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@article{184727,
        author = {Dr. Niju P. and Resmi A.},
        title = {GUARDIANS OF HEALING : HERBAL KNOWLEDGE AND TRADITIONAL HEALERS IN KERALA},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2025},
        volume = {12},
        number = {4},
        pages = {2992-2996},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=184727},
        abstract = {Kerala's healing traditions combine Ayurveda, folk practices, and tribal ethnomedicine in a distinctive way. The Western Ghats' ecological richness has allowed healers, including those from Ayurveda's Ashta Vaidya lineages to village nattu vaidyars and tribal shamans, to develop, transmit, and preserve complex herbal knowledge. The focus of this paper is on the history, features, and contributions of traditional healers in Kerala, as well as providing detailed case studies on 17 medicinal herbs, their therapeutic uses, and their cultural significance. The study emphasizes the importance of healers as cultural custodians, ritual specialists, and agents of social resilience in their roles as medical practitioners and cultural custodians. The continuity of indigenous herbal wisdom is also underlined in spite of modern challenges, such as the loss of biodiversity and the marginalization of herbalists.},
        keywords = {Traditional healers, Nattu vaidyar, Tribal medicine, Paleobotany, cultural heritage, Kerala culture.},
        month = {September},
        }