Role of Tribal Folk Culture in Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS)

India’s Indigenous and tribal communities sustain diverse folk cultural practices—oral literatures, performative arts, ecological rituals, craft technologies, and customary institutions—that embody sophisticated knowledge systems. This article synthesizes scholarship across anthropology, ethnobotany, folklore studies, and sustainability science to examine how tribal folk culture contributes to the Indian Knowledge System (IKS). We propose an integrative framework—FIVE-REALMS (Food–Farming, Identity–Intangible heritage, Vernacular technologies, Ecological stewardship, and Local governance)—to map cultural practices to domains of knowledge and social-ecological outcomes. Through mini case vignettes (Gond, Bhil, Santal, Khasi, Nyishi, Toda, Warli, and Nicobarese), we illustrate how songs encode seasonal calendars, sacred groves conserve biodiversity, folk healers manage pharmacopeias, and craft traditions maintain design intelligence. The paper discusses methodological approaches (participatory ethnography, free-listing, cultural consensus analysis, GIS mapping), ethical safeguards (Free, Prior and Informed Consent; community intellectual property rights), and policy implications for education, conservation, and livelihoods. We argue that mainstreaming tribal folk culture within IKS strengthens biocultural diversity, knowledge sovereignty, and context-sensitive innovation.