Some Studies in Two Tribal Groups of Central India

Abstract

(l) A dietary survey was conducted on two tribal groups, the Koyas and Maria Gonds of Central India, living at mere subsistant level, to assess the importance of seasonal contribution of cultivated and wild foods to their dietary intake.

(2) From the dietary intakes of various cultivated and wild foods assessed during the pre-harvest (September) and post-harvest season (January-MarCh, the nutrients contributed by these foods to the dietary intake in the two tribes have been estimated. Unusual foods like tubers, mushrooms, leafy vegetables and bamboo shoots consumed by these tribes were analysed for proximate principles, minerals and amino-acids by standard analytical techniques.

(3) The investigations revealed that the staple grains like millets and cereals, ontribute a major proportion of energy, proteins and thiamine to the dietary intake of both tribes in the post as well as pre-harvest seasons. Other cultivated foods like legumes, pulses and vegetables form an important source of minerals and vitamins in the post-harvest season. The wild foods, however, contribute a major proportion of protective nutrients in the pre-harvest season in both the tribes. This seasonal trend is more marked in the Maria Gonds than the Koyas. One o f the probable reasons for the greater dependency of the Maria Gonds on wild foods during the monsoons is the greater scope for food gathering in an area which is thinly populated and has a dense forest.