Yak, a species of bovid uniquely adapted to high-altitude environments, plays a critical role in the life of the inhabitants of the Tibetan Plateau and neighboring areas. There is currently no consensus on when these animals may have been domesticated. In this paper, we review the archaeological, genetic, and linguistic evidence relevant to this question, and suggest that the domestication took place following hybridization with taurine cattle from the end of the fourth millennium BCE. This study also shows that the original domesticators of yaks included not only the ancestors of the Tibetans, but also Rgyalrongic speaking people from Eastern Tibet.
{"title":"Yak Domestication: A Review of Linguistic, Archaeological, and Genetic Evidence","authors":"Guillaume Jacques, Jade d’Alpoim Guedes, Shuya Zhang","doi":"10.14237/ebl.12.1.2021.1755","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.12.1.2021.1755","url":null,"abstract":"Yak, a species of bovid uniquely adapted to high-altitude environments, plays a critical role in the life of the inhabitants of the Tibetan Plateau and neighboring areas. There is currently no consensus on when these animals may have been domesticated. In this paper, we review the archaeological, genetic, and linguistic evidence relevant to this question, and suggest that the domestication took place following hybridization with taurine cattle from the end of the fourth millennium BCE. This study also shows that the original domesticators of yaks included not only the ancestors of the Tibetans, but also Rgyalrongic speaking people from Eastern Tibet.","PeriodicalId":43787,"journal":{"name":"Ethnobiology Letters","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66850222","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-04DOI: 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1730
N. Sault
Research which integrates conservation with community needs is also presented by Devi Barman, Sharma, Cockrem, Malakar, Kakati, and Melvin, growing out of their concern for the survival of the Adjutant Stork (Leptoptilos dubius) in Assam, India. The Adjutant Stork is the second rarest in the world and was on the edge of extinction due to habitat loss and poaching. However, in 2007, a conservation program was initiated by the researchers to work with three communities where the majority of the storks still survived. A women’s group of conservation leaders was organized, together with village elders, youth, and visiting dignitaries. Their efforts were rewarded by a reduction in logging and poaching, and greater success of nests, as measured by increasing chick survival rates. Over 10,000 women joined in these efforts, and now their children have become leaders in protecting the storks. The success of this collaboration between researchers and community groups is demonstrated by the rise in the stork population from 400 birds at the beginning of the research to 950 in 2020.
{"title":"Avian Voices, Avian Silences: Learning By Listening to Birds","authors":"N. Sault","doi":"10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1730","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1730","url":null,"abstract":"Research which integrates conservation with community needs is also presented by Devi Barman, Sharma, Cockrem, Malakar, Kakati, and Melvin, growing out of their concern for the survival of the Adjutant Stork (Leptoptilos dubius) in Assam, India. The Adjutant Stork is the second rarest in the world and was on the edge of extinction due to habitat loss and poaching. However, in 2007, a conservation program was initiated by the researchers to work with three communities where the majority of the storks still survived. A women’s group of conservation leaders was organized, together with village elders, youth, and visiting dignitaries. Their efforts were rewarded by a reduction in logging and poaching, and greater success of nests, as measured by increasing chick survival rates. Over 10,000 women joined in these efforts, and now their children have become leaders in protecting the storks. The success of this collaboration between researchers and community groups is demonstrated by the rise in the stork population from 400 birds at the beginning of the research to 950 in 2020.","PeriodicalId":43787,"journal":{"name":"Ethnobiology Letters","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2020-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42960581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-04DOI: 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1689
N. Sault
When people hear bird sounds, they understand them on various levels that are interpreted according to cultural context. Among Indigenous cultures of Latin America, avian voices are understood in relation to group identity, kinship affiliation, and personal experience, such as dreams and vision quests. Birds are recognized as social actors with their own voices that express intentions, desires, needs, and responsibilities. Certain birds may impart messages to specific people, and stories of these personal interactions represent both traditional values as well as individual explanations for what the bird communicated. These experiences are incorporated into the dynamic relationships people have with birds, the ancestors, the landscape, and spirit beings, and assist in addressing both cultural and climatic changes. This essay presents stories from Mexico, Costa Rica, and Peru, and shows how individuals interpret bird communications according to cultural values that relate to their personal situation. These avian messages gain new meaning and urgency during periods of dramatic change, like the current climate crisis. As people seek creative responses to survive, relationships with birds provide resiliency. Resumen Cuando las personas escuchan los sonidos de las aves, los entienden por varios niveles que se interpretan de acuerdo con el contexto cultural. Entre las culturas indígenas de América Latina, las voces de las aves se entienden en relación con la identidad grupal, la afiliación de parentesco y la experiencia personal, como los sueños y las búsquedas de una visión. Las aves son reconocidas como actores sociales con sus propias voces que expresan intenciones, deseos, necesidades y responsabilidades. Ciertas aves imparten mensajes a personas específicas, y las historias de estas interacciones personales representan tanto valores tradicionales como interpretaciones particulares de lo que el ave les comunicó. Tales experiencias personales se incorporan a las relaciones dinámicas que las personas tienen con las aves, los antepasados, el paisaje, y los seres espirituales. Estas experiencias también se relacionan con cambios culturales y climáticos. Este ensayo presenta historias de México, Costa Rica y Perú, que muestran cómo las personas interpretan las comunicaciones de las aves de acuerdo con los valores culturales que se relacionan con su situación personal. Estos mensajes de las aves adquieren un nuevo significado y urgencia durante los periodos de cambios dramáticos, como la actual crisis climática. A medida que las personas buscan respuestas creativas para sobrevivir, las relaciones con las aves proporcionan resiliencia. Received April 1, 2020 OPEN ACCESS Accepted July 17, 2020 DOI 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1689 Published December 4, 2020
{"title":"Bird Stories from Latin America: Lessons on Change and Adaptation","authors":"N. Sault","doi":"10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1689","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1689","url":null,"abstract":"When people hear bird sounds, they understand them on various levels that are interpreted according to cultural context. Among Indigenous cultures of Latin America, avian voices are understood in relation to group identity, kinship affiliation, and personal experience, such as dreams and vision quests. Birds are recognized as social actors with their own voices that express intentions, desires, needs, and responsibilities. Certain birds may impart messages to specific people, and stories of these personal interactions represent both traditional values as well as individual explanations for what the bird communicated. These experiences are incorporated into the dynamic relationships people have with birds, the ancestors, the landscape, and spirit beings, and assist in addressing both cultural and climatic changes. This essay presents stories from Mexico, Costa Rica, and Peru, and shows how individuals interpret bird communications according to cultural values that relate to their personal situation. These avian messages gain new meaning and urgency during periods of dramatic change, like the current climate crisis. As people seek creative responses to survive, relationships with birds provide resiliency. Resumen Cuando las personas escuchan los sonidos de las aves, los entienden por varios niveles que se interpretan de acuerdo con el contexto cultural. Entre las culturas indígenas de América Latina, las voces de las aves se entienden en relación con la identidad grupal, la afiliación de parentesco y la experiencia personal, como los sueños y las búsquedas de una visión. Las aves son reconocidas como actores sociales con sus propias voces que expresan intenciones, deseos, necesidades y responsabilidades. Ciertas aves imparten mensajes a personas específicas, y las historias de estas interacciones personales representan tanto valores tradicionales como interpretaciones particulares de lo que el ave les comunicó. Tales experiencias personales se incorporan a las relaciones dinámicas que las personas tienen con las aves, los antepasados, el paisaje, y los seres espirituales. Estas experiencias también se relacionan con cambios culturales y climáticos. Este ensayo presenta historias de México, Costa Rica y Perú, que muestran cómo las personas interpretan las comunicaciones de las aves de acuerdo con los valores culturales que se relacionan con su situación personal. Estos mensajes de las aves adquieren un nuevo significado y urgencia durante los periodos de cambios dramáticos, como la actual crisis climática. A medida que las personas buscan respuestas creativas para sobrevivir, las relaciones con las aves proporcionan resiliencia. Received April 1, 2020 OPEN ACCESS Accepted July 17, 2020 DOI 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1689 Published December 4, 2020","PeriodicalId":43787,"journal":{"name":"Ethnobiology Letters","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2020-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41875166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-04DOI: 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1644
D. M. Ávila-Nájera, B. Tigar, Zaira Zavala-Sánchez, P. Zetina-Córdoba, R. Serna-Lagunes
This study evaluates the relationship between people and birds in Mexico, a country where high cultural and biological diversity are reflected in the close associations between people and natural resources, recorded since preHispanic times. It systematically reviews 1041 records of cultural use of wild birds in Mexico published between 1996–2017 and analyzes patterns of contemporary use of avifauna. It classifies information for 252 birds by grouping uses of species and families into 11 categories and quantifies overall use with a Cultural Value Index (CVI). The data show that birds have a high cultural value as food, pets, and for medicinal uses (312, 235, and 119 records, respectively), particularly in the state of Chiapas. Large edible birds had the highest CVIs and included Plain chachalacas (Ortalis vetula; 9.72), Black-bellied whistlingducks (Dendrocygna autumnali; 6.65), Crested guams (Penelope purpurascens; 6.25), and Great currasows (Crax rubra; 6.23), with the Cracidae family recorded as favored gamebirds. Conspicuous, brightly-colored birds had high CVIs, including Keel-billed toucans (Ramphastos sulfuratus; 6.50), Red-lored amazons, (Amazona autumnalis; 6.03), and allied species, which were traded or kept as pets despite legal protection. The high CVIs of Barn owls (Tyto alba; 5.45) were related to medicinal uses, and Mourning doves (Zenaida macroura; 5.69) were mainly used as gamebirds. Wild bird populations face increasing pressure from habitat loss and overexploitation. We propose that evaluating the ethnological significance of wildlife with indices like CVIs can quantify the distinctive needs of rural communities, which when combined with information on conservation status can develop more sustainable species management plans. Received August 28, 2019 OPEN ACCESS Accepted July 18, 2020 DOI 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1644 Published December 4, 2020
{"title":"A Quantitative Method for Evaluating Contemporary Cultural Uses of Birds: A Case Study from Mexico","authors":"D. M. Ávila-Nájera, B. Tigar, Zaira Zavala-Sánchez, P. Zetina-Córdoba, R. Serna-Lagunes","doi":"10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1644","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1644","url":null,"abstract":"This study evaluates the relationship between people and birds in Mexico, a country where high cultural and biological diversity are reflected in the close associations between people and natural resources, recorded since preHispanic times. It systematically reviews 1041 records of cultural use of wild birds in Mexico published between 1996–2017 and analyzes patterns of contemporary use of avifauna. It classifies information for 252 birds by grouping uses of species and families into 11 categories and quantifies overall use with a Cultural Value Index (CVI). The data show that birds have a high cultural value as food, pets, and for medicinal uses (312, 235, and 119 records, respectively), particularly in the state of Chiapas. Large edible birds had the highest CVIs and included Plain chachalacas (Ortalis vetula; 9.72), Black-bellied whistlingducks (Dendrocygna autumnali; 6.65), Crested guams (Penelope purpurascens; 6.25), and Great currasows (Crax rubra; 6.23), with the Cracidae family recorded as favored gamebirds. Conspicuous, brightly-colored birds had high CVIs, including Keel-billed toucans (Ramphastos sulfuratus; 6.50), Red-lored amazons, (Amazona autumnalis; 6.03), and allied species, which were traded or kept as pets despite legal protection. The high CVIs of Barn owls (Tyto alba; 5.45) were related to medicinal uses, and Mourning doves (Zenaida macroura; 5.69) were mainly used as gamebirds. Wild bird populations face increasing pressure from habitat loss and overexploitation. We propose that evaluating the ethnological significance of wildlife with indices like CVIs can quantify the distinctive needs of rural communities, which when combined with information on conservation status can develop more sustainable species management plans. Received August 28, 2019 OPEN ACCESS Accepted July 18, 2020 DOI 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1644 Published December 4, 2020","PeriodicalId":43787,"journal":{"name":"Ethnobiology Letters","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2020-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44553573","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-04DOI: 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1624
G. Forth
One way birds communicate knowledge to humans and facilitate communication among humans is through metaphors. A recent book discusses animal metaphors, nearly a third of which employ birds as vehicles, used by the Nage people of Flores Island (eastern Indonesia). As applied to human beings and human behaviors, bird metaphors reveal considerable overlap with other animal metaphors; thus, a full understanding of these requires additional attention to the metaphoric or more generally symbolic value of other sorts of non-human animals. Emphasizing how knowledge of birds is shaped in some degree by an extra-cultural empirical experience of the creatures, the present discussion explores similar representations of a bird, the scrubfowl, and a marine reptile, the sea turtle, among people in several parts of Flores. Received July 12, 2019 OPEN ACCESS Accepted October 28, 2019 DOI 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1624 Published December 4, 2020
{"title":"Bad Mothers and Strange Offspring: Images of Scrubfowl and Sea Turtles in Eastern Indonesia","authors":"G. Forth","doi":"10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1624","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1624","url":null,"abstract":"One way birds communicate knowledge to humans and facilitate communication among humans is through metaphors. A recent book discusses animal metaphors, nearly a third of which employ birds as vehicles, used by the Nage people of Flores Island (eastern Indonesia). As applied to human beings and human behaviors, bird metaphors reveal considerable overlap with other animal metaphors; thus, a full understanding of these requires additional attention to the metaphoric or more generally symbolic value of other sorts of non-human animals. Emphasizing how knowledge of birds is shaped in some degree by an extra-cultural empirical experience of the creatures, the present discussion explores similar representations of a bird, the scrubfowl, and a marine reptile, the sea turtle, among people in several parts of Flores. Received July 12, 2019 OPEN ACCESS Accepted October 28, 2019 DOI 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1624 Published December 4, 2020","PeriodicalId":43787,"journal":{"name":"Ethnobiology Letters","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2020-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45712048","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-04DOI: 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1682
Noah Gomes
This paper examines three examples of native bird classification systems historically used by the aboriginal peoples of the Hawaiian Islands. The goal is to better understand Indigenous linguistic hierarchies in the taxonomic structure and nomenclature systems that were formerly utilized by these colonized peoples. Three specific manuscripts from two native historians and a foreign naturalist are analyzed to better ascertain how these systems may have worked, despite the dearth of data on the comprehensive knowledge of bird hunters and ritual specialists. The utilitarian basis of these systems is shown to have potential practical application for the ongoing cultural and linguistic revitalization of the native Hawaiian people. The perspectives and reasoning behind these systems could be used as a tool for reviving traditional relationships with the unique ecosystems of Hawaiʻi. Further research in the large but diffuse archives of Hawaiian language manuscripts may eventually expand our understanding of Hawaiian folk systematics. Received February 29, 2020 OPEN ACCESS Accepted June 22, 2020 DOI 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1682 Published December 4, 2020
{"title":"Reclaiming Native Hawaiian Knowledge Represented in Bird Taxonomies","authors":"Noah Gomes","doi":"10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1682","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1682","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines three examples of native bird classification systems historically used by the aboriginal peoples of the Hawaiian Islands. The goal is to better understand Indigenous linguistic hierarchies in the taxonomic structure and nomenclature systems that were formerly utilized by these colonized peoples. Three specific manuscripts from two native historians and a foreign naturalist are analyzed to better ascertain how these systems may have worked, despite the dearth of data on the comprehensive knowledge of bird hunters and ritual specialists. The utilitarian basis of these systems is shown to have potential practical application for the ongoing cultural and linguistic revitalization of the native Hawaiian people. The perspectives and reasoning behind these systems could be used as a tool for reviving traditional relationships with the unique ecosystems of Hawaiʻi. Further research in the large but diffuse archives of Hawaiian language manuscripts may eventually expand our understanding of Hawaiian folk systematics. Received February 29, 2020 OPEN ACCESS Accepted June 22, 2020 DOI 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1682 Published December 4, 2020","PeriodicalId":43787,"journal":{"name":"Ethnobiology Letters","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2020-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42307784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-04DOI: 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1648
P. D. Barman, D. Sharma, J. Cockrem, Mamani Malakar, Bibekananda Kakati, Tracy A. Melvin
The Greater Adjutant Stork (Leptoptilos dubius), locally known as Hargila (the bone swallower) is an endangered bird with an estimated global population of less than 1200. Habitat loss, poisoning, and poaching have caused large declines in populations of this stork in South Asia, with the Brahmaputra valley in Assam in northeastern India now the last stronghold for the species. The stork nests colonially in privately owned trees within thickly populated villages. Tree owners would cut down trees to prevent rotten food and excreta of this carnivorous bird from falling into their backyards. A change in attitudes of the nest-tree owners towards keeping their trees and towards Greater Adjutants has been the key to stork conservation. A conservation project involving community development, education and outreach, interlinking storks with local traditions and cultures, and capacity building of local communities was initiated in 2007. A rural women's conservation group named the Hargila Army was instituted and strong feelings of pride and ownership for the storks by the villagers have been generated. Cash incentives for nest protection were deliberately avoided, with schemes that indirectly contribute to the livelihoods of nest-tree owners and other villagers introduced instead. The success of the conservation program is shown by the increase in the number of nesting colonies in the village area of Dadara, Pachariya, and Singimari in Kamrup District in Assam from 28 nests in 2007–08 to 208 nests in the 2019–20 breeding season, making this the largest breeding colony of Greater Adjutant Storks in the world. Received September 9, 2019 OPEN ACCESS Accepted April 7, 2020 DOI 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1648 Published December 4, 2020
{"title":"Saving the Greater Adjutant Stork by Changing Perceptions and Linking to Assamese Traditions in India","authors":"P. D. Barman, D. Sharma, J. Cockrem, Mamani Malakar, Bibekananda Kakati, Tracy A. Melvin","doi":"10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1648","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1648","url":null,"abstract":"The Greater Adjutant Stork (Leptoptilos dubius), locally known as Hargila (the bone swallower) is an endangered bird with an estimated global population of less than 1200. Habitat loss, poisoning, and poaching have caused large declines in populations of this stork in South Asia, with the Brahmaputra valley in Assam in northeastern India now the last stronghold for the species. The stork nests colonially in privately owned trees within thickly populated villages. Tree owners would cut down trees to prevent rotten food and excreta of this carnivorous bird from falling into their backyards. A change in attitudes of the nest-tree owners towards keeping their trees and towards Greater Adjutants has been the key to stork conservation. A conservation project involving community development, education and outreach, interlinking storks with local traditions and cultures, and capacity building of local communities was initiated in 2007. A rural women's conservation group named the Hargila Army was instituted and strong feelings of pride and ownership for the storks by the villagers have been generated. Cash incentives for nest protection were deliberately avoided, with schemes that indirectly contribute to the livelihoods of nest-tree owners and other villagers introduced instead. The success of the conservation program is shown by the increase in the number of nesting colonies in the village area of Dadara, Pachariya, and Singimari in Kamrup District in Assam from 28 nests in 2007–08 to 208 nests in the 2019–20 breeding season, making this the largest breeding colony of Greater Adjutant Storks in the world. Received September 9, 2019 OPEN ACCESS Accepted April 7, 2020 DOI 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1648 Published December 4, 2020","PeriodicalId":43787,"journal":{"name":"Ethnobiology Letters","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2020-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66849927","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-04DOI: 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1640
R. Pierotti
Oral traditions of Indigenous American peoples (as well as those of other Indigenous peoples) have long been discussed with regard to their reliability as metaphorical accounts based upon historical knowledge. I explore this debate using stories to discuss the importance of the role of Corvidae in Indigenous knowledge traditions and how these stories convey information about important socioecological relationships. Contemporary science reveals that Corvids important in cultural traditions were companions to humans and important components of the ecology of the places where these peoples lived. Ravens, Crows, Jays, and Magpies are identified as having special roles as cooperators, agents of change, trickster figures, and important teachers. Canada (or Gray) Jays serve as trickster/Creator of the Woodland Cree people, Wisakyjak. Magpies won the Great Race around the Black Hills to determine whether humans would eat bison or vice versa. I analyze these stories in terms of their ecological meaning, in an effort to illustrate how the stories employ dramatic settings to encourage respect and fix relationships in the sociocultural memory of the people. Received August 20, 2019 OPEN ACCESS Accepted April 24, 2020 DOI 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1640 Published December 4, 2020
{"title":"Learning about Extraordinary Beings: Native Stories and Real Birds","authors":"R. Pierotti","doi":"10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1640","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1640","url":null,"abstract":"Oral traditions of Indigenous American peoples (as well as those of other Indigenous peoples) have long been discussed with regard to their reliability as metaphorical accounts based upon historical knowledge. I explore this debate using stories to discuss the importance of the role of Corvidae in Indigenous knowledge traditions and how these stories convey information about important socioecological relationships. Contemporary science reveals that Corvids important in cultural traditions were companions to humans and important components of the ecology of the places where these peoples lived. Ravens, Crows, Jays, and Magpies are identified as having special roles as cooperators, agents of change, trickster figures, and important teachers. Canada (or Gray) Jays serve as trickster/Creator of the Woodland Cree people, Wisakyjak. Magpies won the Great Race around the Black Hills to determine whether humans would eat bison or vice versa. I analyze these stories in terms of their ecological meaning, in an effort to illustrate how the stories employ dramatic settings to encourage respect and fix relationships in the sociocultural memory of the people. Received August 20, 2019 OPEN ACCESS Accepted April 24, 2020 DOI 10.14237/ebl.11.2.2020.1640 Published December 4, 2020","PeriodicalId":43787,"journal":{"name":"Ethnobiology Letters","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2020-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44353305","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-10-16DOI: 10.14237/ebl.11.1.2020.1686
Gildas Djidohokpin, E. Sossoukpè, Richard Adandé, Juste V. Voudounnou, E. Fiogbé, A. Haour
Ethno-ichthyological knowledge can improve fisheries management. This study covers interactions between ecological, morphological, and sociocultural aspects pertaining to the fish of the Tovè River, which is located in the largest fishing area in the Republic of Benin (Ouémé Valley), West Africa. In particular, data were collected on fishing methods and techniques, fishing equipment, and ichthyofauna by noting vernacular names followed by identification traits, taste and dietary value, medicinal use, and related knowledge of different species. Through data related to names given locally to fish, this paper highlights the manner in which physical or behavioral traits are coded in terminology. Most of these species have a high market value, either because they are considered to be delicacies and/or for their medicinal uses. The results suggest that ethno-ichthyological information can successfully be applied to improve fish conservation and fisheries management. Received March 21, 2020 OPEN ACCESS Accepted September 23, 2020 DOI 10.14237/ebl.11.1.2020.1686 Published October 16, 2020
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Pub Date : 2020-10-06DOI: 10.14237/ebl.11.1.2020.1701
I. Svanberg, S. Ståhlberg
Toponyms and hydronyms encode important information about human perceptions of the environment in a specific context. This article discusses the Loptuq, a group of Turkic-speakers, who until the 1950s lived as fishers-foragers at the Lower Tarim River, Eastern Turkestan (contemporary Xinjiang, China), and their use of common reed (Phragmites australis) as an example for the close connection between language, culture, social relations, economic activities, and human perceptions about the surrounding environment. Operating in lakes and swamps for their economic activities (fishing, hunting, foraging, and occasional transport), exploring and observing vegetation and animal life, the Loptuq developed and transmitted information through naming their habitat. Today both their habitat and the earlier knowledge have disappeared, but the perceptions and uses of resources can at least partly be reconstructed through foreign explorers’ narratives and field notes. Received May 9, 2020 OPEN ACCESS Accepted August 31, 2020 DOI 10.14237/ebl.11.1.2020.1701 Published October 6, 2020
{"title":"Fisher-foragers Amidst the Reeds: Loptuq Perception of Waterscapes in the Lower Tarim Area","authors":"I. Svanberg, S. Ståhlberg","doi":"10.14237/ebl.11.1.2020.1701","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.11.1.2020.1701","url":null,"abstract":"Toponyms and hydronyms encode important information about human perceptions of the environment in a specific context. This article discusses the Loptuq, a group of Turkic-speakers, who until the 1950s lived as fishers-foragers at the Lower Tarim River, Eastern Turkestan (contemporary Xinjiang, China), and their use of common reed (Phragmites australis) as an example for the close connection between language, culture, social relations, economic activities, and human perceptions about the surrounding environment. Operating in lakes and swamps for their economic activities (fishing, hunting, foraging, and occasional transport), exploring and observing vegetation and animal life, the Loptuq developed and transmitted information through naming their habitat. Today both their habitat and the earlier knowledge have disappeared, but the perceptions and uses of resources can at least partly be reconstructed through foreign explorers’ narratives and field notes. Received May 9, 2020 OPEN ACCESS Accepted August 31, 2020 DOI 10.14237/ebl.11.1.2020.1701 Published October 6, 2020","PeriodicalId":43787,"journal":{"name":"Ethnobiology Letters","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2020-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47174152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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