Nelumbo - The Bulletin of the Botanical Survey of India

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Comparative Eco-Ethnology of Two Village Populations in South Bankura, West Bengal, India


Affiliations
1 Department of Botany, Narasinha Dutt College, Howrah, India
2 Department of Anthropology, Narasinha Dutt College, Howrah, India
 

Eco-ethnological study of an ethnic group (Santal), residing in two villages with slightly different ecological settings, has been taken up to assess the impact of forest environ in determining quality of physical life, as revealed from demographic characteristics, incidence of diseases, dietary intake, height and weight, haemoglobin percent, and differential leucocyte count of the two survey villages, one is amid the perennial forest and far away from urban facilities, while the other is a road-side village with a Subsidiary Health Centre. The people of both the villages belong to the same endogamous group and, therefore, share a common gene pool. Overall geo-topography, economy and othet secular parameters being similar for the groups, the difference in the physical quality of life between them is attributable to none but the forest environ, or influence of accessibility of urban facilities. The analysis of the surveyed data point towards a slightly better physical quality of life of forest-village dwellers than that of road-side village dwellers. The most interesting finding of the survey is high Eosinophil count among the villagers of both the settings, irrespective of age and sex.
User
Notifications
Font Size

Abstract Views: 140

PDF Views: 114




  • Comparative Eco-Ethnology of Two Village Populations in South Bankura, West Bengal, India

Abstract Views: 140  |  PDF Views: 114

Authors

Ashalata D'Rozario
Department of Botany, Narasinha Dutt College, Howrah, India
Dipak Mukherji
Department of Anthropology, Narasinha Dutt College, Howrah, India

Abstract


Eco-ethnological study of an ethnic group (Santal), residing in two villages with slightly different ecological settings, has been taken up to assess the impact of forest environ in determining quality of physical life, as revealed from demographic characteristics, incidence of diseases, dietary intake, height and weight, haemoglobin percent, and differential leucocyte count of the two survey villages, one is amid the perennial forest and far away from urban facilities, while the other is a road-side village with a Subsidiary Health Centre. The people of both the villages belong to the same endogamous group and, therefore, share a common gene pool. Overall geo-topography, economy and othet secular parameters being similar for the groups, the difference in the physical quality of life between them is attributable to none but the forest environ, or influence of accessibility of urban facilities. The analysis of the surveyed data point towards a slightly better physical quality of life of forest-village dwellers than that of road-side village dwellers. The most interesting finding of the survey is high Eosinophil count among the villagers of both the settings, irrespective of age and sex.