Plants are traditionally utilized in various magico-religious beliefs of the Mising tribe in Assam, India. The present study attempted to document the utilization of plants in magico-religious practices, their valuation and prioritization based on importance and conservation priority and to assess the plant knowledge based on age and gender. It was studied from December 2014 to December 2017 through questionnaire survey and informal interviews. The data were collected from 80 informants belonging to 15 villages of three selected districts of Assam, India i.e. Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Sonitpur. Overall, 63 plant species belonging 56 genera and 31 families were used in magico-religious practices. Poaceae was the dominant family and leaves were the dominant among plant parts. Sacred and religious rites (SAR), taboo (TAB) and magical belief system (MAG) were three major use categories. Of these, SAR was the dominant use category with 47 spp. SAR use category had the highest Fic value with 0.977 followed by MAG and TAB. No significant difference in plant knowledge was observed among three age groups i.e., young (<40 years), adults ( 40 to < 60 years) and old ( 60 years). The women had significantly higher plant knowledge than men in two use categories (MAG and TAB) and also in over all categories. The valuation of magico-religious plants was done based on cultural importance index wherein Brassica juncea had the highest CI index i.e., 1.401 followed by Mangifera indica, Areca catechu etc. Areca catechu and Gossypium arboreum were ranked 1st in MIS and SCP respectively. The present study is not intended to endorse the utilization of the magico-religious plants in a manner reported above; however, the study may lead to further detailed scientific investigation of the species.

中文翻译：

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印度阿萨姆邦新兴部落中的魔幻宗教植物研究

传统上，在印度阿萨姆邦（Assam）的明辛（Mising）部落中，植物被用于各种魔术宗教信仰中。本研究试图记录植物在魔术宗教习俗中的利用，基于重要性和保护优先级的植物价值评估和优先排序，并根据年龄和性别评估植物知识。通过问卷调查和非正式访谈对2014年12月至2017年12月进行了研究。数据是从印度阿萨姆邦三个选定地区（Dhemaji，Lakhimpur和Sonitpur）的15个村庄的15个村庄收集的。总体而言，魔术宗教实践中使用了属于56属31个科的63种植物。在植物部位中，禾本科是主要的科，叶子是主要的。神圣和宗教仪式（SAR），禁忌（TAB）和魔术信仰系统（MAG）是三个主要的使用类别。其中，SAR是主要用途类别，占47 spp。SAR使用类别的Fic值最高，为0.977，其次是MAG和TAB。在三个年龄段，即年轻（<40岁），成年（约40至<60岁）和年长（约60岁）的三个年龄组中，植物知识没有观察到显着差异。在两个使用类别（MAG和TAB）以及所有类别中，女性的植物知识明显高于男性。魔幻宗教植物的评估是根据文化重要性指数进行的，其中芥菜具有最高的CI指数，即1.401，其次是印度芒果，槟榔等。槟榔和棉属植物分别在MIS和SCP中排名第一。本研究无意以上述方式认可对魔幻宗教植物的利用；但是，该研究可能会导致对该物种进行更详细的科学调查。