Ethnic Knowledge System on Wild Dioscoreas (yams) by the Kanikkars of Southern Western Ghats, Kerala

Indigenous people with historical background of traditional resource utilization and management possess a vast assemblage of various knowledge systems on the complex behavioral pattern in relation to the ecological systems existing in their own localities. Kanikkar, a group of South Indian tribes found in the extreme southern end of Western Ghats has a traditional knowledge base transmitted from generation to generation. They acquired a sound knowledge on the various aspects including uses of cultivated crops and their wild allies. They use a wide array of wild yams forfood. In this paper, an overview of the classification of these wild yams and their traditional uses by these indigenous people are summarized. A good relationship exist between the folklore etymology and taxonomic epithets of all the wild yams of the locality.