Knowledge and Practice of Ubar Kampung by the Sundanese Community in Kecamatan Pangalengan, West Java, Indonesia

Abstract

The people of Sundanese, the largest ethnic group in West Java, have been using traditional medicine known as ubar kampung for a long time. The study aims to  document the indigenous medical knowledge and practice of among Sundanese community. An exploratory study was conducted on the indigenous medical knowledge of Sundanese community living in Pangalengan, West Java. A total of 357 inhabitants living among 81 households were interviewed using structured and semi-structured questionnaire. Among 357 household members 156 members reported experience of illness in the past 12 months. This study indicates that the traditional medicine is well functioning in the area. Majority of respondents hold much knowledge (57.1%) and belief (58.3%) on ubar kampung. Most of the respondents are able to name the component of traditional medicine, which include the name, use of MAC plants and the recipe to make the ubar kampung. 115 MAC plants for promotion of the general health and several ailments were reported by key informants and community members in the research area. The majority of the plant species used for the medicinal purposes belong to the family Asteraceae, Lauraceae, and Liliaceae. Inhabitants in the research area sometimes combined several ways in preparing medicinal plants for health treatment generally in the forms of infusion (40.4%). Most of the medicinal plants reported by key informants and used by the respondents in the research area are already publicly acknowledged for their medicinal properties and also reported in other research settings.

Keywords : Medicinal   plants,   indigenous   knowledge,  Sundanese,  sustainable use