Anthropometric Survey of Jhum Cultivators of Arunachal Pradesh

摘要

There are twenty major tribes in Arunachal Pradesh. They still practise jhum/shifting cultivation and the system is likely to continue in near future. Tools and implements used for agriculture in general and jhum cultivation in particular are, by and large, indigenous in nature. Improved designs, matching the ranges and limitations of the farmers, if introduced will ensure more human comfort, higher safety of operators and better efficiency. However, prerequisite for new improved design is the anthropometric data of the farmers who will use these tools and implements. In the absence of any such data for the region, an anthropometric survey of the farmers, engaged in jhum cultivation, was carried out. For this study, eighty eight body dimensions were identified. Data were collected from one hundred jhum cultivators belonging to twenty major tribes covering the entire state. They were in the age group of 18-60 years. From the data, ranges for each item, mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, 5th, 50th and 95th percentile values were obtained. The average values were also compared with those of available data from Central India. It appeared that the jhum cultivators of Arunachal Pradesh are shorter in stature than the agricultural workers of Central India. Same trend was also observed for most of the other dimensions studied.