Context:
A dying traditional game, given a fresh lease of life at the ongoing Karbi Youth Festival (KYF) in central Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, has fuelled a drive for conserving a creeper known as the African dream herb.
Relevance:
Facts for Prelims
Dimensions of the Article:
- African Dream Herb Overview
- Hambi Kepathu Tradition
African Dream Herb Overview:
- Perennial climbing vine used by African traditional healers for inducing vivid dreams.
- Common names: Giant sea bean, African dream herb, snuff box, and Entada rheedii.
- Indigenous to Africa, Asia, Australia, and Madagascar, growing in tropical lowlands and river banks.
Uses:
- Paste made from leaves, bark, and roots for wound cleaning, burn treatment, and healing jaundice.
- Tea from the whole plant to improve blood circulation and address stroke after-effects.
- Bark used for treating diarrhea, dysentery, and parasitic infections.
- Dark brown spherical seeds, almost kneecap-sized, used in the traditional Karbi game ‘Hambi Kepathu.’
Hambi Kepathu Tradition:
- Traditional male-only game associated with the Karbi community.
- Played on three rectangular courts by teams of three members each.
- Involves placing a ‘hambi’ (glazed creeper seed) vertically on the midpoint of the boundary line for opponents to hit.
- Named after a Karbi sister-brother duo, part of traditional Karbi games alongside ‘Pholong,’ ‘Thengtom Langvek,’ and ‘Kengdongdang.’
-Source: The Hindu
