Balu Budha Valvi, 20-09-2025

This collection presents eight oral history interviews conducted in the indigenous villages of Dindori and Peth in the Nashik region, documenting the lives and practices of traditional healers known as Vaidus. Serving as community doctors for generations, these healers possess inherited knowledge of medicinal plants, forest ecosystems, and natural treatment methods that align with what is today classified within ethnomedicine. The interviews explore their journeys into healing, traditional diagnostic techniques such as pulse and ear examination, forest-based procurement of herbs, preparation methods including powders, pastes, oils, and decoctions, and the dietary and ritual practices associated with treatment. The narratives highlight treatments for a wide range of human and animal ailments, including infertility, menstrual disorders, fractures, wounds, kidney stones, respiratory diseases, diabetes, jaundice, snake bites, digestive disorders, and livestock illnesses. The Vaidus describe the use of specific forest plants, roots, barks, and natural substances, emphasizing sustainability, plant potency, and early morning collection practices. Collectively, the interviews document the intergenerational transmission of indigenous medical knowledge through oral methods and underscore the vital role of traditional healers in sustaining community health and ecological stewardship.