Oral History Interview : Devidas Tulaji Chaudhary

Content Description

This oral history documents the life and healing practices of Devida Chaudhary, a traditional healer (vaidu) belonging to the Konkana tribe from Harsul, Nashik District, Maharashtra. Chaudhary continues to actively serve his community through indigenous medicinal knowledge inherited from his ancestors. In the interview, he describes his extensive experience in treating kidney stones, jaundice, and menstrual problems in women, as well as providing immediate remedies for snake bites and scorpion stings using local herbs and natural ingredients. He shares insights into how these treatments are prepared, the plants used, and the spiritual or ritual elements that accompany the healing process.

Condition Description

The audio quality of the recording is good.

Accession Date

2025-09-20

Dispostion

The oral history interview gives the testimony of first hand experience of the traditional tribal healers called Vaidu's. It gives us a detailed information of the preparation of herbal medicine, their names in tribal language, disease names in tribal language, methods of preparing medicine and proportion of dosage.

Acquisition Type

Gift

Provenance

The interview was conducted on 20th September 2025, at MPSM, Nashik.

Language of Description

English

Script of Description

Latin

Restrictions Apply

Yes

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for access unless mentioned in specific folders of the finding aid.

Use Restrictions

Copyright may not have been assigned to Archives at NCBS. Permission for reproduction or distribution must be obtained in writing from the Archives at NCBS (archives@ncbs.res.in). See access guidelines for more information (https://archives.ncbs.res.in/access). The Archives at NCBS makes no representation that it is the copyright owner in all of its collections. The user must obtain all necessary rights and clearances before use of material and material may only be reproduced for academic and non-commercial use.