Medicine, black magic and supernatural beings: Cultural rituals as a significant threat to slender lorises in India

[摘要] 1. Trade of wildlife for use in traditional medicines, rituals, magical spells and cultural practices occurs globally and has been studied mostly in Africa and Asia.2. The grey slender loris Loris lydekkerianus is used for both medicinal and ritualpurposes, but little information is available on how the user is meant to extracttheir medicinal properties, or the potential impact these practices have on thespecies' populations.3. From 2014–2021, we used open-ended interviews with 293 informants in threeslender loris range states in Southern India to collect qualitative information on people's beliefs regarding the use of slender lorises in traditional medicine, black magicrituals and other cultural practices. To understand this further, we analysed data on139 live slender loris rescues from three rescue and rehabilitation centres and onegovernment organization in Bengaluru, India collected over an 18-year period.4. We found that 116/139 live individuals had been involved in black magic rituals, including piercing, or burning the body and the eyes. These ritual practices occurredmore often to female slender lorises and during the new moon. Data from 293 interviews revealed that astrologers regularly use live lorises for fortune-telling or for warding off evil. Slender loris body parts are used to make traditional folk medicine, developblack magic potions that bring people harm, hypnotize people or to thwart evil.5. Habitat loss and anthropogenic pressures, coupled with the existing slenderloris trade for cultural practices, are a cause for grave concern. Numerous deeprooted superstitious beliefs and rituals continue to thrive in modern India, andthis is potentially one of the major threats to India's already imperilled slenderloris population. More research into the prevalence of loris use for black magicis needed to assess the impact on species sustainability.

[学科分类] 护理学

[关键词] black magic;India;rescue centre;rituals;slender loris;wildlife trade