Ecological elements in the songs of the Poraja and the ancient Tamils - Merlin Franco, F. and D. Narasimhan

Poraja is a Dravidian tribe found in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. The Poraja folk songs reflect nature in various conditions and use ecological elements extensively. This paper brings out the similarity in the usage of ecological elements in songs of the Poraja and in cagkam literature of Tamil Nadu.  The Poraja believe in the existence of forest goddesses for whom, the existence of forests is vital. This is similar to the concept of ‘kaaTamar celvi’ of cagkam literature. In both the Poraja as well as cagkam tradition, natural happenings are used as metaphors to explain the human mood. Offering “paan” is considered as wooing in Poraja culture whereas the same is recited with a negative connotation in cagkam literature. These similarities could be because of the common Dravidian base from which both the traditions had arisen. 

Indian Journal of Eco-criticism (IJE),

Vol. 1. Aug. 2008. 49-54                                                                  

Assessing the Contribution of Local and Traded Biodiversity in Community Health Care: A case study from Keelakodankulam village, South India. by D Ahino Mary, F Merlin Franco, Vivek Babu

Abstract
The study aims to assess the contribution of local and traded biodiversity towards community health care. A total of 106 knowledge holders from the Aatha Pallar community were interviewed and medicinal uses for 70 local plants and 28 plant products purchased from the market were recorded. The Pharmacological Ethnobotanical index was found to be low suggesting knowledge erosion. About 13 plant species used by the community show high Use Value Indices. A majority of the plants used in the community’s medicinal system come from the immediate locality and only a minor part comes from the market, though ones from the market tend to have high use value indexes. The study illustrates that local medicinal plant diversity is important for community health care, which in turn, ensures conservation of the local medicinal plant diversity.

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Ehtnobotany Research and Applications

http://lib-ojs3.lib.sfu.ca:8114/index.php/era/article/viewArticle/568

Vaavubhali, a Traditional Festival for Remembering Ancestors by Merlin Franco F and D T Rose Robin

Abstract
Remembering ancestors is a part of tradition in every society. In this article, we present the importance of a traditional festival called vaavubhali in the context of ecological and economical services rendered. The festival honours deceased souls and also popularizes the planting of ornamental, medicinal and timber yielding plants. The changing scenario is also depicted.

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Ethnobotany Research and Applications
http://lib-ojs3.lib.sfu.ca:8114/index.php/era/article/view/199