{"title":"From Black Magic to Black Flags: Social Uses and Symbolic Lexicons of Cycads in Vanuatu","authors":"Yevhenii Osiievskyi, Mark Bonta","doi":"10.1177/02780771231213190","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The paper reviews nondietary uses and symbolic connotations of cycads ( Cycas seemannii) in Vanuatu, relying on data from ethnographic studies, anthropological literature, and local media reports. The authors focus on the uses of cycads in magical practices, in grade-taking ceremonies and traditional land tenure, in reconciliation and peace-making, in tabooing and emblematization of chiefly authority, and in the symbolism of political movements and state institutions. The article suggests two potential genealogies of cycad prominence in the archipelago, one stemming from the role of the plant as an emblem of pacificatory influence of graded societies and the other centered on the use of cycad leaves as tallies for recalling debts in traditional ni-Vanuatu culture.","PeriodicalId":54838,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ethnobiology","volume":"136 42","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2023-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Ethnobiology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02780771231213190","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ANTHROPOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The paper reviews nondietary uses and symbolic connotations of cycads ( Cycas seemannii) in Vanuatu, relying on data from ethnographic studies, anthropological literature, and local media reports. The authors focus on the uses of cycads in magical practices, in grade-taking ceremonies and traditional land tenure, in reconciliation and peace-making, in tabooing and emblematization of chiefly authority, and in the symbolism of political movements and state institutions. The article suggests two potential genealogies of cycad prominence in the archipelago, one stemming from the role of the plant as an emblem of pacificatory influence of graded societies and the other centered on the use of cycad leaves as tallies for recalling debts in traditional ni-Vanuatu culture.
期刊介绍：
JoE’s readership is as wide and diverse as ethnobiology itself, with readers spanning from both the natural and social sciences. Not surprisingly, a glance at the papers published in the Journal reveals the depth and breadth of topics, extending from studies in archaeology and the origins of agriculture, to folk classification systems, to food composition, plants, birds, mammals, fungi and everything in between.
Research areas published in JoE include but are not limited to neo- and paleo-ethnobiology, zooarchaeology, ethnobotany, ethnozoology, ethnopharmacology, ethnoecology, linguistic ethnobiology, human paleoecology, and many other related fields of study within anthropology and biology, such as taxonomy, conservation biology, ethnography, political ecology, and cognitive and cultural anthropology.
JoE does not limit itself to a single perspective, approach or discipline, but seeks to represent the full spectrum and wide diversity of the field of ethnobiology, including cognitive, symbolic, linguistic, ecological, and economic aspects of human interactions with our living world. Articles that significantly advance ethnobiological theory and/or methodology are particularly welcome, as well as studies bridging across disciplines and knowledge systems. JoE does not publish uncontextualized data such as species lists; appropriate submissions must elaborate on the ethnobiological context of findings.
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
分享
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
扫码关注我们
