A checklist of traditional edible bioresources from Ima markets of Imphal Valley , Manipur , India

A study was conducted at seven important markets of Imphal Valley, Manipur in northeastern India, which are run exclusively by women and are popularly known as “the Ima markets”. The two year study was to find out the important edible bio-resources which are consumed daily by the local people of Manipur. Regular surveys were conducted at the selected markets at least three times a month. A total of 45 wild edible plants and 26 wild fruits were identified during the survey. Also, 25 edible animal resources were recorded. It is suggested that the high diversity of wild edible bio-resources needs to be conserved for livelihood sustenance of the local communities.

Imphal West District; Khurai Lamlong Bazaar, Kongba Bazaar and Chingmeirong Bazaar situated at Imphal East District.The market places are locally called "Bazaars" in Manipur.The Khwairamban Bazaar is the biggest market of Imphal situated in the heart of the city where more than 3000 women vendors sell vegetables, fruits, fishes and daily household items under rows of small markets built together.The Singjamei Bazaar is the second largest bazaar run by nearly 1000 women vendors.The other five bazaars are smaller in size, run by about 500 women each.There is no fixed size of the markets and the number of women vendors also fluctuates daily.Sometimes new women vendors do not get a permanent place inside the market place so they sell their items on the roadsides thus expanding the markets.At other times permanent vendors come out to the roadside as some people buy things in a hurry and do not want to bother roaming inside the markets.Women of different communities of the state run the markets everyday from early morning around 0500hr up to 1900hr under normal circumstances.The markets are run very systematically, all the items are sold separately and there is no mix of things reducing the confusion of the buyers and also reducing congestion.The frequent bandhs and general strikes called by different organizations in the state greatly affect the economy as well as the livelihood of these thousands of women from far flung areas of the state.

Methods:
The methods employed in this study were so designed to collect information on the wild plants and animal bio-resources which are consumed daily by the local people of Manipur.Literatures were thoroughly searched for references on the subject and field data was collected for a period of two years from January 2007 to December 2008.Markets were surveyed and extensive interviews of women vendors were taken with regard to availability of wild bio-resources, following Jain (1989Jain ( , 1990) ) and Martin (1995).
Regular surveys were conducted at the seven selected markets at least two times a month.Surveys were conducted at the peak marketing hours between 0700-1000 hr and 0300-1900 hr.At least 1-2 hours was spent in each market during the data collection.A total of 48 days and 144 hours were spent in each market place during the two years field surveys.A minimum of 100 women vendors in each market were interviewed regarding the local name of the bio-resource, their use, source, price and place from where they brought the items.All the edible wild plants, fruits and animal products were collected and identified with the help of specialists and relevant published papers and books such as Singh & Arora (1978), Sukla et al. (1982), Jhingran et al. (1991), Jain (1999), Elangbam (2002), Singh (2002), Khanna (2003), andVishwanath &Geetakumari (2009).The bioresources were categorized crudely as common or rare as per their availability and encounter rates in the market places.
Results: A total of 45 wild edible plants including two mushroom and two edible fungus varieties were identified during the surveys.The study also records 26 wild fruits and 25 edible animal bio-resources including two eel varieties, three gastropod varieties, one bivalve variety, one crustacean variety and 18 local fresh water fish varieties.
Out of the 45 edible plants, 37 are common species and eight are rare species.All the plants are seasonal i. e. 35.5% are summer species, 55.5% are winter species and 8.9% are found throughout the year.Some Rare plants are scarcely available and as a result their price is also high.For example Pleurotus ostreatus, a mushroom variety locally called "Uyen" costs Rs. 60-80/kg because of its high demand and high nutritive value.Some plant species are abundantly available so they are cheaper.For example Oenunthe javanica, a local herb variety found in open fields and wetlands called locally "Komprek", costs only Rs. 10-20/kg.
The study also records 26 local wild fruit varieties, of which 19 are Common and seven are rare varieties.53.8% of these are summer varieties, 38.5% are winter varieties and 7.7% are year round varieties.
Of the total 25 edible animal bio-resources, 17 are common species and eight are rare species.These includes two freshwater eel species Monopterus albus and Anguilla bengalensis, three gastropod species Pila globossa, Pila spp.and Turittella spp., one fresh water mussel species Anodonta anatina, one freshwater crustacean species Macrobrachium dayanum and 18 fresh water fish species.Out of the total species 16% are found in summer, 52% are found in winter and 32% are found throughout the year.
Of the 100 women vendors interviewed in each market, 42.4% of the respondents said that they had collected the bio-resources themselves and 57.6% revealed that they had collected the resources from one or two local distributors.
The lists of all bio-resources are given below in the Tables 1, 2 and 3. Discussion: From time immemorial, the indigenous local inhabitants of Manipur have had a wide knowledge about the uses of traditional bio-resources, either as food or medicine in their day-to-day life (Khumbongmayum et. al. 2004).In this study, a total of 45 wild edible plants, 26 wild fruit varieties and 25 edible animal bio-resources were recorded, all of which form an important part in the diet of the local Manipuri people.The local peoples mainly the women of different castes and communities went to far-flung areas and into the forests to collect these edible bio-resources for their own food and to sell them in the local markets as a source of income for themselves.Some wild edible plants are rich in nutrient content, and may even be superior to cultivated ones in this respect (Sundriyal & Sundriyal 2001a).A varied diet of wild edible plants may also increase one's sense of food palatability,  which in turn may lead to an increase in food intake (Sharpe 1987;Ogle 1990).Due to its high nutritive value, people throng to the markets everyday to buy these bioresources for their consumption.Some of the wild plants and fish varieties are not only used as food items but they are also related to traditional ceremonies.Some wild plant species such as Mangifera indica Linn., Ficus glomerata Roxb., Tamarindus indica Linn., Baccaurea sapida Roxb., and Artocarpus heterophyllus Lamk are connected with traditional biofolklore and ceremonies and thus regarded as sacred species (Singh et al. 1996;Khumbongmayum et. al. 2004).Not only plants, some fish varieties also have traditional values and thus are in high demand and very costly.For example Eutropiichthys vacha locally called "Ngahei" is associated with the "Chaumba" ceremony, which is the first rice eating ceremony of a child.It is believed that feeding "Ngahei Curry" to the child will increase his or her knowledge and wisdom.It costs around Rs. 250-350 /kg but it can go up to Rs. 500-700 / kg in off-season.Similarly, Osteobrama belanger locally called "Pengba" is associated with the "Ningol Chakouba" Festival, celebrated to strengthen the bonds of love between brothers and sisters.Due to its high nutritive value and high demand it costs around Rs. 300-500 /kg.But these fish species have become so scarce that they are hardly available in the market nowadays.
Due to rapid destruction of forests and the filling up of wetlands for expansion of land area and developmental activities, most of these wild bio-resources are becoming rare and threatened.It is expected that an ever growing population will eventually lead to a greater demand for food and other necessities.As a result the existing biotic pressures may be increased several times in the near future (Sundriyal et al. 2004).
Therefore, it is important to identify the rare edible bioresources which are the livelihood of many indigenous Manipuri people so that proper conservative measures may be taken to preserve these local gene pools for our future generations.