DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2014.v02i05.001

Pages: 307-317

Fresh water snails have been a traditional food for the tribal people of Goalpara district, India. It is believed that snail meat cures eighteen ailments which are not yet validated. An investigation was conducted in eight Rural Development Blocks of Goalpara district of India for exploring the traditional methods of preparing ethnic snail dishes and their ethno-medical uses. A total of 120respondents were interviewed using a structured and validated questionnaire. Eighteen independent variables and eleven critical dependent variables were selected for designing the questionnaire. Statistical techniques and tools used were frequency and percentage analysis, and simple correlation. The results revealed that there are eleven methods for preparation of traditional snail dishes. These dishes are traditionally used for healing of eighteen ailments. The study suggested the need of validation of these traditional practices for commercialization of the traditional cuisine of the district.