ABSTRACT
Tribals are a distinct ethnic group who are usually confined to definite geographical areas. They speak a common dialect and are culturally homogenous. The tribal people of India live mostly in the forests, hills, plateaus, and regions of natural isolation. The Indian sub-continent is divided into three major tribal zones on the basis of the tribal demography and geography of India: the North and North-Eastern Zone, the central or middle zone, and the Sothern zone. The southern tribals are historically the most ancient tribes. At present, a free residential school is run by the Government of Tamil Nadu at Maharasapuram for the exclusive educational development of the tribal children. Most of the Kanikkar tribals have a general knowledge of medicinal plants that are used for first aid remedies, to treat cough, cold, fever, headache, poisonous bites and some other simple ailments.
