Background: Home gardens (HGs) are hotspots of in situ agrobiodiversity conservation. We conducted a case study in Tabasco, México, on HG owners' knowledge of HG ecological, economical and socio-cultural multifunctionality and how it relates to agrobiodiversity as measured by species richness and diversity. The term multifunctionality knowledge refers to owners' knowledge on how HGs contribute to ecological processes, family economy, as well as human relations and local culture. We hypothesized a positive correlation between owners' multifunctionality knowledge and their HGs' agrobiodiversity. Methods: We inventoried all perennial species in 20 HGs, determined observed species richness, calculated Shannon diversity indexes and analysed species composition using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS). Based on literature, semi-structured interviews and a dialogue of knowledge with HG owners, we catalogued the locally recognized functions in the ecological, economic and socio-cultural dimensions. We determined the score of knowledge on each function in the three dimensions on explicit scales based on the interviews and observed management. We determined Spearman rs correlations of HGs' observed species richness, Shannon diversity index (H) and of HGs' scores on NMDS-axis and multifunctionality knowledge scores. We dialogued on the results and implications for agrobiodiversity conservation at workshops of HG owners, researchers and local organizations.
The Pjiekakjoo are the smallest indigenous group in the State of Mexico. They have managed to survive and maintain an ethnic project despite their proximity to the largest metropolitan areas in central Mexico: Mexico City, Toluca and Cuernavaca. Sadly, their indigenous language is considered to be in danger of extinction. Their knowledge of insects and other invertebrates was recorded through a collaborative project that included the collection of organisms, semi-structured interviews and intergenerational workshops. The documentation and systematisation of their ethnoentomological information was with the active participation of the Tlahuicas. Discussions with the Tlahuicas about other topics, such as the importance of biocultural diversity and the heritage it represents, was promoted. The methodology developed is based in Freire’s ideas of education for freedom and Smith's proposals for the decolonisation of methodologies in anthropological research. An emic perspective was preferred. We documented invertebrates in general. A total of 70 taxa of invertebrates were documented distributed in 3 phyla: Arthropoda (67), Mollusca (2) and Annelida (1).These have 58 Pjiekakjoo names and 66 names in Spanish. The most representative class is the Insecta, with 60 out of 67 categories of arthropods. Half of the taxa (34) have uses: 14 are edible, 7 medicinal, 8 recreational, 2 ornamental, one as an aphrodisiac and one as flavouring. The edible insects are primarily Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Hymenoptera orders. The Pjiekakjoo use 4 invertebrate products: honey, honeycomb, beebread and spider web. The use of insects and other invertebrates requires specialised ecological and ethological knowledge. 9 taxa are associated with distinctive beliefs, commonly as omens. The present paper recommends the use of ethnoentomological research to help the heirs of this biocultural heritage to face the challenges of the contemporary world.
Background Mexico harbours one of the greatest biocultural diversities of the world, where multiple social and natural elements and systems form complex networks of interactions in which both culture and nature are mutually influenced. Biocultural states and processes are studied by ethnosciences, among them ethnoherpetology, which seeks understanding material and non-material expressions of the interactions between humans, amphibians, and reptiles. Herpetofauna has been part of the magic–religious world and source of goods for Mesoamerican cultures. This study aims to document and analyse the complex body of knowledge, beliefs, and practices on these vertebrates in the Nahua culture, the factors that have influenced progressive risk and loss of culture, habitat, and species, and the potential contribution of contemporary Nahua knowledge to biocultural conservation. Methods Through 15 workshops with children and young people, and 16 semi-structured interviews to people 27 to 74 years old, we documented the contemporary Nahua knowledge in the communities of Aticpac and Xaltepec in the Sierra Negra, Puebla, central Mexico. Biological and ecological knowledge, use, management practices, legends, and perceptions on herpetofauna were emphasised in the study. Results We obtained an ethnoherpetological checklist, grouping species into four general classificatory categories: kohuatl (serpents), kalatl (frogs and toads), ayotsi (turtles), and ketzo (lizards and salamanders), which included 21, 10, 1, and 11 ethnocategories respectively, based on the local Nahua knowledge of herpetofauna. Serpents, used as medicine, are the most culturally relevant. Due to perceptions of danger, beliefs, and actual snake bites, the main interaction with serpents is their elimination; however, some snakes are tolerated and maintained in captivity. The remaining species of local herpetofauna recorded are tolerated. Cultural aspects of reptiles and amphibians in the Nahua worldview were documented to influence the regulation of interactions of people with these vertebrates, but for younger generations, such aspects are less frequent or absent. Conclusions Interactions and cultural relationships between the Nahua people, amphibians and reptiles are complex, maintaining some aspects of the local worldview but also influenced by external factors and being constantly recreated and re-signified. Documenting and understanding the contemporary relations is essential to generate strategies in biocultural conservation of herpetofauna.
La meliponicultura, practicada por distintas culturas, está constituida de diversos saberes contemporáneos (conocimientos, prácticas y creencias en constante producción y reproducción). El presente estudio aborda el estado actual de la meliponicultura en Tabasco, considerándola como patrimonio biocultural. Se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas sobre la relación que tienen las personas con las abejas que cultivan y los saberes contemporáneos que poseen. Se registraron 101 meliponicultores en 15 de los 17 municipios, el 24% pertenece a un grupo indígena. El municipio con mayor número de meliponicultores es el de Tenosique (37), seguido de Tacotalpa (14) y Balancán (11). Se cultivan once especies de meliponinos. Se entrevistaron 81 meliponicultores y se clasificaron en tres tipos de acuerdo a su objetivo: tradicionales (52%), resignificados (42%) y conservacionistas (6%). Lo más común es tener la colmena en troncos (52%), un 32% las tiene en cajas y un 16%, tanto en troncos como en troncos modificados y cajas. El 11% de los meliponicutores sabe dividir sus colmenas. La miel, la cera y la colmena tienen diferentes usos: comestibles, medicinales y religiosos. La relación de los meliponicultores con las abejas es compleja y va más allá de lo utilitario; esta práctica implica saberes contemporáneos sobre la etología, ecología y morfología de las especies de meliponinos. Hay un declive de la meliponicultura en Tabasco por lo que es apremiante tener un mayor conocimiento de ésta y fomentarla entre las nuevas generaciones a partir de un diálogo de saberes.
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