Ethnobotanical Knowledge Encoded in Weenhayek Oral Tradition

Abstract

Stories that reference plants occur throughout Indigenous oral traditions. It is widely recognized among local and academic knowledge holders that such stories store and transmit valuable ethnobotanical knowledge. However, there has been little detailed investigation of the quantity and kinds of information conveyed or the ways in which this information is encoded in oral texts. In this paper, we explore in detail the nature of this transmitted ethnobotanical knowledge, investigating the extent to which stories encode and convey information useful for identifying, locating, harvesting, processing, and predicting availability of important plant resources. Using an existing collection of traditional narratives from the Weenhayek of the Bolivian Gran Chaco, we searched for stories about wild plants and plant products. This search yielded a sample of 40 narratives, which were analyzed for the presence of information about plant characteristics, associated ecological cues, habitat and distribution, management, extraction and processing, availability, uses, and worldview (i.e., prescriptions and proscriptions related to plant management, extraction, processing, or use). Results are discussed in light of the constraints imposed by human attentional and memory systems, and their implications for knowledge storage and transmission.

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Surfing Uncertainty with Screams: Predictive Processing, Error Dynamics and Horror Films

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Tank Bromeliads as a Water Reservoir Used by Humans: An Important Overlooked Ecosystem Service in Xerophytic Forests

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