Green Wisdom: The Herbal Healing Traditions of Manipur

Contents: Foreword. Acknowledgement. List of Abbreviations. List of Figures.  1. Introduction. 2. Manipur: People and Culture. 3. Maiba Maibi. 4. Healers Narratives. 5. Conservation, Preservation and Challenges in Recognition. 6. Challenges and Concerns. 7. Recommendations and Way Forward. 8. Press Releases.

The monograph Green Wisdom: The Herbal Healing Traditions of Manipur examines non-codified herbal healing practices in Manipur, situating them within the broader landscape of traditional, folk and indigenous medical systems in India. Non-codified herbal healing, rooted in oral transmission and hands-on practice, represents a significant yet understudied domain of healthcare knowledge. The study acknowledges both natural folk medicine and magico-religious healing traditions, emphasizing their ethical, non-commercial orientation and deep connections with spirituality and community life. These systems, which predate codified medical traditions, reflect India’s long-standing and sophisticated engagement with nature based healing. Addressing community healthcare needs in Manipur, this monograph interrogates the social roles of herbal healers, the reverence they command, the challenges they face in contemporary contexts, and the processes through which indigenous knowledge is preserved and threatened. Key concerns include environmental degradation, declining biodiversity, erosion of intergenerational knowledge transfer, lack of formal recognition, intellectual property rights, and possibilities for mainstreaming into healthcare systems.