User:BHARATHESHA ALASANDEMAJALU/sandbox13

Aati amavasye In Dakshina Kannada, during Ashadha masa ('Aati masa' in Tulu language) on the new moon day, an annual ritual (Aati amavasye) of drinking the concoction made out of bark of Alstonia scholaris (called 'Indian devil tree') is in practice. This is a mass ritual observed by all irrespective of their religion or community or caste. The evergreen perennial tree species A. scholaris is native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The bark of this tree is washed in water on the previous day of bark extraction, a holy thread is tied around the tree and prayers are offered worshiping the tree to store all the medicinal properties in it. The spirit 'Aati Kalenja' is believed to protect people from diseases during the month of Aati by storing all the medicinal properties in the devil tree on that specific day. On the dark moon day, after bath prior to sunrise devotees approach the devil tree and cut its bark with a clean stone (use of knife or any metal implements are known to cause chemical reaction of concoction to be prepared) (Fig. 1a). The inner fleshy part of the bark will be pealed out and grind with pepper, cumin and garlic to prepare a milky bitter concoction. Heating white pebbles on charcoal and addition to the concoction believed to eliminate the toxic constituents. Later, the concoction will be filtered and consumed prior to have food or beverage. Depending on the age the dosage will be reduced to half or one fourth for children. Consumption of the concoction is followed by a sweet dish made out of raw rice, jaggery and coconut milk. It is believed that in the rainy season people will succumb for several illnesses. Thus, consumption of the milky bitte concoction of devil tree is assumed to stimulate the immune system and prevent diseases. The devil tree is believed to have 1,001 medicinal properties. The bark of devil tree is known to consists of several alkaloids (e.g. ditamine, echitanine, echitamidine, picrinine and tubotaiwine) used as an alternative to quinine. The concoction of the bark is also used to treat anemia, menstrual disorders, malaria, fever, colic and diarrhea, while the decoction of leaves used in treatment of Beriberi

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/K_Sridhar2/publication/267450796_Traditional_Seasonal_Health_Food_Practices_in_Southwest_India_Nutritional_and_Medicinal_Perspectives/links/544fc0f00cf201441e934ce7/Traditional-Seasonal-Health-Food-Practices-in-Southwest-India-Nutritional-and-Medicinal-Perspectives.pdf .