Uses and Taboos of Turtles and Tortoises Along Rio Negro, Amazon Basin

Abstract

Chelonians (turtles and tortoises) of the Amazon Basin have constituted a source of food for native populations since pre-Columbian times and have continued to be an important product for subsistence and cash income. Little is known about current levels of exploitation and pressure on natural stocks, despite observations of declining populations of the larger and most valued species. This study investigates how people living in the Negro River area use Amazonian chelonians, including issues of consumption, preferences, restrictions, segmentary taboos, harmfulness, medicinal use, and sale. We conducted interviews with fishing families in the city of Barcelos and in Jaú National Park, both located in the Rio Negro basin, in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. All chelonian species are used by these riverine people, especially for food. Peltocephalus dumerilianus is caught year round, whereas the capture of other species is more frequent during the dry season. Terrestrial species are collected whenever found in the forest. Herbivorous species are preferred as food; omnivorous or carnivorous species are subject to food taboos. Two species are largely used as medicines, mainly to treat swelling and hemorrhages. Fat and epidermal scutes (scales) are widely used. At least four species are exploited commercially.

Subsistence Hunting for Turtles in Northwestern Ecuador

“…Our purpose is to describe the techniques for capturing turtles and the ways in which they were utilized by two ethnic groups. The turtle fauna of this trans-Andean locality is entirely cryptodiran and taxonomically distinct from the Amazonian pleurodires and tortoises that have frequently been described in other studies of South American turtle use (e.g., Johns, 1987;Fachín-Terán et al, 2004;Pezzuti et al, 2010;Castro Casal et al, 2013). Also, the primary inhabitants of northwestern Ecuador are Afroecuadorians, a population with little published concerning their interactions with wildlife (West, 1957;Whitten, 1974).…”

Kinosternon scorpioides (Linnaeus 1766) – Scorpion Mud Turtle

“…In Brazil, Freiberg (1954), Alho (1985), Rocha andMolina (1990), Vogt (2008), and Carvalho et al (2010) reported that this turtle is sold on beaches, in markets, and in restaurants, despite current legislation restricting that activity, and Nóbrega Alves et al (2008) reported on its supposed medicinal value. Pezzuti et al (2010) found that it is rarely found or consumed along the Rio Negro in Brazil; however, no published records are known from that specific drainage.…”

Cultural attitudes are stronger predictors of bushmeat consumption and preference than economic factors among urban Amazonians from Brazil and Colombia

“…"Taboos" refer to informal http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol20/iss4/art21/ institutions imposed by social custom that might influence food consumption through dietary prohibition or avoidance of certain resources (e.g., freshwater dolphins, tapirs), periods of time (e.g., certain seasons), or by societal subgroups (e.g., pregnant women, ill people; Ross et al 1978). In the Amazon, some animals are referred to as reimosos, or of being capable of causing inflammation or illness in certain people, and are thus tabooed (Pezzuti et al 2010). Higher values indicate agreement with the opinion that taboos are important and should be followed.…”