Anthropo-entomophagy in Guaycurú linguistic groups from Argentina: past and present

Abstract

This work is a brief outline of the consumption and use of several insect taxa and products taking into account historical sources of the 18th century for the Gran Chaco region and more recent ethnographic data. The Meridional and Central Chaco subregion of Argentina is a vast semi-arid plain in the north-east of the country between the Pilcomayo river and the Salado river basin. The subregion forms part of the South American Gran Chaco area. During the 18th century, the linguistic families Guaycurú and Mataco-Mataguayan resided in the Central Chaco subregion. The Guaycurú linguistic family includes the current languages Toba-Qom, Pilagá, Toba-Pilagá, Mocoví, as well as the Caduveo language from Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The report focuses on the Guaycurú groups to illustrate the diversity of insects significantly involved in their cultural practices, which have been sustained over time up to the present, and are presumably oldest. Jesuit chroniclers have provided abundant evidence about Guaycurú groups from the Argentine Chaco region. They fostered Catholic missions in the region and lived in reductions with the Guaycurú populations. The relationship of Chaco indigenous groups with insects and other species is a reflection of their deep identification with the environment. The relationship with the territory goes beyond the idea of a land where to settle. Rather, it refers to feeding and using the land conceived as an organic structure full of energy, the same energy that forms part of the entities of nature and, naturally, of insects as well.

When Do We Start Caring About Insect Welfare?

“…1 ). Peoples from 3071 different ethnic groups across Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Brazil and Ecuador consume insect species (Ramos-Elorduy 2009 ; Costa-Neto 2015 , 2016 ; Loiacono et al 2016 ). For example, in Mexico, a total of 29 ethnic groups such as the Tlapaneco, Maya and Yutoazteca consume Lepidoptera spp.…”

Insect pests as food and feed

“…Other species besides the desert locust eaten in Africa are the red locust (Normadacris septemfasciata), the brown locust (Locustana pardalina), mentioned for example by Obopile and Seeletso (2013), and the (often reared) migratory locust (Locusta migratoria) (Mohamed, 2015). In Latin America the locust species Schistocerca cancellate, which has recently been causing upsurges (Medina et al, 2017), is also eaten (Loiácono et al, 2016).…”

Effects of Social, Cultural and Economic Factors on Consumption of Edible Insects for Household Food Security

“…Unlike most other regions in the world, insecteating is relatively common in Africa. Africa reportedly has the most extensive diversity of edible insects, with over five hundred species ranging from Coleoptera (beetles) to Heteroptera and Homoptera (bugs), Hymenoptera (bees and ants), Orthoptera (crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts), Isoptera (termites), and Lepidoptera (caterpillars) (Loiacono et al, 2016). The African countries dominating insect-eating include South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.…”

“…The majority of edible insects are sourced from the wild. However, as in most other places, not much effort has been put in Africa to find if the mass production of insects and their use as a protein source is possible (Loiacono et al, 2016).…”