Traditional Knowledge System and Sustainable Development among the Poumai Naga of Manipur, India

Abstract

For many years traditional knowledge system has been sidelined by the scientific community and the Western world as flawed, orthodox and superstitious. Recently, it has made its appearance from near extinction after the global debates on climate change. People appreciation and acknowledgement of this forms of knowledge is born out of the fact that the knowledge system of the local communities of resource management and maintaining ecological balance is more sustainable than that of the advanced communities. Using ethnographic data of the Poumai Naga tribe of Manipur, and by examining some areas in the field of traditional knowledge such as food ways, health practices, and traditional resources management, the paper attempts to present an insider's perspectives into the questions of sustainability and traditional knowledge practices.