Ethno Botanical and Cultural Importance of Sugali Tribe of Venkatampalli Thanda, Vajrakarur Mandal, Anantapuramu District, Andhra Pradesh State, India

: The preliminary investigations of Ethnobotanical and Cultural Resources of Sugali tribes of Venkatampalli Thanda, Anantapuramu district, Andhra Pradesh with their recipes, preparation of drugs, administration, and usage from several centuries. Therapeutic uses of some of the species given in the table were cross checked with alternative ethno botanical systems viz. Ayurveda, Unani, Sidha and Homeopathy. 69 crude drugs ( species ) belonging to 63 genera and 30 families were collected based on folk-lore knowledge. The pattern of the plant use as per


Introduction
Banjaras originally came from Afghanistan before settling in Rajasthan and other parts of India (Burman, 2010). There are so many cultural similarities between the Roma Gypsies and the Banjara and Lambanis. Most of the peregrine tribal groups who claim Rajput pedigree say that during the time of Mughal dictatorship, they retreated to the forests and asseverated to return only when the foreign influence had gone. They appear to be of mixed nationality, possibly originating in north-central India (Halbar, 1986). However, Habib notes that their characteristic groups may not share a common origin, with the hypothesis that suggests otherwise reflecting the comprehensive partiality of nineteenth-century British ethnographers who were perceptive to create simple classifications (Satya, 1997). Banjaras were historically agronomic, expert breeders, and transporters of goods on the inland regions of India, for which they used boats, carts, camels, oxen, donkeys, and sometimes the relative scare horse, hence controlling a large section of trade and economy (Habib, 1990).
Gour Banjaras have a unique cultural life and practices that differentiate them from others. They also have their own language, (speak Gour Boli; also called Lambadi, Banjara it belongs to the Indo-Aryan group of languages), food habits, body tattooing, dress and ornaments, art and dance and festivals and ceremonies, which have formed their culture. Banjara art includes performance arts such as dance and music as well as folk and plastic arts such as rangoli, textile embroidery, tattooing, and painting (Naik, 2000). The annual festival of Teej, considered the Bathukamma of Banjaras, is being celebrated with much pomp and gaiety at all tribal hamlets across the erstwhile undivided districts from the beginning of the Telugu Aashadam month. All Banjara habitations are caught in a whir of activities, reverberating with dance and songs by unmarried girls. Residents apart, their relatives settled even in far-off places are also arriving to participate in the celebrations.
The nine-day festival has a special significance in Banjara culture. Generally, it is a prayer to God for a good monsoon and bountiful harvest. Unmarried adult girls grow wheat seedlings in new baskets and put them on "Manche" (elevated platform) outside the residence of their community elder in the village for nine days. Banjaras believe if wheat grows lush green, it is auspicious. Unmarried girls pray to Sevalal Maharaj, Dandi, and Maryama Yadi to find a good alliance. The festival is being celebrated for over 100 years now for the immersion of Teej (baskets with wheat seedlings), the girls take permission from village elders, and the baskets are immersed in rivers, streams, and well after sacrificing lams or rams at the altar of Goddess Bhavani. They also prepare sweet "prasadam" with rice and jaggery (Bellam buvva) and distribute them after offering prayers.
All of the Banjara people profess in Hinduism and follow Hindu culture. They are known to worship deities such as Balaji, Goddess Jagadamba Devi, Bhavani, Mahakali, Mahagoury. They also hold Guru Nanak in great Respect. Sevalal or Sevabhaya is the most important saint of the Banjaras. According to their accounts, he was born on February 15, 1739 and died on 4 January 1773. A cattle merchant by profession he is said to have been a man of exemplary truthfulness, a great musician, a courageous warrior, a rationalist who fought against superstition and a devotee of the goddess Jagadamba. The colonial British administrators also quote his stories but they place him in the 19 th century and identify his original name as Siva Rathor. The tribe has evolved and more people in the tribe started following natural religions. This is due to invasions, colonization and partition of India. There Muslim Banjara mainly in Sindh region of Pakistan. Some Banjara people became Laban started following Sikhism. After the British Raj and Independence Christianity entered into the Banjara culture by missionaries. But, majority of the Banjara community follow their own independent customs and Hindu religion. As of 2008, the Banjara community has been listed as Scheduled Tribe in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha.

Study Area
The state of Andhra Pradesh has 26 districts spread across three cultural regions: Uttaraandhra, Kostaandhra and Rayalaseema. The climate of Andhra Pradesh varies considerably, depending on the geographical region. Temperature ranging between 20-41 0 C. Anantapur is located at 14.68 0 N 77.6 0 E. it has an average elevation of 335 m (1,099 ft). Anantapur has a semi-arid climate, with hot and dry conditions for most of the year. During the study of Ethno botanical of the Sugali tribe in the Anantapuramu District, Vajrakarur Mandal, Venkatam Palli Thanda various field trips were conducted and were vouched from various natural populations during the period 2020-2023. Venkatampalli thanda is located in Vajrakarur mandal of Anantapuramu district in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is situated 17 km from sub-district headquarter Vajrakarur and 110 km away from district headquarter Anantapuramu. The total geographical area of village 1416 hectares. Venkatampalli Thanda has total population of 3,036 peoples, out of which male population is 1511 while female population is 1525. Literacy rate of Venkatampalli Thanda is 41.24% out of 50.83% males and 31.74 females are literate. There are about 665 houses in Venkatampalli thanda.

Results and Discussion
The preliminary investigations of Ethnobotanical and Cultural Resources of Sugali tribes of Venkatampalli Thanda, Anantapuramu district, Andhra Pradesh with their recipes, preparation of drugs, administration, and usage from several centuries. Therapeutic uses of some of the species given in the table were cross checked with alternative ethno botanical systems viz. Ayurveda, Unani, Sidha and Homeopathy. 69 crude drugs belonging to 63 genera and 30 families were collected based on folk-lore knowledge (see Table 1). Chiov.

Conclusions
The Sugali tribe possessing rich folklore information forms the prime source and exists scope to extend scientific research in further isolation and characterization of active principles involved in the pharmacological utility. Keeping because the fact potential source of medicinal plants of folklore origin needs to be preserved and conserved. In an extremely interesting study, Sugali tribe uses traditional stories and myths to analyse the symbolic function of trees in Andhra Pradesh. Sacred groves are the site of ritual and secret society initiations, a local where social and political values, morals, secrets, and laws are passed on to the younger generations. Ficus religiosa, Azadirachta indica, Prosopis cineraria, Albizia amara is also a sacred tree throughout the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states. There is small information on the ways in which these values are changing. No studies explore the implications of changing cultural values on forest resource use.