Plants and People

This is a close examination of the ways in which plant life and human life are symbolically intertwined in two rural villages of Hassan District, Karnataka State, India. After presenting a general overview of South Asian cultural traditions related to symbolic uses of plants, the author shares results of an in-depth study of the ways that plants have been used in rites of passage by multiple castes. The author, her partner, and a local team conducted detailed interviews and observations on birth, maturation, marriage, pregnancy, death, and other rituals in 1966-67. A follow-up study of plants covered folk taxonomy, local understandings of plant types and plant parts in 1976-77. Includes photos and other illustrations, a bibliography and a glossary of botanical names.