Knowledge transmission patterns at the border: ethnobotany of Hutsuls living in the Carpathian Mountains of Bukovina (SW Ukraine and NE Romania)

Abstract

Background: Cross-border research is a novel and important tool for detecting variability of ecological knowledge. This is especially evident in regions recently divided and annexed to different political regimes. Therefore, we conducted a study among Hutsuls, a cultural and linguistic minority group living in Northern and Southern Bukovina (Ukraine and Romania, respectively). Indeed, in the 1940s, a border was created: Northern Bukovina was annexed by the USSR while Southern Bukovina remained part of the Kingdom of Romania. In this research, we aim to document uses of plants for food and medicinal preparations, discussing the different dynamics of Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) transmission among Hutsuls living in Ukraine and Romania. Methods: Field research was conducted using convenience and snowball sampling techniques to recruit 31 Hutsuls in Ukraine and 30 in Romania for participation in semi-structured interviews regarding the use of plants for medicinal and food preparation purposes and the sources of such knowledge. Results: The interviews revealed that, despite a common cultural and linguistic background, ethnobotanical knowledge transmission occurs in different ways on each side of the border. Family is a primary source of ethnobotanical knowledge transmission on both sides of the border; however, in Romania, knowledge from other sources is very limited, whereas in Ukraine interviewees reported several other sources including books, magazines, newspapers, the Internet and television. This is especially evident when analysing the wild plants used for medicinal purposes as we found 53 taxa that were common to both, 47 used only in Ukraine and 11 used only in Romania. While Romanian Hutsuls used almost exclusively locally available plants, Ukrainian Hutsuls often reported novel plants such as Aloe vera, Aronia melanocarpa and Elaeagnus rhamnoides. Knowledge related to these plants was transferred by sources of knowledge other than oral transmission among members of the same family. Therefore, this may imply hybridization of the local body of knowledge with foreign elements originating in the Soviet context which has enriched the corpus of ethnobotanical knowledge held by Ukrainian Hutsuls.

On the Trail of an Ancient Middle Eastern Ethnobotany: Traditional Wild Food Plants Gathered by Ormuri Speakers in Kaniguram, NW Pakistan

“…Cultural and linguistic edges have always played an important role in articulating human perspectives on the diverse biological world [7], and, most importantly, language holds a wealth of information about nature, including plants [8]. Researchers have always taken a keen interest in understanding TEK transmission within given cultural groups [9][10][11][12][13][14], and more specifically, the cross-cultural sharing of TEK, which has led researchers to carry out cross-cultural and cross-linguistic ethnobotanical studies ( [7,[15][16][17][18][19][20], and references therein).…”

Language of Administration as a Border: Wild Food Plants Used by Setos and Russians in Pechorsky District of Pskov Oblast, NW Russia

“…The research is part of a larger study investigating the effect of centralization on the small ethic groups residing on the borders of former Soviet republics. Cross-border studies of this project have already been reported for Estonian Setomaa (Seto ‘Seto land’) [ 13 ], Russian Karelia [ 27 ], and Bukovina [ 11 , 28 ].…”

Active Wild Food Practices among Culturally Diverse Groups in the 21st Century across Latgale, Latvia

“…Homogenisation of society during the times of the Soviet Union contributed to unification of LEK (see [ 101 , 102 , 103 ]), where the educational system, which is characterised as particularly centralised [ 104 ], serves as one contributing factor. As ascertained by Strods [ 105 ], Russification of schools and public life of the Latgale region increased the number of Russianized families.…”