasafive-stepeconomicprocess:TraditionalSociety,Pre-

conditionstoTake-off,Take-off,DrivetoMaturity,andAgeofMassConsumption.Rostow

modeledtheprocessaftertheWesternEuropeanrealityinthe19thcenturydirectlyafter

theIndustrialRevolution.WithWesternEuropesetasthestandardtofollow,manynations

haveattemptedtoachievedevelopmentbyimitatingthefivestepsofEuropean

development.Althoughmany,includingmyself,donotsupportthisrigid,unidirectional

conceptofglobaldevelopment,thismindsethascertainlyimpactedlocalpopulationsin

developingnations.

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AccordingtoFrantzFanon(1968),theEuropeansnotonlyexploitedland,butalso

“colonizedtheminds”ofthenativepopulationsbydehumanizingthemandpsychologically

makingthembelievetheyareinferiortowesternsocietyandpractices.Thismentalityhas

continuedthroughoutsuccessivegenerations.Withtheformationofaninferioritycomplex,

nativepopulationsinex-coloniesareincreasinglyadoptingwesternideasandhavecometo

believeofthewestasthestandardforanytypeofdevelopment.Thetheorypresentedin

Fanon’sworkistoocomplex,however,andcannotentirelyaccountforthewesternization

andmodernizationtakingplaceinIndia.Thehomogenizationofculturearoundtheworld

andadoptionofwesterncultureindevelopingnationscanbeduetoreasonsotherthan

thosearguedbyFanon.Thetrendofdecreasedfocusonlocalmedicinalpracticescouldalso

happenwithouttheexperienceofcolonization.Forexample,Ethiopiawasnevercolonized,

yetmanyEthiopianshaveincorporatedelementsofwesterncultureintotheirlifestyles.

ThephenomenonofwesternizationandFanon’stheorysparkedmycuriosityand

influencedmydesiretoresearchcurrenttrendsinthepracticeoffolkmedicine.Formy

project,Ihaveconsultedbodiesofliteraturethatseektounderstandtheeffectsofthe

availabilityofwesternmedicineonthepracticeoffolkmedicineindevelopingnationsand

theoutcomes,aswellastheperceptionofbothformsofmedicineindevelopingregion

populations.

GoldandClapp’s(2011)journalarticle“Negotiatinghealthandidentity:layhealing,

medicinalplants,andindigenoushealthscapesinhighlandPeru,”shedslightonthe

influenceofwesternmedicineandmodernizationonasmallvillageinthehighlandsof

Perugiventhename“Anawi”.Theauthorsdiscusstheprinciplesbehindperceptionand

subsequentexerciseofvariousformsofmedicinebypeople,collectivelytermeda

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“healthscape”,andhowahealthscapeisformed.Thecomponentsofahealthscapeinclude

anindividual’sperceptionofmedicalresourcesandinstitutions,andtheassociatedcosts

andaccessibility.Theirstudydemonstratesacounteractiveresponsetobiomedicinesuch

thatarevitalizationoffolkmedicineisoccurringinthevillage.Theauthorsassertthat

therearesixreasonsforwhyvillagersusemedicinalplantsbeforegoingtoaclinic:

“Medicinalplantsaredescribedasstrongerandmoreeffectivethanpharmaceuticals,as

geographicallyaccessibleandaffordable,andastraditionalandnatural;thosethatuse

medicinalplantsareculturallyappropriate[…]andfinally,thosethatusethembelieve

plantstobemoreappropriateforcertainillnesses[…]”(Gold&Clapp,2011,p.98).

Thisarticleisimportantformyresearchbecausealthoughananti-globalization

movementisobservedamongthevillagers,a“lossofindigenousmedicalknowledge”(Gold

&Clapp,2011,p.103)isstillobserved.GoldandClapparguethateducation,proximityto

anurbancenter,andwealthhaveaninverserelationshipwiththeamountofindigenous

medicalknowledgeapersonhas,whileagesharesadirectrelationshipwiththeamountof

knownindigenousmedicine.Thus,IexploredsimilarcorrelationsinAdhi,Punjab.

Inhisarticle“Roleadaptation:TraditionalcurersundertheimpactofWestern

medicine,”Landy(1974)discussestheacculturationoftraditionalmedicalcurersandthe

roleadaptationthatconsequentlytranspires.Hearguesthattraditionalhealersmust

acceptwesterntechnologyandphilosophiesinordertokeeptheirroleinsocietyascurers,

therebycausingtheroleofthecurerinsocietytodiminishandanintegrationoflocaland

modernbeliefstooccur.

Landy(1974)referencesseveralstudiestosupporthistheoryofroleadaptation

andacculturationsuchasGould’sstudyofSherapur,avillageinNorthIndia,fromwhich

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Gouldreasonedthatvillagersperceivedwesternmedicineassuperiorduetothe

technologywithwhichitisassociated.Thevillagers,however,didnothavean

understandingofscientificmedicine,butratherfounditstechnologypractical.Gould

discusses“folkpragmatism”asthegoverningforcebehindtheshifttowardswestern

medicine.Commonamongmanyofhisstudies,Gouldalsoacknowledgestheagencyofthe

curersandlocalhealerswithinthecontextofhybridizationofmedicinalpractices:“…the

traditionalhealerisseennotmerelyas[a]passivereceptorofmodernscienceand

technology,butas[an]incorporatingtechnoculturalagentandascreatorofnew

technoculturalsyntheses.Thecuringroleisnotonlychanged,butresynthesized(108)”.A

studyoftheCherokeebyFogelson,however,showsthatwesternmedicinecanhavea

positiveeffectonthesurvivalofindigenousmedicine.AsassimilationofNativeAmericans

wassweepingacrosstheU.S.inthe19thcentury,thethreatofculturalextinctionpushed

theCherokeetousetheirlanguageas“aconservingforce[…]afford[ing]theconjurera

meansoftranscribingsacredformulasformerlytransmittedorally[…]”(Landy,1974,p.

109).Thus,thethreatofwesternizationproducedapreservationeffortamongthe

Cherokee.

Landy’sarticleishelpfulbecauseitremindedmetokeepanopenmind.Thereare

manypossibleoutcomesofmyresearch;Imayfindthatvillagerschoosewesternmedicine

overfolkmedicinebecauseofaperceivedcredibilityoftechnology,thatwesternmedicine

hascausedananti-globalizationmovementandreversiontotraditionalhealingmethods,

oravarietyofotherresults.

Pironetal.(2000),intheirarticle“Consumers’perceptionsofChinesevs.Western

medicine,”focusondiscerningtheperceptionsofTraditionalChineseMedicine(TCM)and

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westernmedicine,andexploringwhichofthetwoispreferred.Theauthorsdiscussthe

conceptof“dualutilization”ofbothformsofmedicineasaresultof“pragmatic

acculturation”,variationinaccessibilityofhealthcare,andtheindividual’sperceptionof

efficacy.

Ofthefourhypothesestestedduringtheauthors’researchinSingapore,twoare

relevanttomyresearchproject.Thefirsthypothesiswas:“olderconsumerswillrateTCM

physicians’expertisehigherthanwillyoungerconsumers”(Pironetal.,2000,p.128).The

secondhypothesiswas:“ConsumersbroughtupinaChineselanguagestreamofeducation

willdisplayamorepositiveperceptionofTCMphysicians’expertisethanconsumers

broughtupinanEnglishlanguagestreamofeducation”(Pironetal.,2000,p.128).Bothof

thesehypotheseswereacceptedbasedonstatisticalanalysisofthecollecteddata.

Thearticleissignificantformyresearchbecausethehypothesesaresimilartothe

anglesofwesternizationItestedinAdhithroughsurveys,inordertohaveastatistical

componenttomyresearch.Theseconfirmedhypothesesalsodemonstratetheimpactof

westernizationinotherrealmsofsociety,inthiscaseeducation,andhowthatcanimpact

thesurvivalofknowledgeoflocalherbalremedies.

InthefollowingarticlebyT.P.Lam(2001),“Strengthsandweaknessesof

TraditionalChineseMedicineandWesternMedicineintheeyesofsomeHongKong

Chinese,”attitudesofHongKongChinesetowardsTCMandbiomedicineareexplored.The

authorprovidesthatsupportforwesternmedicinestemsfromtheperiodofBritishsphere

ofinfluenceandfromgovernmentsupportandformalrecognitionofwesternmedicine;

thus,allowingforthegreaterdevelopmentofbiomedicinewithinHongKong.Thestudy

conductedbytheauthor,Lam(2001),suggeststhatwesternmedicineisfavoredoverTCM.

23

TCMhasbeenreducedtotreatmildillnessesandservesasasupplementtowestern

treatments.ManypatientsalsofindTCMtobeinconvenientbecauseofthetimerequiredto

prepareherbsandothernecessaryingredientsforthetraditionalremedies.Seenasan

opportunitycost,manyprefertousepre-manufacturedpillsprescribedbyphysicians.

Thisarticleisimportantformyresearchbecauseitdemonstratesthatgovernments

andpastimperialinfluencescanhaveagreateffectonthepracticeofmedicinewithina

region,aswellasbasicpracticality,similartotheconceptof“pragmaticacculturation”used

byPironetal.(2000).SincetheBritishcolonizedIndiaandthefederalgovernmentlargely

favorswesternmedicine,similareffectsmaybepresentinAdhi.

Traditionalhealing:Newscienceornewcolonialism?isabookcontaininga

compilationofessaysonthesubjectofthecritiqueofmedicalanthropologyunderthe

scopeofAfrica.WrittenbyMcClain(1979),theessay“TheimpactofcolonialismonAfrican

culturalheritagewithspecialreferencetothepracticeofherbalisminNigeria”discusses

theadverseimpactsoftheBritishimperialruleinNigeriaandofthecolonialpowersin

Africancountriesingeneral.Theauthoraccreditsthelossofcultureandthedecreasein

practiceoffolkmedicinetotheassimilativepoliciesoftheBritishcolonialadministration.

McClain(1979)arguesthatherbalmedicinewasseenasaunifyingaspectofAfrican

societies,soinanattempttodivideandconquerthecontinent,Europeanpowers

attemptedtoeradicatetheircoloniesoffolkmedicineandotherindigenousculture.

Christianmedicalmissionariescarriedoutthisprocessbyforcingwesternmedicineonto

theindigenouspopulations.McClain’scriticalessayisrelevanttomyresearchproject

becauseitdiscussesthedirectimpactofwesternizationandthelastingeffectsof

colonialism.TheBritishcolonizedIndiaaswellandglobalizationmanifesteditselfinthe

24

sameforcefulmanner.AlthoughIndiaisanindependentnation,itshistoryasacolony

couldbealargecomponentofadeclineorrevitalizationoflocalherbalmedicine.

Similarly,inchapter10ofBiomedicalhegemonyinthecontextofmedicalpluralism,

Baeretal.(2013)proposebiomedicineasaninstrumentusedbywesterncolonialpowers

“tomaintaincontrolofexploitedpopulations”(p.210).Theyarguethatbiomedicineisthe

dominantmedicalsystemintheworldandcontinuestoassertitsdominanceoverother

formsofmedicine;westernmedicineisbecomingthestandardoftheworld.Theauthors

datetheriseofbiomedicinebacktotheimperialisminAfricainthelate19thcentury.As

colonialfiguresbegantravelingandoccasionallysettlingintheAfricancolonies,medical

missionarieserectedclinicsforhealthcareprovisiontotheEuropeanpopulations;

however,soonthereaftercolonialpowersbegancontrollinghealthcareinentirecolonies,

buthealthcareserviceswerestilllimitedtoEuropeansandprivilegedAfricans.Itwasnot

untilthemid1900sthatwesternmedicineinfiltratedruralareasandviaindirectrule

(nativeindividualsappointedbycolonialpowertoruleoverpopulationsusingcolonial

idealsandpolicies),localindigenousleadersbeganreplacingfolkmedicinewith

biomedicine.

Baeretal.’schapterissignificantbecauseithighlightstheinteractionsbetween

Britainanditsex-colonies.TheBritishhaveinfluencedmanyIndianpoliciesandeven

broughttheParliamentaryDemocracypoliticalsystemtoIndia.TheirpresenceinIndia

maythereforehaveledtotheacceptanceofmodernmedicinebythegovernmentandmore

recentlybymanycitizensaswell.

IndigenousandWesternmedicineincolonialIndia,abookwrittenbyMadhuri

Sharma(2012),seekstounderstandthepracticeoffolkmedicineintheregionofBanaras

25

(a.k.a.Benares/Varanasi)duringcolonialismandhowthepracticeofmedicineshifted

towardsmodernmedicineunderBritishrule.InChapter1,“HealthandHealingPracticesin

Banaras:PatternsofPatronage”,Sharmaarguesthatadeclineinindigenousmedicine

occursduetoexposuretocolonialwesternmedicine.Shearguesthatduringthe19thand

20thcentury,manymunicipalities,politicalleaders,bureaucrats,andotherinfluential

peopleadvocatedfortheadoptionofmodernmedicine.Astateinitiativetospreadwestern

medicineacrossthecolonywasformed;scholarshipswereestablishedforeducationin

biomedicine,jobsinareasofinfrastructureandmanagementofclinicsandhospitalswere

created,andwomenworkinginfactoriesinUttarPradeshwereentitledtoafiverupee

bonusiftheyemployedservicesofaprofessionalmidwifeorhealthadvisor.

Sharma’schapterparticularlyresonateswithmyresearchbecauseitprovidesa

basisforthechangeinperceptionofmedicinethatledtothedeclineofthepracticeof

indigenousmedicine.Thepreferenceformodernmedicinebeganinthelate19thcentury

andhassignificantlyspreadsinceitsarrivalinIndia.

Inthearticle,“FolkherbalmedicinesfromtribalareaofRajasthan,India,”Katewaet

al.(2004)focusonthevariousplantsusedforherbalremediesbythetribesmenand

tribeswomenoftheMewarregion.Theauthorsconductedacasestudytocollectdataon

theplanttypesandtheiruses,whilealsocollectingdemographicdataonthecurrentuseof

folkmedicinebythevillagers.Thedatasuggeststhatvillagersabovetheageof60were

mostknowledgeableaboutherbalremedies,andtheresearchersattributethisto

modernizationandthetendencyofyoungergenerationstoswayawayfromtraditional

lifestyles.Anotherreasonisagrowingscarcityofplantsusedintheherbalmedicinedueto

environmentalissuessuchasovergrazing,deforestation,anddroughts.

26

Thisarticleisimportantformyresearchbecauseinadditiontoexploringapotential

decreaseddemonstrationofethnobotanicalknowledge,Icollecteddataonthefolk

medicinepracticedbythevillagersinAdhisimilartothedatacollectedinthisstudyby

Katewaetal.:Whatherbsandplantsarebeingused,andforwhatpurposes?Demographic

dataisalsocrucialformyresearchinordertoidentifyanydeclineinpossessionof

knowledgeamonggenerations.

Thearticle,“IndigenousknowledgeofmedicalplantsusedbySaperascommunityof

Khetawas,JhajjarDistrict,Haryana,India”isbasedonacasestudythataimstounderstand

whatplantsareusedbytheSaperasandwhy(Panghaletal.,2010).TheSaperasarean

indigenoussnakecharmercommunityandholdamultitudeofknowledgeonthetreatment

ofsnakebitesusingherbalremedies.Thestudyrevealedadecreaseinknowledgeofthe

folkmedicinewithsuccessivegenerations.Panghaletal.(2010,p.6),concludedthat

“knowledgeisdwindlingrapidlyduetochangestowardsamorewesternlifestyle,modern

agriculturalpractices,culturalchangeswithinthecommunity,rapidshifttowards

allopathicmedicine,housingcolonies,andmoderneducation”.Thisarticlefurther

highlightsthedemiseofherbalfolkmedicineinruralvillagesofIndia.Itisthusimportant

formythesisbecauseAdhiislikelytobefacingmanyoftheissuesraisedinthisarticlesuch

asarapidshifttowardsbiomedicineduetotherapidurbanizationanddevelopmentIndia

iscurrentlyundergoing.

“Long-Term(Secular)changeofethnobotanicalknowledgeofusefulplants:

Separatingcohortandageeffects,”astudyoftheTsimaneofBolivianAmazoniabyGodoy

etal.(2009),focusesondistinguishingbetweeninadmissibleindigenousknowledgeand

thatwhichcanbeusedtocorrectlydetermineifalossofethnobotanicalindigenous

27

knowledgeisoccurringinacommunity.Thedifferenceemergesfromknowledgethatis

associatedwithvariousstagesoflife(motherhood,adolescence,etc.)andcannotbe

learnedduringearlierstages,knowncollectivelyastheageeffect,andknowledgethatcan

belearnedandutilizedatanystageoflife,whichisknownasthecohorteffect.While

earlierstudiesshowthatindigenousknowledgeisdecliningduetoeducation,occupation,

marketexposure,andacculturation,datacollectedforthosestudiesweretosomeextent

invalidbecausetheyfallundertheageeffectandcannotbetestedwithoutagebiasacross

generations.Thus,Godoyetal.(2009)conductedtheirstudyusingadisciplineof

knowledgecommontoallages:ethnobotanicalknowledge.Previousresearchsupportsthat

ethnobotanicalknowledgeisacquiredduringthelateteenageryearsandissustained

throughoutlifeifpopulationscontinuetopracticeit.

Thisarticleisimportantformyresearchbecauseitalertedmetoacommonerror

committedwhenconductingstudiesonthefadingofindigenousknowledge.Ibecame

awareIhadtoavoidhavinganytypeofageeffectsinmystudy.Thearticletherebyhelped

toensurethatmydataonthepracticeandknowledgeofherbalmedicinewouldbe

admissible.

Methodology

Iwillbeusingthetermslocalremedies,folkmedicine,herbalremedies,home

remedies,andethnobotanicalknowledgeinterchangeablyastheyaresynonymoustoone

anotherunderthecontextofmyresearch.Thetermethnobotanicalknowledge,usedby

Godoyetal.,isdefinedastheknowledgeoftheuseofplants(includingherbs,spices,roots,

extracts,andoils)specifictoaparticularculture.Measuringadecreaseindemonstrationof

28

culturalknowledgecanbesubjecttosystematicerrorduetonon-representativesamples.

Sucherrorstemsfromtheageeffect:knowledgethatcanonlybeacquiredduringvarious

stagesoflife(i.e.parenthood).Inordertoquantifythediminisheddemonstrationanduse

ofknowledge,thetypeofknowledgemeasuredmustbecommontoallages.

Ethnobotanicalknowledgefallsunderthecohorteffect,whichmeansitisknowledgethan

canbelearnedatanyageandretainedthroughoutalifetime.Iconsultedthestudyby

Godoyetal.,Long-Term(Secular)ChangeofEthnobotanicalKnowledgeofUsefulPlants:

SeparatingCohortandAgeEffects,duringmyresearchtofollowproperguidelinesfordata

collectionofethnobotanicalknowledge.

Datacollectionproceededintheformofacohortstudy,whichwasconductedwith

twoformalwrittensurveysandaninformalinterviewcomponent.Researchersmust

obtaininformedconsentofparticipantsbeforeenrollingthemintothestudyandthenames

andidentitiesofparticipantsmustremainanonymous(Dowling,2009).So,participants

wereenrolledinthestudyafterthepurposeofmyresearchandthetermsofenrollment

wereverballyexplainedtothemandinformedconsentwasgained.Participantswereonly

identifiedbythenumberonthesurveythatwasdistributedtothem.Datawerequalitative

andquantitative,whichallowedfordemographicsandstatisticalrelationships,aswellas

opinions,experiences,andbehaviorstobeexploredandusedtothoroughlyanswermy

researchquestion.Inmycohortstudy,Icomparedtherelationshipandcorrelation

betweenage,gender,levelofliteracy,andeducation,andtheamountofknowledgeof

herbalmedicinedemonstratedbythesamplepopulation.Triangulation,thecombinationof

variousresearchanddatacollectionmethods,allowedformulti-methodresearch,which

broadensthetypeofinformationgathered(McKendrick,2009).Inmulti-methodresearch,

29

eachmethod“generatesparticulardata,whichwhenbroughttogetherarecomplementary

andcanbroadentheunderstandingoftheissueathandbyenriching,expanding,clarifying,

orillustrating”(McKendrick,2009,p.130).Multi-methodresearchisoftenemployedby

geographers—afactthatinspiredmetoemployitinthisstudy.

Thesurveysandinterviewswereconductedwithparticipantsofeachagegroup

(seebelow)andgender.Theformalsurveys(seeAppendix2,3,and4)servedtocollect

demographicdata,aswellasamethodtocreateadatabaseofwell-knownusefulherbs,

plants,andspicesusedinthelocalfolkremedies.10elementswerechosenatrandomfrom

thisdatabaseofethnobotanicalknowledgetocreateasecondarysurveytotestthesame

populationontheirknowledgeofherbalremedies.Thissecondarysurveywasdesignedto

providequantitativedataforanalysisofthedeclineinpossessionanduseof

ethnobotanicalknowledge.Statisticalanalysesofthedatagatheredfromtheformal

surveyswereconductedusingtheSPSSstatisticssoftware.

Thesamplesizeis50people(n=50),50percentmale,50percentfemale,andthere

arebetween5-10peopleperagecohort.Ethnobotanicalknowledgeisgenerallyacquired

duringthelateteenageyears.Thus,subjectswereatleast18yearsofageinorderto

participateinthiscasestudy.Theageoftheoldestparticipantinmystudyis90years.Age

cohortsaredividedasfollows:Cohort1=18to25years,cohort2=26to41years,cohort

3=42to57years,cohort4=58to73years,andcohort5=74to90years.Duetothe

limitationofqualifyingparticipantsbasedonage,thestudydidnotallowforunbiasedand

randomsampling.Thesamplepopulationwasnotrepresentativeoftheentirevillage

becauseresidentsbelowtheageof18wereexcludedfromthestudy.Thus,Idistributed

surveysbygoingdoor-to-door(excludinghouseholdmembersthatdidnotmeetthe

30

minimumagerequirement);however,theroadsonwhichIwalkedfromhousetohouse

wereselectedbyHarjeet.Theyweretheroadsandhomesofpeoplewithwhomshewas

mostcomfortableinintroducingme.ThiswasabarrierIfacedduetomyresearchbeing

cross-cultural.SinceHarjeetwasmyintermediatefigureandlinktotherestofthevillagers,

Iwasexpectedtorespectherlevelofcomfortandallowhertoguidemethroughthevillage

asshepleased.Additionally,IwasonlyinAdhiforfourweeks,introducingatime-

constraintfactor.Icouldnotsampleeveryhouseholdinthevillagebecauseitwould

requiremorethanfourweekstoconductprimarysurveys,secondarysurveys,and

informalinterviewswithallqualifyingparticipants,henceIcollecteddatabasedon

conveniencesamplingandwasunabletosamplethepopulationrandomly.

Theinformalinterviewswerestructuredasasix-questionguidedconversation(see

Appendix1)thatweresupposedtobeconductedwithparticipantsandusedforqualitative

analysisofthepracticeoffolkmedicineinAdhi.Thistypeofinterviewisknownassemi-

structuredinterviews.Semi-structuredinterviewsarecommonlyusedbygeographersto

conductresearchbecauseunlikestructuredsurveysorinterviews,informationregarding

emotions,behaviors,experiences,andopinionscanbecollected(Longhurst,2009,p.583).

Semi-structuredinterviewsadditionallycreateaheightenedsenseofrespectfor

participantsbygivingthemadegreeofautonomyduringconversations.Thus,information

ontheperception,preference,andpracticeofherbalmedicineversuswesternmedicine

wasgatheredfromvillagersinAdhi.WhileinAdhi,however,theinformalinterviewsdid

nottakeshapeoftheguidedconversationIhadinmindwhendesigningtheinterview

questions.Iencounteredsomeproblemswithconductingtheinterviewsasplanned

becausemanyofthevillagerswouldextendorchangeconversationsorsimplynot

31

properlyanswermyquestions.Itwashardtofollowaguidedconversationbecauseeach

conversationtookadifferentroute.ThedataIcollected,however,aresufficienttoanswer

myresearchquestionandprovidedmuchinsightintotheperceptionsofthevillagers

regardinglocalherbalremediesandwesternmedicine.

Duringtheformalandinformalinterviews,Harjeetintroducedmetothevillagers,

andmadesuretherewasnomiscommunicationasIwasinteractingwiththesubjectsofmy

study.Interactionswiththelocalvillagerswasfairlyunchallenged;however,therewere

severalinstanceswhenthereweremisinterpretationsandmiscommunicationbetweenme

andthevillagersduetothedifferenceinspokendialectsandmeaningsofspecificwordsin

PunjabispokeninPunjabandthePunjabispokenintheUnitedStates.Duringthese

moments,IutilizedthehelpofHarjeettoclarifywhatIwasintendingtoaskthesubjectsof

thestudy.Shealsohelpeddistributetheformalsurveysandwhenweencountered

illiterateparticipants,sheorItranslatedthequestionsforthem.Harjeetalsoaidedmein

findingthesubjectsagainforwhenIconductedthesecondarysurveysandinformal

interviews.

UponmyreturnfromAdhi,Icreatedareferenceguidefortheethnobotanical

knowledgeIdocumentedduringmystayinAdhi.Withthehelpofmygrandparents,

NarendraandKanwaljeetSekhon,myparents,VikramjitandSweetieAnand,myauntand

uncle,OnkarandRanjitSekhon,andmycousinJaissySekhon,Iwasabletotranslatethe

namesoftheplantsandvariousingredientsfromPunjabitoEnglish.Myfamilygatheredon

bothendsofthephoneandthroughanextensivephoneconversationthatlastedseveral

hours,wewereabletocatalogthenamesofalltheingredientsfortheremediesIhad

learnedfromtheresidentsofAdhi(seeAppendix5).

32

ProcedureforQuantitativeAnalysis

SPSSisastatisticalanalysissoftwareprogramthatallowstheusertorunvarious

statisticalanalysesuponadatasetormultipledatasets.Duetomystatisticalbackground

beinglimitedtobasicknowledge,Iemployedtheuseofseveraltutorialvideosandarticles

toensuretheanalysesIconductedwereaccurateandrelevant.Thearticletitled

“DescriptiveStatsforOneNumericVariable(Explore)”(2016)availableontheKentState

Universitywebsitediscussesseveralstatisticaltestsforanalyzingandinterpretingsingle

numericvariables.Thearticledemonstratestheimportanceofrunningdescriptive

statisticsfunctionsonsuchdataandhowtointerprettheresultsincluding:boxplots,

normalitytestsandfactors,andkurtosis.Includedinthediscussionisthestep-by-step

tutorialforexecutingthedescriptivestatisticsanalysisinSPSS.

TheinformationKentStateUniversityhasprovidedontheirwebsiteisimportantto

myresearchprojectandtheanalysisIconducteduponthedataIgatheredinAdhi.I

referencedthisarticlewhileusingSPSStoensureIconductedthecorrecttestsand

analysesononenumericvariabledata.Furthermore,thearticleaidedmeinproperly

interpretingthecollecteddataformyresearch.

“WhentoUseaNonparametricTest”(2016)isanarticleavailableontheBoston

UniversitySchoolofPublicHealthwebsite.Thearticlediscusseswhentouseparametric

analysisversusnonparametricanalysiswhenconductingstatisticalanalysisofparticular

data.Accordingtothearticle,parametrictestsshouldbeusedwhendataexhibitnormal

distribution,whilenonparametrictestsshouldbeusedforordinaldataanddatathatare

notnormallydistributed.

33

Thisarticlewassignificantforthequantitativeanalysissectionofmyresearch

projectbecauseitenhancedmyunderstandingofthetypeofdataIcollectedandwhich

testsareappropriateforsubsequentdataanalysis.Iused“WhentoUseaNonparametric

Test”(2016)asaguidelineforchoosingthecorrecttypeofanalysis,parametricversus

nonparametric,foreachofthevariablesItested.Althoughthearticleonlyprovidesbasic

informationofnonparametrictests,itstillimprovedmyknowledgeandunderstandingof

nonparametricdataandanalysis.

ThefollowingvideofilecanbefoundontheOxfordAcademic(OxfordUniversity

Press)(2015)YouTubechannel:Nonparametrictests(SPSS).Thisvideoclipdemonstrates

howtoexecuteonesamplenonparametrictestsandanalysis.Thetutorialgoesindepth

aboutnonparametrictestingfornormalityofscalevariabledata.Furthermore,thenarrator

discusseshowtointerprettestresultsandhowtoapplyone’sfindingstodefinethedata.

TheOxfordAcademic(OxfordUniversityPress)(2015)videowashelpfulformy

researchbecauseitprovidedmewithinformationonadditionalandmoreadvancedtests

ofnormalityIcouldusetoestablishnormalityorlackthereofinmycollecteddata.

Althoughitwasnotessentialtoconductthesetestsonmydata,thevideoisahelpful

sourcetoreferenceshouldIneedtoprovidesupplementaryevidencetosupportnormality

testsIconducted.

AnotherresourcefulYouTubechannelhelpfultomyanalysisis:TheRMUoHP

BiostatisticsResourceChannel.RockyMountainUniversityBiostatisticsdepartment

createdthisYouTubechannel.Professorsofstatisticsuploadvideotutorialsandlecturesto

thechannelforstudentsaroundtheworldtowatchandgainabetterunderstandingof

variousstatisticalconceptsandanalyses.

34

TwovideosinparticularthatIfoundhelpfulweretitled“HowtoUseSPSS:Choosing

theAppropriateStatisticalTest”(TheRMUoHPBiostatisticsResourceChannel,2013)and

“HowToUseSPSS-SpearmanCorrelationCoefficient”(TheRMUoHPBiostatisticsResource

Channel,2012).Thesetutorialsprovideviewerswithinformationandknowledgeof

functionsavailabletoaresearcherwithinSPSSandhowtousethem.Thevideo,“Howto

UseSPSS:ChoosingtheAppropriateStatisticalTest”(TheRMUoHPBiostatisticsResource

Channel,2012),presentsguidelinesforpreparingandexecutingaresearchproject,and

conductingappropriateanalysisofdataisdiscussed.Thesecondvideo,“HowToUseSPSS-

SpearmanCorrelationCoefficient”(TheRMUoHPBiostatisticsResourceChannel,2012),

brieflydiscussestheimportanceofthenonparametricSpearmancorrelationtestand

providesastep-by-steptutorialofhowtorunaSpearmancorrelationonnonparametric

data.

Bothofthesevideoswereextremelyhelpfulforthequantitativeanalysisofmy

researchdata.Ireferencedbothvideosandfollowedtheguidelinesandstepsoutlinedin

eachvideoinordertothoroughlyunderstandwhattypesofdataIhadcollectedandhowto

analyzethem,andonceIdifferentiatedbetweenparametricandnonparametricdata,how

torunSpearmancorrelationtestsandinterpretthem.

Inordertovalidatethefindingsofmyresearch,Iplantoaddalongitudinal

componenttoit:IwillreturntoAdhiin2025andconductthisstudyagain.Iwillnotuseall

thesameparticipantsformysamplebecausethepopulationthatwasundertheageof18

in2015willbeeligibletoparticipateinmystudyin2025.Iwillneedtoincludethisnewly

agedpopulationinordertocomparedifferencesintheamountofethnobotanical

35

knowledgeknownamongthenewlyagedgroupwiththeknowledgeofallotherage

cohortssampledin2025aswellasthesameagecohortsampledin2015.

Afterspending4weeksinAdhi,IfeltIhadcompletedallfieldworknecessaryto

writeanhonorsthesisregardingmyhypothesis.Inthisthesis,Iwilldiscusstheresultsof

myquantitativeandqualitativeresearchandthesignificancetheyholdwithregardsto

rejectingoracceptingthenullhypothesis.Thenullhypothesisis:thereisnodeclineinthe

use,practice,andpreparationofethnobotanicalknowledgeandremediesoccurringinthe

villageofAdhi.

QuantitativeDataAnalysis

Quantitativedataforthisstudywasgatheredusingtwoformalsurveyinstruments.

EachsurveywasprintedinPunjabi.Manyparticipantswereilliterate.Forthesevillagers,

HarjeetNahalorIreadthequestionsaloudandfilledoutthesurveysaccordingtotheir

answers.Literateparticipantsfilledoutsurveysontheirownandreturnedthecompleted

formstome.Theprimarysurveyinstrumentincluded10questions.Thefirsteight

questionsservedtocollectdemographicdataofthepopulationsuchasgender,age,

literacy,typeandlevelofeducation,occupation,yearlyincome,anddistancefromnearest

doctorandhospital.Thefinaltwoquestionsaskedparticipantstoratetheeffectivenessof

westernmedicationsversusfolkremediesandtoprovidealistoftheknownusesofas

manyplants,spices,andherbsaspossibleinregardstohumanhealthandwellbeing.The

followingquestionfromtheprimarysurveywasnotusedindataanalysis:Ifyouattended

school,whattypeofschoolwasit?(PunjabiMedium,HindiMedium,orEnglishMedium).

Participantswhoattendedaschool(atanypointduringtheirlifetime)allanswered

36

“PunjabiMedium”tothisquestion.Thedatacollectedfromthisquestionwereintendedto

exploreapossiblecorrelationbetweenlanguageofeducationanddemonstrationof

ethnobotanicalknowledge.Duetotheanswersbeingthesameamongparticipantsthat

attendedschool,thequestionnolongerservedanysignificantstatisticalpurposeinmy

study.

Thesecondarysurveyinstrumentconsistedof10multiplechoicequestions

regardingthefunctionofspecificplants,spices,andherbs.Thequestionswereconstructed

usingtheethnobotanicalknowledgeprovidedintheprimarysurvey.10remediesofthe54

listedbythevillagerswereselectedatrandom,inordertoeliminatedifficultybias,assome

remedieswerecommonlyknown,whileotherswereonlyrecordedbysingleparticipants.

Scoresrepresenttheamountoflocalmedicinalknowledgeknownbyparticipants.

Thetotalnumberofparticipantsinthestudyis53,comprisedof28femalesand25

males.Sampleswerecollectedbywalkingdoortodooraroundthevillageandasking

residentsiftheywouldliketoparticipateinmystudy.Residentsfromvariousblocks,

alleys,androadsofthevillagewereincluded;however,duetothecross-culturalsettings,I

wasexpectedtoonlyconductthestudyontheroadsandinalliesinwhichHarjeetfelt

comfortabletakingmeandintroducingmetotheresidents.Inadditiontothecross-

culturalrestrictionsonsamplingpopulationIfacedduringdatacollection,anintrinsic

exclusioncriterioninthisstudyisthatparticipantshadtobe18yearsofageorolderin

ordertobeenrolledinthestudyduetotheCohortEffectdiscussedearlier.Thetarget

samplesizewasn=50,thus,onceIhadsuccessfullydistributedapproximately50surveys,

Istoppedsamplingthepopulation.Datacollectionfollowedaconveniencesamplingmodel,

ratherthanrandomsampling.Sincerandomsamplingdidnotoccur,theproceeding

37

analysescannotbegeneralizedtotheentirevillage;statisticalanalysesareonly

representativeofthesamplepopulation(n,wheren=peopleenrolledinthestudy)and

onlyprovideinformationonpatternsandtrendsamongthesamplepopulation.Forthis

reason,statisticalanalyseswereconductedassumingn=N,wherethesamplepopulation

(n)isequaltothewholepopulation(N).Additionally,

Thedatacollectedfromparticipants#3,#9,and#20arenotusedinthestatistical

analysisduetoinvalidityofthesecondarysurveys.Quantitativedatafromparticipant#3

wereinvalidduetoherinvolvementinthestudyasanaidandguideinAdhi.Although

duringtheinitialphaseofthestudy,inwhichtheprimarysurveysweredistributed,

participant#3wasaviablecandidate,sheaidedintranslationsandtranscriptionsofother

participants’answersforquestion10ofsurvey1,allowinghertogainaccessto

ethnobotanicalknowledgeshemaynothavehadpriortothestudy.Quantitativedatafrom

participant#9wereunsoundbecausehedidnotfollowdirectionsproperlythatmandated

hecannotdiscussthequestionsofthesecondarysurveywithotherparticipantsduringthe

study.Hisresponsestothesecondarysurveywereidenticaltothoseofhiselderbrother,

whohadpreviouslycompletedthesurvey.Participant#20’ssecondarysurveywas

incompleteassherefusedtoanswerallofthequestions.

ThetotalpopulationofAdhiis1,474people:737malesand737females.The

compositionoftheparticipantdatausedinthestatisticalanalysisissuch:n=50with26

females,24males,agesrangingfrom18yearsto90years,educationlevelrangingfrom

nonetoBachelorofArtsdegree,andestimatedyearlyincomesrangingfrom5,000Rs.to

500,000Rs.Althoughthesamplesizeisgreaterthan30,duetoconveniencesamplingand

selectionbias,thesamplepopulationisnotstatisticallyrepresentativeofthewholevillage.

38

Regardlessofthedatabeingnon-representativeoftheentirevillage,myprojectstill

focusesoncontributingtoacademicdiscourseonthetopicofadeclineinthe

demonstrationandpracticeoffolkknowledge.Myresearchcanserveasaprototypestudy

andmodelforscholarstouseinconductingsimilarstudies.

Originally,Iusedthesurveyinstrumentstoalsoexploretherelationshipbetween

proximitytoalicensedphysicianandhospitalandpossessionofethnobotanical

knowledge;however,allparticipantsansweredthesamefortherespectivequestion:

villagerstraveledtotheclosestcity,Nakodar,locatedapproximately17kmSouthwestof

Adhi,tovisitalicensedphysicianandthenearesthospitalislocatedapproximately24km

NortheastofAdhiinthemajordistrictcityofJalandhar.Thus,thereisnoanalyticalvalueor

relationshipbetweentheamountsofknownfolkremediesbyasinglepersonandthe

proximitytohealthcareandIhaveeliminatedthisfactorfrommystudy.Althoughthereis

noquantitativeevidenceinmydatathatgeographicproximitytodoctorsandhospitalscan

affectthepracticeoffolkmedicine,proximitydoesnotequatetoaccessibility.Asdiscussed

laterinthequalitativeanalysisoftheperspectivesofthevillagersregardinghome

remediesandbiomedicine,accessibilitytohealthcareoftenbecomesthedecidingfactorin

whethertouseethnobotanicalremediesorwesterntreatments.Suchfactorsinclude

meansoftransportation,severityoftheillness,andpersonalviewsoftheefficacyofeither

formofmedicine.

Inconjunctionwithmyresearchquestiononwhetherornotthereisadiminished

demonstrationofethnobotanicalknowledgeacrossgenerations,thequantitativeanalysis

focuseslargelyonthecorrelationbetweenscoreachievedonthesecondarysurveyandthe

ageoftheparticipant,keepinginmindallstatisticalanalysesonlyholdtrueunderthe

39

assumptionthatn=N.Subsequentcorrelationalandcomparativeanalysisbetweenscores

andGender,scoresandEducation(highestcompletedlevel),andscoresandIncome

(yearly)servestoreflectpossiblereasonsforthedeclineinlocalmedicinalknowledgewith

eachsuccessivegeneration.Parametricandnonparametricstatisticalanalysissuggeststhat

thereisadownwardtrendintheknowledgeofherbalhomeremediesfromolder

generationsto

youngergenerations.

BeforeIcouldmakeanyconclusionsorinferencesbasedondataanalyses,I

conductednormalitytestsonallthedata.Thefollowingindependentvariablesweretested

fornormality:Age(years),AgeCohorts,Gender,Education,andIncome.

Age Years Case Processing Summary

Cases

Valid Missing Total

N Percent N Percent N Percent

Age Years 50 100.0% 0 0.0% 50 100.0%

Descriptives

Statistic Std. Error

Age Years Mean 46.56 2.563

95% Confidence Interval for

Mean

Lower Bound 41.41 Upper Bound 51.71

5% Trimmed Mean 46.01 Median 45.00 Variance 328.456 Std. Deviation 18.123 Minimum 18 Maximum 90 Range 72 Interquartile Range 26 Skewness .380 .337

Kurtosis -.486 .662

40

Tests of Normality

Kolmogorov-Smirnova Shapiro-Wilk

Statistic df Sig. Statistic df Sig.

Age Years .081 50 .200* .967 50 .180

*. This is a lower bound of the true significance.

a. Lilliefors Significance Correction

HO=ThedataforAgeYearsareNOTnormallydistributed.

HA=ThedataforAgeYearsarenormallydistributed.

41

Age Cohorts Case Processing Summary

Cases

Valid Missing Total

N Percent N Percent N Percent

Age Cohorts 50 100.0% 0 0.0% 50 100.0%

Descriptives

Statistic Std. Error

Age Cohorts Mean 2.80 .171

95% Confidence Interval for

Mean

Lower Bound 2.46

Upper Bound 3.14

5% Trimmed Mean 2.78

Median 3.00

Variance 1.469

Std. Deviation 1.212

Minimum 1

Maximum 5

Range 4

Interquartile Range 2

Skewness .258 .337

Kurtosis -.865 .662

Tests of Normality

Kolmogorov-Smirnova Shapiro-Wilk

Statistic df Sig. Statistic df Sig.

Age Cohorts .205 50 .000 .908 50 .001

a. Lilliefors Significance Correction

HO=ThedataforAgeCohortsareNOTnormallydistributed.

HA=ThedataforAgeCohortsarenormallydistributed.

42

Gender Case Processing Summary

Gender

Cases Valid Missing Total N Percent N Percent N Percent

Score Female 26 100.0% 0 0.0% 26 100.0%

Male 24 100.0% 0 0.0% 24 100.0%

43

Descriptives Gender Statistic Std. Error

Score Female Mean 5.73 .406

95% Confidence Interval for

Mean

Lower Bound 4.89 Upper Bound 6.57

5% Trimmed Mean 5.70 Median 5.50 Variance 4.285 Std. Deviation 2.070 Minimum 2 Maximum 10 Range 8 Interquartile Range 3 Skewness .391 .456

Kurtosis -.458 .887

Male Mean 4.50 .335

95% Confidence Interval for

Mean

Lower Bound 3.81 Upper Bound 5.19

5% Trimmed Mean 4.59 Median 5.00 Variance 2.696 Std. Deviation 1.642 Minimum 0 Maximum 7 Range 7 Interquartile Range 2 Skewness -.707 .472

Kurtosis 1.208 .918

Tests of Normality

Gender

Kolmogorov-Smirnova Shapiro-Wilk Statistic df Sig. Statistic df Sig.

Score Female .141 26 .200* .955 26 .311

Male .203 24 .012 .922 24 .064

*. This is a lower bound of the true significance.

44

a. Lilliefors Significance Correction

HO=ThedataforGenderareNOTnormallydistributed.

HA=ThedataforGenderarenormallydistributed.

45

Test of Homogeneity of Variances

Score Levene Statistic df1 df2 Sig.

1.615 1 48 .210

ANOVA

Score Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 18.905 1 18.905 5.366 .025

Within Groups 169.115 48 3.523 Total 188.020 49

HO=ThedataforGenderdoNOTdisplayequalvariance.

HA=ThedataforGenderdisplayequalvariance.

46

Education Case Processing Summary

Cases

Valid Missing Total

N Percent N Percent N Percent

Education 50 100.0% 0 0.0% 50 100.0%

Descriptives

Statistic Std. Error

Education Mean 5.98 .736

95% Confidence Interval for

Mean

Lower Bound 4.50

Upper Bound 7.46

5% Trimmed Mean 5.89

Median 8.00

Variance 27.081

Std. Deviation 5.204

Minimum 0

Maximum 16

Range 16

Interquartile Range 10

Skewness -.036 .337

Kurtosis -1.618 .662

Tests of Normality

Kolmogorov-Smirnova Shapiro-Wilk

Statistic df Sig. Statistic df Sig.

Education .255 50 .000 .824 50 .000

a. Lilliefors Significance Correction

HO=ThedataforEducationareNOTnormallydistributed.

HA=ThedataforEducationarenormallydistributed.

47

Income

Case Processing Summary

Cases

Valid Missing Total

N Percent N Percent N Percent

Income 50 100.0% 0 0.0% 50 100.0%

48

Descriptives

Statistic Std. Error

Income Mean 81960.00 15648.850

95% Confidence Interval for

Mean

Lower Bound 50512.46 Upper Bound 113407.54

5% Trimmed Mean 67455.56 Median 25000.00 Variance 12244324897.95

9

Std. Deviation 110654.078

Minimum 5000

Maximum 500000

Range 495000

Interquartile Range 86250

Skewness 2.089 .337

Kurtosis 4.313 .662

Tests of Normality

Kolmogorov-Smirnova Shapiro-Wilk

Statistic df Sig. Statistic df Sig.

Income .243 50 .000 .704 50 .000

a. Lilliefors Significance Correction

HO=ThedataforIncomeareNOTnormallydistributed.

HA=ThedataforIncomearenormallydistributed.

49

AccordingtotheproceduresoutlinedfornormalitytestingintheKentStateUniversity

article,“DescriptiveStatsforOneNumericVariable(Explore)”(2016),theseShapiro-Wilk

statistictestsofnormalityexhibitthatonlyAgeYearsandGenderdemonstratednormal

datadistribution.AgeCohorts,Education,andIncomedidnotpresentnormaldistributions.

ThesignificancevalueofShapiro-WilkstatistictestsforAgeYearsandforGender(forboth

femaleandmaledata)isgreaterthan0.01,rejectingthenullhypothesisandconfirming

thatthedatafollowanormaldistribution.Inadditiontonormaldistribution,theLevene

testandone-wayAnalysisofVariance(ANOVA)ofGenderdatarevealedequalvarianceof

scoresforKnowledgebetweenfemalesandmalesbecausep>0.01fortheLevenestatistic

50

andp<0.05fortheF-Value.ThesignificancevaluesoftheShapiro-Wilkstatistictestfor

AgeCohorts,Education,andIncomearelessthan0.01;thenullhypothesisisaccepted,

suggestingthatthedatafromthesethreevariablesdonotfollowanormaldistribution.

Thus,parametricmethods(PearsoncorrelationtestandRegressionanalysis)were

performedusingAge(years)andKnowledge,aswellasGenderandKnowledge

(Independentt-test).RelationshipsbetweenAgeCohorts,Education,Income,and

Knowledgemustbetestedusingnonparametrictechniques(Spearmancorrelationtest).

Knowledge(scores)isthedependentvariableinthisstudy.Beforeexaminingwhich

independentvariablesmayormaynothaveaffectedtheresults,somedescriptivestatistics

werepreparedtoobservegeneraltrendsinthescoresofthevillagersonthesecondary

surveys:

Knowledge

Statistics

Score N Valid 50

Missing 0

Mean 5.14

Median 5.00

Mode 5

Std. Deviation 1.959

Variance 3.837

Skewness .237

Std. Error of Skewness .337

Kurtosis .567

Std. Error of Kurtosis .662

Minimum 0

Maximum 10

Percentiles 25 4.00

50 5.00

75 6.00

51

Score

Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid 0 1 2.0 2.0 2.0

2 2 4.0 4.0 6.0

3 6 12.0 12.0 18.0

4 9 18.0 18.0 36.0

5 14 28.0 28.0 64.0

6 7 14.0 14.0 78.0

7 6 12.0 12.0 90.0

8 1 2.0 2.0 92.0

9 3 6.0 6.0 98.0

10 1 2.0 2.0 100.0

Total 50 100.0 100.0

Themeanscorefordemonstrationofethnobotanicalknowledgeamongtheentiresample

population(n=50)was5.14.Themostfrequentscorewasa5/10,with14villagersgetting

5outof10answerscorrectonthesecondarysurvey.Onlyonepersonscoredaperfect

10/10andonlyonepersonscored0/10.Closeranalysisoftheindependentvariables(Age

Years,AgeCohorts,Gender,Education,andIncome)providesorrejectspossible

explanationsfortheoutcomeofscores.

52

ThefollowingiscorrelationalandregressiondataforKnowledgevs.AgeYears:

Correlations

Age Years Score

Age Years Pearson Correlation 1 .790**

Sig. (2-tailed) .000

N 50 50

Score Pearson Correlation .790** 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .000

N 50 50

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

53

Regression Descriptive Statistics

Mean Std. Deviation N

Score 5.14 1.959 50

Age Years 46.56 18.123 50

Variables Entered/Removeda

Model

Variables

Entered

Variables

Removed Method

1 Age Yearsb . Enter

a. Dependent Variable: Score

b. All requested variables entered.

Model Summary

Mode

l R

R

Square

Adjusted R

Square

Std. Error of

the Estimate

Change Statistics

R Square

Change

F

Change df1

1 .790a .625 .617 1.212 .625 79.951 1

Model Summary

Model

Change Statistics

df2 Sig. F Change

1 48 .000

a. Predictors: (Constant), Age Years

Correlationalanalysiswasdoneinordertorejectoracceptthenullhypothesis:

HO=Thereisnosignificantcorrelationbetweenpossessionofethnobotanicalknowledgeandage.

Thealternativehypothesisbecomes:

HA=Thereisasignificantcorrelationbetweenpossessionofethnobotanicalknowledgeandage.

Inthecorrelationdataforknowledgevs.ageofparticipants,thePearsoncorrelationfactor

is0.790andp<0.01,sothecorrelationissignificant.Thus,thenullhypothesisisrejected

andthealternativehypothesisisaccepted.Thescatterplotsuggeststhatageandscoresare

54

directlyproportionaltooneanother.Furthermore,aregressionofthedatarevealswhether

acorrelationrepresentsatruerelationshipandhowmuchofthevarianceinscoresof

knowledgecanbeattributedtoage.

Thenullhypothesisis:

HO=Thereisnosupportedpredictablerelationshipbetweenageandpossessionofethnobotanical

knowledge.

Thealternativehypothesisis:

HA=Thereisasupportedpredictablerelationshipbetweenageandpossessionofethnobotanical

knowledge.

Theregressiondatafurtherconfirmthecorrelationbetweenageandscoresandalso

suggestthatatruecausalrelationshipexistsbetweenthem.TheR-squaredvalueis0.625

andtheadjustedR-squaredvalueis0.617.Therefore,approximately62%ofthevariancein

scorescanbeattributedtotheageoftheparticipants.ThisisasignificantR-squaredvalue

andp<0.01.Thereisasupportedrelationshipbetweenpossessionofethnobotanical

knowledgeandageofparticipants;thenullhypothesis(HO=Thereisnopredictable

correlativerelationshipbetweenageandscores)isrejectedandthealternativehypothesis

(HA=Thereisapredictablecorrelativerelationshipbetweenageandscores)isaccepted.

55

Thefollowingis(nonparametric)correlationalanalysisofKnowledgevs.Age

Cohorts:

Nonparametric Correlations

Correlations

Score Age Cohorts

Spearman's rho Score Correlation Coefficient 1.000 .757**

Sig. (2-tailed) . .000

N 50 50

Age Cohorts Correlation Coefficient .757** 1.000

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .

N 50 50

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

56

Theageofparticipantsaregroupedintofivecohortsandeachcohortiscodedusing

numbers1-5,where1=18to25years,2=26to41years,3=42to57years,4=58to73,

5=74to90years.Accordingtothegraphoftheagecohorts,adistinctgroupingpattern

emergesunderthestructureofthreebiologicalgenerations.Theparentgeneration(P)is

cohorts4and5,theiroffspring(G1)arecohorts2and3,andtheoffspringofG1iscohort1

(G2).Amongthethreegenerations,Pscoresrangedfrom50%to100%correctanswers.G1

scoredfrom30%to70%correct.G2generatedscoresrangingfrom0%to40%correct.The

overalltrendamongthecohortsstillsuggestsadeclineintheamountofknowledge

demonstratedbyeachgeneration.Forcorrelationdata,thenullhypothesisis:

HO=Thereisnosignificantcorrelationbetweenpossessionofethnobotanicalknowledgeandage

cohorts.

Thealternativehypothesisis:

HA=Thereisasignificantcorrelationbetweenpossessionofethnobotanicalknowledgeandagecohorts.

TheSpearmancorrelationfactoris0.757andp<0.01,sothenullhypothesisisrejected.

Thedataaresignificantandacorrelationexists.

ThefollowingaredescriptivestatisticsforscoresbasedonGenderandcomparative

testresultsbetweenfemalesandmalesforKnowledgevs.Gender:

Statistics

Gender = 1

(FILTER) Score

N Valid 26 26

Missing 0 0

Mean 1.00 5.73

Median 1.00 5.50

Mode 1 4a

57

Statistics

Gender = 2

(FILTER) Score

N Valid 50 50

Missing 0 0

Mean .48 5.14

Median .00 5.00

Mode 0 5

Group Statistics Gender N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

Score Female 26 5.73 2.070 .406

Male 24 4.50 1.642 .335

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test for

Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means

F Sig. t df

Sig. (2-

tailed) Mean Difference

Std. Error

Difference

95% Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

Lower Upper

Score Equal variances

assumed 1.615 .210 2.316 48 .025 1.231 .531 .162 2.299

Equal variances

not assumed 2.338 46.974 .024 1.231 .526 .172 2.290

Thedataforgenderwerecodedasfollows:1=female,2=male.Datarevealthatthe

averagescoresoffemaleswerehigherthanthoseofmales,suggestingthatlocalmedicinal

knowledgeisslightlymorecommonlyknownamongthefemalepopulationversusthemale

population.Althoughtheindependentt-testrevealsthatthereisnostatisticallysignificant

differencebetweenthemeanvalueofscoreforfemalesandmales,theaveragescoreof

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knowledgeforfemaleswas5.73andtheaveragescoreformaleswas4.5.Thesmall

discrepancycanbeaccreditedtoculturalgenderrolesofmenandwomeninAdhi;thiswill

befurtherexploredinthequalitativedatagatheredfrominformalinterviews.

Thefollowingisa(nonparametric)correlationdataanalysisforKnowledgevs.

Education:

Nonparametric Correlations

Correlations

Score Education

Spearman's rho Score Correlation Coefficient 1.000 -.606**

Sig. (2-tailed) . .000

N 50 50

Education Correlation Coefficient -.606** 1.000

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .

N 50 50

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

59

Thenullhypothesisis:

HO=Thereisnosignificantcorrelationbetweenpossessionofethnobotanicalknowledgeandeducation.

Thealternativehypothesisis:

HA=Thereisasignificantcorrelationbetweenpossessionofethnobotanicalknowledgeandeducation.

Correlationdataforknowledgeandhighestlevelofeducationcompletedbytheparticipant

showastatisticallysignificantSpearmancorrelationof-0.606withap-valueoflessthan

0.01andthealternativehypothesisisaccepted.Thecorrelationisnegative,however,which

indicatesthatthehigherthecompletedlevelofeducationofaparticipant,thelessthey

knowaboutherbalremedies.

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Thefollowingisa(nonparametric)correlationaldataanalysisofKnowledgevs.

Income:

Nonparametric Correlations

Correlations

Score Income

Spearman's rho Score Correlation Coefficient 1.000 .090

Sig. (2-tailed) . .535

N 50 50

Income Correlation Coefficient .090 1.000

Sig. (2-tailed) .535 .

N 50 50

61

Thenullhypothesisis:

HO=Thereisnosignificantcorrelationbetweenpossessionofethnobotanicalknowledgeandincome.

Thealternativehypothesisis:

HA=Thereisasignificantcorrelationbetweenpossessionofethnobotanicalknowledgeandincome.

Asthedatashow,theSpearmancorrelationfactoris0.090andp>0.01.Thereisno

significantcorrelationbetweenannualincomeandpossessionofethnobotanical

knowledge;thenullhypothesisisretained.Thepurposeofexaminingthisrelationshipwas

todeterminewhetherearningmoremoneycouldmakewesternmedicinemoreaffordable

andpossiblymorepreferred;however,statisticalanalysisdemonstratesthattheannual

incomeofthevillagersisnotafactorinthedecreasedpossessionoflocalmedicinal

knowledge.

Overall(withtheassumptionthatn=N),statisticalanalysisofthequantitativedata

revealsadecreaseinthepossesionofethnobotanicalknowledgewitheachsuccessive

generationamongthesampledpopulationinAdhi,Punjab.Majorityofthediminished

demonstrationofknowledgecanbeattributedtotheageoftheparticipantandasignificant

cofactoriseducation;thehigherthelevelofeducation,thelesstheknowledgeofhome

remediesisdemonstratedbyaparticipant,suggestingthatethnobotanicalknowledgeis

notbeingpasseddowngenerationsasfrequently.Femalesexhibitedaslightlyhigher

amountofknowledgethanmales;however,itcanbeexplainedbygenderrolesinthe

village.Incomehasnosignificantcorrelationtothedeclineofethnobotanicalknowledge.

Althoughquantitativedataarehelpfulinprovidingnumericalevidenceofthedecreased

demonstrationoflocalmedicinalknowledgeandpossiblefactorsforthistrend,itcannot

deliverproofofthevillagersshiftingfromuseofherbalhomeremediestowestern

62

medicine.Qualitativedatabetterservestogiveinsightintotheperspectivesandattitudes

ofthevillagerstowardswesternmedicineandfolkmedicine.

QualitativeDataAnalysis

Followingthefirstpartofthestudy,inwhichtwoformalsurveyinstrumentswere

employedtocollectquantitativedata,thesecondpartofthestudyfocusedonthecollection

ofqualitativedata.Informalinterviewsandconversationswereconductedwith

approximatelyhalfoftheoriginalsamplepopulation(27participants).The27villagers

thatpartookinthequalitativedatacollectionvariedinageandgender:15females,12

malesandagesrangingfrom18to90yearsold.Theinformalsurveywasaguided

conversationcomprisedof6questions.Thequestionssoughttogaininsightonthe

perspectivesofthevillagersontheuseandefficacyofwesternmedicineversustraditional

indigenousmedicine.Adistinctionmustbemade,however,betweentheuseoffolk

medicineasopposedtotheknowledgeoffolkmedicine.Usingindigenousremediestotreat

ailmentsdoesnotdenotetohavingethnobotanicalknowledge.Manyvillagerscontinueto

useherbalmedicine,buttheydonotpreparetheremediesthemselves,ratherafemaleof

thehouseholdwillprepareitforthesickfamilymember.

Qualitativeanalysiswillprovideagreaterunderstandingofifandwhyadeclinein

thepossessionofethnobotanicalknowledgeisoccurring,includingtheuseandpreparation

ofhomeremedies.Theinterviewsdidnotentirelyfollowthepre-plannedguided

conversationstructure;however,theprincipalgoalsweremetandIwasabletogainan

understandingoftheviewpointsofthevillagersregardingbothformsofmedicine—

westernandtraditional.

63

Analysisofthequalitativedatarevealsseveraltrendsamongthe27participants,

trendswhichcanfurtherbecategorizedbythefollowingfactors:ageandgender.There

wereseveralspecialcaseswhereparticipantviewpointswerefurtherspecifictoacertain

agegroupandgender,namelyelderlyfemaleparticipantsandyoungmaleparticipants.

Theinterviewsrevealedseveralcommonviewpointsoftheuseandefficacyof

westernmedicineandindigenousmedicine.Whenaskedwhichformofmedicinetheyuse

moreoften,almostimmediatelyalltheparticipantsansweredthattheirfirstchoiceis

westernmedicine.Butwhenaskedfurtherabouttreatingvariousdiseases,illnesses,and

symptoms,thevillagersfeltasthoughthetypeofillnessmandatedthetypeoftreatment.

Thedecidingfactoriswhethertheailmentisacuteorchronic.Ingeneral,thevillagers

resortedtoherbalhomeremediesfirstforsymptomswithasudden(acute)onsetsuchas

fevers,achesandpains,coughs,diarrhea,constipation,vomiting,etc.Forchronic

conditionssuchasdiabetes,hypertension,andcancer,villagersoptedtovisitalicensed

physicianandreceivewesterntreatments.Asidefromacutevs.chronicillnesses,therewas

ageneralconsensusonusinghomeethnobotanicalremediesformildsymptomsor

sicknessesandusingwesternmedicationsformoreseriousconcerns.Forexample,the

villagerssaidtheywouldseekwesternhealthcareforanyseriousorfatalillness,inthis

caseacuteorchronic,suchasmalaria,denguefever,cancers,cardiovasculardisease,and

liverdisease.Incontrast,theparticipantsortheirfamilymemberspreferredtousehome

remediesforsimpleailmentssuchascolds,migraines,hairloss,andgastrointestinal

disturbances.Villagersagreedthatoccasionallyhomeremediescanbeunreliabledueto

thelackofconsistencyindurationanddosage.Forsomepeople,aremedymayneedtobe

continuedlongerortakenmorefrequentlythanforothers.Thus,westernmedicineis

64

deemedmorereliableandgivenpriorityformoresevereillnesses.Therewereseveral

exceptions,however,whenvillagershadoptedtouselocalremediesforchronicorsevere

ailments.Forexample,afewvillagershadtakenanherbalhomeremedypreparedwith

tulsileavestotreatTyphoid(seeAppendix5).Somevillagershadmentionedusinghome

remediestotreatandpossiblycurediabetes(seeAppendix5),astheyhadheardandknew

ofsuccessstoriesfromothers.Anotherfactorthatinfluencedthevillagers’choiceof

treatmentwasaccesstotransportation.Someparticipantsmentionedthatitiseasiertouse

homeremediesforacuteandmildailmentsbecausetransportationisoftenanissuefor

them.Someofthemdonothaveenoughmoneytoowncarsandtheyhavetowalkthree

kilometerstothenearestbusstoportheymustaskforaridefromneighborsinorderto

visitahospitalorlicensedphysician.Itisalsoimportanttonotethattheyounger

participants(ages18-22)didnotactivelychoosetousethehomeremedies,rathertheir

mothersorgrandmotherspreparedtheherbalremediesandgavethemtothese

participants.Duringmystudy,Ididnotfurtherexaminetheissuesoftransportationand

accessibilitytoahealthcarefacility;however,thequestionariseswhetherornotlackof

transportationplaysasignificantroleintheuseofwesternmedicineversusfolkmedicine.

Thisshouldbefurtherresearched.

Withinthecategoryofage,twodistinctperspectiveswereobservedbetweenthe

youngversustheelderly.Participantsfromtheagesof18to28yearssaidtheyhadbeen

exposedtoherbalremedieswithintheirhouseholds,buttheyhadneverpreparedthem,

andtheyhadlearnedlittletononeethnobotanicalknowledgefromtheirelders.Theytold

methatitwastheirmothersandgrandmothersthatpreparedandgavethemtheherbal

therapies.Theyoungparticipantsalsoexpressedastrongpreferenceforwesternmedicine,

65

astheybelievedittobemoreeffective.Awoman,age45describedtheattitudeofher

daughtertowardsherbalremedies,“Iusedtoprepareafacialmaskformydaughtermade

fromgrahamflour,milk,and“karaati”forheracne.Sheappliediteverynightandletitsit

for10minutesandthenshewashedherface.Butshedoesn’tdoitanymore.Shedoesn’t

listentome.Shesaysit’snotworkingandittakestoomuchtime,butIsawadifference,her

skinwassoniceandsoft.Shejustdoesn’tlisten”(translatedfromPunjabi).WhenIasked

an18-year-oldmanabouthisuseandpreferenceforeithertypeofmedicine,hejokingly

responded,“TheonlyhomeremedyIuseishomebrewedalcohol”(translatedfrom

Punjabi).Hewentontoexplainthatalthoughhismothersometimesmakesherbal

remediesathome,heisreluctanttousetheherbalremediesbecauseheconsidersthemto

be“useless”andawasteoftime.Wheneverheisfeelingmalaise,hesimplyvisitsthevillage

doctortogetwesternmedicationtorelievehissymptoms.Thereluctancetousefolk

remediesamongtheyoungercrowdissimilartothefindingsofKatewaetal.(2004),who

suggestyoungergenerationshaveatendencytodivergefromtraditionallifestylesdueto

modernization.Theelderlyparticipantssaidthattheyusedherbalremediesfrequentlyas

kids.Thereasonforthiswasoftenexplainedinsimilartermsasinthisstatementfroma

80-year-oldwoman:“Westernmedicinewasnotwidelyavailableand[herbalremedies]

wasthecommonformofmedicineinmosthouseholds”.Now,however,theelderlyhave

switchedusetowesternmedication.WhenIaskedtheelderlyparticipantswhytheyrely

onwesternmedicationmoreoftenthanhomeremedies,onewomananswered,“Thatis

justwhatweusenow.Thatiswhateveryoneusesnow.We[theelderly]justtake

whicheverpillsthedoctortellsustotakeorwhateverourchildrenbringbackfrom[the

villagedoctor]”(translatedfromPunjabi,nameofdoctorisomittedandreplacedwith‘the

66

villagedoctor’toprovideconfidentiality).ItbecameapparentfromtheconversationsIhad

withtheelderlyvillagersthatwesternmedicinewasthestandard,andthegeneral

expectationwasthatitshouldprovidefastandeffectivetreatmentbecauseitis“advanced”

andusesnewtechnology.WithsimilarfindingsinstudiesconductedbyPironetal.(2000)

andGould(Landy,1974),theshifttowardsbiomedicinecanpartiallybeexplainedbythe

phenomenaof“folkpragmatism”and“pragmaticacculturation.”Folkpragmatismand

pragmaticacculturationaredefinedastheprocessbywhichlocalpopulationsadopt

characteristicsofnon-nativeculturesduetopracticalbenefitsoruses.InSingaporeand

Sherapur,India,theadoptionofwesternmedicinewasduetothetechnologyassociated

withit,whichwasabsentfromTraditionalChineseMedicine(TCM)andlocalfolkpractices

(Pironetal.,2000;Landy,1974).SomeseniorcitizensinAdhialsoexpressedthatitis

relativelyeasiertotakewesternpillsbecausetheycomepre-packagedanddonotrequire

anypreparation,furtherprovidingsupportforthepossibilityofpragmaticacculturation

occurringbasedonperceivedpracticalityofbiomedicine.Apartfromthecontrastingviews

betweentheyouthandtheelderly,thegeneraltrendwasstillpresent:Westernmedicineis

usedmorefrequently,regardlessofstatedpreference.

Analysisofqualitativedatabasedongenderprovidedseveralnewinsightsonthe

practiceofandperspectivesaboutindigenousmedicine.Bothmalesandfemalessharedthe

sameviewpoint.Themaleparticipantsarticulatedthebeliefthatethnobotanical

knowledgeandmorespecificallythepreparationoftherapiesarereservedtothewomen

only.Theysaidtheyhavelittleornoexperiencewithpreparingthem.Itistheirmothers

andwivesthatmakeandgivethemtheremedies.Thefemalesexpressedsimilarviews.

TherewereseveralinstanceswhenIaskedfemaleparticipantsiftheirhusbands,sons,or

67

fatherswerehomeoravailabletoparticipateinthestudyandtheyrepliedchucklingand

sayingthatmenknownothingaboutherbalmedicineandthattheyhaveneverstepped

footinthekitchenormadeanythingforthemselves.Theymadeitclearthatsuchactivities

fallundertheresponsibilitiesofwomen.Thisisaresultofthecommonlyacceptedgender

rolesinsociety.Iencounteredmanyelderlymaleswhowerefamiliarwiththeingredients,

formulas,andpreparationofremedies;however,theyhadneveractuallypreparedthe

treatmentsthemselvesbecausebothmenandwomenbelievethatfemalesareresponsible

fordomesticresponsibilities(i.e.preparingfoodorhomeremedies).Althoughgenderroles

stillexistandhavepreventedmenfrommakingthetreatmentsthemselves,manystill

possessedtheknowledgeofhowtopreparethem,andthereforemalesstillneedtobe

includedinthisstudy.Furthermore,genderrolesdonotautomaticallyimplythatonly

femalesinruralIndiawilldemonstrateanduseethnobotanicalknowledge.Infact,inthe

studyconductedbyPanghaletal.(2010),bytradition,onlythemalesintheSaperas

communityofasmallvillageinthestateofHaryanawereallowedtopracticeandpasson

knowledgeofherbalremedies.Theformulaswerekeptsecretwithinfamiliesandonly

passedonfromfathertoson.

Theinformalinterviewswiththe27participantsrevealedacharacteristicgender

differenceinpossessionanduseofethnobotanicalknowledgeinAdhi.Thisqualitative

informationsupportsthequantitativedatathatrevealedaslightlyhigheraverageforthe

possessionofethnobotanicalknowledgeamongfemales,butthequalitativedatahavea

muchstrongergenderdifference.Inotherwords,theperceivedgenderdifferencemaybe

largerthantheactualgenderdifferenceinknowledgeaboutethnobotanicalremedies.

68

Severalspecialcaseswerealsoobservedinwhichbothageandgenderwere

commonfactors:youngmaleparticipantsandelderlyfemaleparticipants.Through

conversationtheyoungmalessharedthefactthattheyhadnofamiliaritywithknowledge

ofherbalremedies.Theonlyexposuretheyhadeverhadtolocalmedicinecamefrom

remediestheirmothersorgrandmothershadadministeredtothem,forwhichtheycould

notrecallwhatingredientswereused.Andunlikeanyothercombinationofagegroupand

gender,theyoungmenexhibitedasenseofreluctanceinusinghomeremedies.Theyfelt

morecomfortabletakingwesternmedicationsandbelievedthemtobemoreeffective.The

specialcaseofelderlywomenrevealedthatbasedonperceivedefficacyoftreatments,

therewasalackofpreferenceforeithermedicine.Forthesewomen,thechoicetouse

westernmedicationsmorefrequentlyratherstemmedfromanefficiencyfactor.They

choosetotakewesterntreatmentsbecauseoftheconvenienceofingestingpre-packaged

pillsasopposedtopreparingremediesathome.Oneelderlyfemaleremarked,“Ihave

diabetes.Thereareseveralherbaltreatmentsforit,likecrushingJamunseedsandmaking

apowderoutofthem.Thenmixingthepowderintowateranddrinkingit.ButIjusttake

westernpillseverydaytotreatmydiabetes.Itiseasier,thereisnopreparationrequiredto

keepmybloodsugarlevelmaintained”(translatedfromPunjabi).Thepreparationof

variousremediescanbetimeconsuming,requiringmanysteps(i.e.boiling,drying,

soaking)andingredients.Similaropinionswereexpressedbyparticipantsinastudyof

perceptionsofTraditionalChineseMedicine(TCM)inHongKong(Lam,2001).Lam(2001)

observedthatmanyHongKongresidentspreferredtotakewesternmedicationasopposed

toTCMtreatments;theyfeltinconveniencedbythetimeitwouldrequiretoprepare

traditionaltreatments.FortheyoungmalesinAdhi,astrongpreferenceforwestern

69

medicinewasobservedcenteredontheirassessmentofperceivedeffectiveness,whilea

lackofpreferenceexistedamongtheelderlywomen;theydidnotbelieveonetypeof

medicinetobemoreeffectivethantheother,rathertheyestablishedtheirchoiceof

treatmentoneffortandtimeefficiency.

Basedontheviewpointsdrawnfromthegeneralpopulation,theelderlyandthe

youth,andmalesandfemales,thereissupportiveevidenceofthediminishinguseof

ethnobotanicalremedies.Theinformalinterviewsrevealedwesternmedicinetobemore

frequentlyusedbyparticipants.Allparticipantsviewitasthestandardinmedicine,

especiallyforchronicorsevereillnesses,andfindwesterntreatmentstobemore

convenientthanfolkmedicine.Theyoungergenerationslackknowledgeofandfamiliarity

withpreparationoftheremediesandtheyoungmalesbelievewesternmedicationstobe

moreeffectivethanhomeremedies.Theelderlypopulationhasbeenexposedtobothforms

ofmedicine;however,theydonotbelieveonetobesignificantlybetterthantheother.The

elderlywomenspecifically,maketheirchoicebasedontheconvenienceoftakingwestern

pills.Bothgendersbelieveitistheresponsibilityoffemalestopracticeandpreparelocal

herbaltreatments,reinforcingthegenderrolesofmenandwomeninthevillage.

Additionally,thereseemstobealesseninginthepassingdownofethnobotanical

knowledge.Thisisalarmingduetothefactthatyoungergenerationsareincreasingly

losingtheoptiontopracticeandpreparehomeremedies.Theagencyofthevillagermay

thereforebecomecompromisedandjeopardizedwitheachsuccessivegeneration.The

abilitytochoosewhichtreatmentstouseisvanishingamongtheyoungergenerations

becausetheyarenotbeingtaughttheknowledgeand/orpreparationoffolkremedies.

70

Thequalitativedataservetoprovideinformationonthepreferenceofpracticing

folkmedicineversusthepreferencefortheuseofwesternmedicine.Itdoesnotprovide

properevidencefortheamountofethnobotanicalknowledgepresentamongparticipants

whendividedintoagecohortsandgendercategories.However,thequalitativedatacanbe

usedtosupportthequantitativetrenddemonstratingadecreaseinpossessionof

ethnobotanicalknowledge.

Conclusion

Forcenturiesnow,information,people,andtechnologyhavebeenflowingaround

theglobe,spreadingandexpandingoutwardsfromculturalhearths.Asdiscussedby

MadhuriSharma(2012),westernmedicinespreadtootherregionsoftheworldasaresult

ofcolonialismandwasintroducedtoIndiabytheBritishinthe19thCentury.Accordingto

FrantzFanoncolonialismhasimpactedthewayinwhichcolonizedpeople—andtheir

descendants—viewthemselves.Colonialpowerscreatedaninferioritycomplexinthe

mindsofthelocalpopulationleavingalastingimpactofadistortedviewofthewestas

moreadvanced,intellectuallysuperior,andthestandardmodeltofollowonthepathto

development.AlthoughFanon’sworkinspiredmetoexplorethepresenceofwestern

ideologyandinstitutionsinmoderndayIndia,Idiscoveredthatthe“colonizationofthe

mind”phenomenoncouldnotbeappliedtothehybridizedpracticeofmedicineinrural

Punjabandmydatadonotsupporthistheory.Ratherthanthevillagersbeingvictimsof

colonizationandhavinglimitedagencyasaresult,Ifoundthatthevillagersindeedhave

agencyandtheabilitytomakedecisionsforthemselvesregardinghealthcare.Theissueis

ratherthatfuturegenerationsmayhavefeweroptionsfromwhichtochoose.

71

Ihypothesizedthatduetotheincreasedflowandavailabilityofmedical

information,technology,andinfrastructuretotheruralpopulationsofIndiaunderthe

contextofhybridizationofglobalcultures,thereisadeclineintheuseandpossessionof

ethnobotanicalknowledgeinthevillageofAdhiinPunjab.MyresearchinAdhiservedto

validatemyhypothesisandfurthermoreexplorepossibleexplanationsforthe

westernizationofhealthcareinruralPunjab.Usingquantitativeandqualitativemethods,I

haveconfirmedadownwardtrendintheamountofknowledgeofherbalfolkmedicine

demonstratedbyeachsuccessivegenerationofvillagersinAdhi,aswellasadeclineinthe

practiceandpreparationoffolkremedies.Thereisasignificantcorrelationbetween

amountofethnobotanicalknowledgedemonstratedandtheageofparticipants,onceagain

suggestingdiminisheduseandknowledgeacrossgenerations.ThequalitativedataI

collectedfrominformalinterviewswithparticipantsalsosupportsthisconclusion;the

perception,preference,anduseofwesternmedicineisgenerallyhigherthanthatofherbal

homeremedies,notablyamongtheyoungerpopulation,whiletheelderlypopulation

showednostatedpreferenceforeitherbasedonefficacy.Theystillusedbiomedicinemore

frequentlythanhomeremedies,becausebiomedicinewasoftenseenasmoreefficient.

Otherfactorsthatmayaffectthepossessionandretentionofethnobotanicalknowledge

includegenderandincome;however,thereisnostatisticallysignificantevidenceto

supportcausalrelationships.Theexistinggenderroles,however,reinforcethepatternof

greaterdemonstrationofknowledgeoffolkmedicineamongfemales.

Althoughtheresultsofmycasestudycannotbegeneralizedtothetotalpopulation

ofthevillageofAdhi,thestateofPunjabortheentirenationofIndia,theresearchIhave

conductedinAdhicanprovideafoundationforfutureandsimilarstudiesregardingthe

72

declineinuseanddemonstrationoflocalmedicinalknowledgeinruralareasofIndiaand

otherdevelopingnations.Thedecreasedtraditionofpassingonethnobotanicalknowledge

andpreparinghomeremediesthatisoccurringinAdhimaybeoccurringelsewhere.

Traditionally,theremediesareorallypasseddownthroughgenerations;however,withthe

increasingshiftinpreferenceforandpracticeofwesternmedicine,thetransmissionof

knowledgeislessening.Ifthistrendcontinues,itcouldresultinthelossofPunjabi

ethnobotanicalknowledge.WhileIwasinPunjab,Idiscoveredthatherbalremedieshave

beendocumentedandbooks(inPunjabi)withtreatmentsforvariousillnessesand

conditionsareavailableinlargecities.Thesebooks,however,arenotsoldoutsideoflarge

citiesandareonlyusefultothosewhoareliterate,haveaccesstotransportation,andare

activelyseekingtolearnandprepareherbalremedies.Additionally,booksarenotalwaysa

reliablesourceforethnobotanicalknowledgebecausesomebooksonlylistingredients

necessaryforaremedy,butdonotprovideinstructionsonhowtopreparearemedyorthe

properproportionsandquantitiesofingredients.Henceitisimportanttocontinuepassing

onethnobotanicalknowledge,asitisfundamentaltotheactualpracticeoflocalmedicine.

Elementsofauthenticitymaybegintolackandremediesmaynotbepreparedcorrectly;

learningandusingethnobotanicalknowledgeandhomeremediesexperientiallyand

firsthandreducestheserisks.Bycommittingittomemory,peoplearemorelikelyto

continuetheuseofhomeremediesinthefutureandforgenerationstocome,thereby

maintainingasenseofindependenceandautonomyoverhealthcare,insteadofcreatinga

relianceonbiomedicineandwesternhealthcareconsultants.Aslongastheknowledge

continuestocirculateandpassdowngenerations,villagershavetheoptiontoacceptand

rejectaspectsofbothformsofmedicineattheirownwill.Butwithadeclineinthepassing

73

downofethnobotanicalknowledge,youngergenerationsarelosingthechoiceoffolk

remediesasaviableandlegitimateformofmedicine.Usefulknowledgeforhumanityis

beinglostinthisprocess;thus,Ibelieveitisessentialthattheoraltraditionoflearningand

passingonethnobotanicalknowledgeiskeptaliveinruralPunjab.

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Appendix1

InformalInterviewGuide:

• Haveyoueverusedherbalorhomeremediestotreatorcureanillness?

o Fromwhereorwhomdidyoulearnabouttheseremedies?

• Haveyoueverseenawesterndoctorortakenprescriptionmedicationtotreator

cureanillness?

• Doyouhaveapreferenceforeitherherbalremediesorwesternmedicine?

o Why?/Whynot?

o Doyouuseonetypeofmedicinemorethantheother?

o Aretheresituationsforwhichyoubelieveonewillbemoreeffectivethanthe

other?Ifso,pleaseelaborate.

• Whatareyourthoughtsaboutherbalmedicinewithregardstoeffectiveness,short-

termtreatment,long-termtreatment,mildillnesses,andsevereillnesses?

• Whatareyourthoughtsaboutwesternmedicinewithregardstoeffectiveness,

short-termtreatment,long-termtreatment,mildillnesses,andsevereillnesses?

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Appendix2

FormalPrimarySurvey(inbothEnglishandPunjabi):

SurveyNo._________

1. Whatisyourgender?

☐ Male ☐ Female

2. Whatisyourage?________

3. Doyouknowhowtoreadand/orwriteinthefollowinglanguages?

Punjabi ☐ ReadOnly ☐ WriteOnly ☐ Both

Hindi ☐ ReadOnly ☐ WriteOnly ☐ Both

English ☐ ReadOnly ☐ WriteOnly ☐ Both

4. Whatisthehighestlevelofschoolingyouhavecompleted?

___________________________________________________________________

5. Ifyouattendedschool,whattypeofschoolwasit?

☐ EnglishMedium

☐ HindiMedium

☐ PunjabiMedium

6. Whatisyouroccupation?

___________________________________________________________________

7. Whatisyourapproximateyearlyincomeorsalary?

___________________________________________________________________

78

8. Howcloseisthenearesthealthcarefacilitytoyou?

___________________________________________________________________

9. Howdoyouratetheeffectivenessofherbalmedicineorhomeremediesvs.western

medicineandprescribedmedication?

HerbalMedicine WesternMedicine

☐ Excellent ☐ Excellent

☐ Good ☐ Good

☐ Average ☐ Average

☐ Poor ☐ Poor

☐ VeryPoor ☐ VeryPoor

10. Canyoulistalltheusefulplants,herbs,andspicesyouknowandwhattheyareused

for?

79

Appendix3

80

81

Appendix4

FormalSecondarySurvey(createdandprintedwhileinPunjab,writteninPunjabi):

82

83

Appendix5

Listofcommonplants,roots,spices,extracts,andmineralsusedinPunjabiethnobotanical

remediesandtheiruses:

Plant,Root,Spice,Extract,

Mineral(Punjabi)

Plant,Root,Spice,Extract,

Mineral(English)

UsedFor

Adarak Ginger Cough,Sorethroat,

Phlegm/mucusbuildup

Ajvain Caraway Digestion

Auleh IndianGooseberry,

Phyllanthusemblica

Digestion

BorhdaDudh MilkofBanyanTreeLeaves Coldsymptoms,Blemishes

anddarkspotsonface

BhuriyanMirchan(pees

keh)

BrownPeppers(ground) Styeoneyelid

ChotiLachi GreenCardamom Digestion

GaramMasala Blendofgroundspices

including-black

peppercorn,mace,

cinnamon,cloves,brown

cardamom,green

cardamom,cumin,nutmeg,

andbayleaves

Hypotension

84

Ghayo ClarifiedButter Preventscold(ifappliedin

nostrilsregularly)

Haldi Turmeric(powder) Bruises,Pain

Jaffal(pateh) NutmegTree(leaves) Constipation

Jamun(gitak) JavaPlum(pit) Hyperglycemia

Kalaunji NigellaSeeds Knee(joint)pain/stiffness

KalaLoon PinkSalt Digestion

KaliJeeri Cumin Hyperglycemia

KhasKhas PoppySeeds Hyperglycemia

Laung Cloves Toothache

Malatthi Liquorice Cough,Cold

Nimbu Lemon Hypertension

Phatkari Alum Toothache,Bruises

SarondaTehl MustardOil Aches,Bruises,Jointpain

Saunf FennelSeeds Digestion

SayiKarela BabyBitterGourd Hyperglycemia

Seviyan(garam) Vermicelli(warmed) Cold,Sorethroat

Shaihd Honey Cough,Sorethroat,

Phlegm/mucusbuildup

Sindoor VermillionPowder Styeoneyelid

Sund DriedGingerPowder Digestion

Tulsi HolyBasil Typhoid,Fever