scholarly journals People and Plants in Nunatsiavut (Labrador, Canada): Examining Plants as a Foundational Aspect of Culture in the Subarctic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. H. Norton ◽  
A. Cuerrier ◽  
L. Hermanutz
Keyword(s):  
Local Environment ◽  
Cultural Value ◽  
Plant Responses ◽  
Edible Plants ◽  
Traditional Values ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Plant Knowledge ◽  
Cultural Importance ◽  
Intergenerational Exchange

AbstractThis paper emphasizes the cultural value of plants in Nunatsiavut (Labrador, Canada), a self–governing Inuit region in the Subarctic. Via interviews with community members, we describe the links between plant usage and culture to understand the direct ways that plants are utilized for food, construction, gardening, and medicine, and to then link these uses to deeper cultural significance among three communities in Nunatsiavut (Hopedale, Postville, and Rigolet). Many plants were common amongst communities with a total of 66 taxa identified. About 75% of taxa were reported in at least two communities, corresponding to 95% of all responses. Edible plants were the most common reported usage, with emphasis on berry–producing taxa such as blueberry shrubs. Our study shows that a diversity of plants (i) support cultural activities; (ii) act as markers for historical events; (iii) highlight intergenerational exchange and valuing of plant knowledge; (iv) express the deep awareness that people have for their local environment; and (v) a medium for the expression of traditional values. The similarities in the plant responses among the communities suggest a shared body of plant knowledge. Our study supports the great cultural importance of plants in northern communities.

The Mezen Horse: Between Tradition and Brand

2021 ◽  
pp. 85-96
Author(s):  
Екатерина Александровна Мельникова
Keyword(s):  
Special Kind ◽  
Cultural Value ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
History Of ◽  
Rural World ◽  
Family Memories ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Village ◽  
The City

Статья посвящена истории бытования мезенской росписи - зооморфного орнамента, использовавшегося с начала XIX в. мастерами д. Палащелье Архангельской губ. для декорирования деревянных изделий, и в первую очередь прялок. В центре внимания находится судьба мезенской лошадки - главного символа палащельской росписи, ставшего в XXI в. основой локального бренда в г. Мезени и его окрестностях. В работе рассматривается история палащельского промысла, включая трансформацию его социального, экономического и культурного значений на протяжении XX-XXI вв. Прялка - главный носитель мезенской росписи - перестала выполнять свою утилитарную роль, став объектом семейной памяти и культурной ценностью, связанной с локальной идентичностью местных жителей и художественным значением, определяемым экспертами-профессионалами. Вследствие этих перемен, а также миграций населения из деревень в города прялки с мезенской росписью стали ассоциироваться с покинутой малой родиной и деревенским миром в целом, вызывая к жизни особую форму чувствительности, требующей специальных навыков понимания, толкования и любви к мезенской росписи. Как показано в работе, два режима восприятия мезенской лошадки - семейной памяти и эстетической ценности - тесно взаимосвязаны, определяя эмоциональную привязанность и популярность этого элемента традиционной росписи среди современных жителей г. Мезени и Мезенского района. This article concerns the history of the Mezen horse, a zoormorphic ornament from the village Palashchelye in the Mezen Region of Arkhangelsk Province. From the beginning of the 19th century it has been used by craftsmen to decorate wooden items, especially spinning wheels. In the beginning of the present century the Mezen horse became the symbol of Palashchelye painting and the main local brand for the city of Mezen and its environs. The article examines the history of Palashchel crafts and discusses the transformation of its social, economic and cultural significance during the 20th and 21st centuries. The spinning wheel, the main bearer of Mezen decoration, has ceased to fulfill a utilitarian role, becoming instead a focus of family memories and cultural value, interpreted both in terms of local identity and artistic significance. As a result of this change, as well as the migration of the population from villages to cities, spinning wheels with Mezen painting began to be associated with one’s abandoned birthplace and the rural world in general. This has given rise to a special kind of sensitivity that entails special skills of interpretation as well as love. Two different modes of such sensibility are discussed in the article - the mode of family memory and the mode of esthetic value - that are interwoven, endowing the Mezen horse with emotional meaning and broad popularity among the modern urban inhabitants of Mezen and its environs.

scholarly journals TYPOLOGY AND CHRONOLOGY OF AESTIAN AND PRUSSIAN FUNERAL URNS

2021 ◽  
Vol 01 (05) ◽  
pp. 74-89
Author(s):  
V.I. Kulakov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Training ◽  
Main Part ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
Community Members

The coexistence of several types of urns in the funerary antiquities of the Aestians and Prussians testifies to the fact that in the imagination of community members (obviously, mainly women), there were prototypes of urns that were of ethno-cultural significance for (forced) ceramists. The aforementioned inhabitants of the Amber Coast at the beginning of our era were called Aestii by the Germans (ancient German - "living in the east"). The low quality of urn ceramics and their weak firing characterize the insignificant professional training of members of the tribal collective, who are forced to mold vessels only when necessary to prepare the urn for the funeral of a relative. The large sizes of the main part of the types of urns in our array are obviously the result of some cult norms. Ashes from the fire and cremated remains of the deceased, together with his inventory, occupy a small part of the urn's volume and were not necessarily at its bottom. Existing in the traditions of the population of the Amber Coast for half a millennium, the urn, as it turned out, can contain information of a chronological and ethno-cultural nature, and not just be recorded by archaeologists as a repository of the ashes of the buried.

scholarly journals In vitrocommunity synergy between bacterial soil isolates can be facilitated by pH stabilisation of the environment

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Herschend ◽  
Klaus Koren ◽  
Henriette L. Røder ◽  
Asker Brejnrod ◽  
Michael Kühl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Activity ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Species Interaction ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Community Interactions ◽  
Community Growth ◽  
Over Time

AbstractComposition and development of naturally occurring microbial communities is defined by a complex interplay between the community and the surrounding environment and by interactions between community members. Intriguingly, these interactions can in some cases cause community synergies where the community is able to outperform it single species constituents. However, the underlying mechanisms driving community interactions are often unknown and difficult to identify due to high community complexity. Here we show how pH stabilisation of the environment through the metabolic activity of specific community members acts as a positive inter-species interaction drivingin vitrocommunity synergy in a model consortium of four co-isolated soil bacteria:Microbacterium oxydans,Xanthomonas retroflexus,Stenotrophomonas rhizophilaandPaenibacillus amylolyticus. Using micro-sensor pH measurements to show how individual species change the local pH micro-environment, and how co-cultivation leads to a stabilised pH regime over time. Specifically,in vitroacid production fromPaenibacillus amylolyticusand alkali production primarily fromXanthomonas retroflexuslead to an overall pH stabilisation of the local environment over time, which in turn resulted in enhanced community growth. This specific type of interspecies interaction was found to be highly dependent on media type and media concentration, however similar pH drift from the individual species could be observed across media variants.ImportanceWe show thatin vitrometabolic activity of individual members of a synthetic, co- isolated model community presenting community synergistic growth arises through the inter-species interaction of pH stabilization of the community micro-environment. The observed inter-species interaction is highly media specific and most pronounced under high nutrient availability. This adds to the growing diversity of identified community interactions leading to enhanced community growth.

scholarly journals A B73 x Palomero Toluqueño mapping population reveals local adaptation in Mexican highland maize

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Perez-Limón ◽  
Meng Li ◽  
G Carolina Cintora-Martinez ◽  
M Rocio Aguilar-Rangel ◽  
M Nancy Salazar-Vidal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Adaptation ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Cultural Value ◽  
De Novo Mutation ◽  
Quantitative Trait Mapping ◽  
Farmer Selection ◽  
Maize Varieties ◽  
Highland Maize ◽  
Genomic Regions

Abstract Generations of farmer selection in the central Mexican highlands have produced unique maize varieties adapted to the challenges of the local environment. In addition to possessing great agronomic and cultural value, Mexican highland maize represents a good system for the study of local adaptation and acquisition of adaptive phenotypes under cultivation. In this study we characterize a recombinant inbred line population derived from the B73 reference line and the Mexican highland maize variety Palomero Toluqueño. B73 and Palomero Toluqueño showed classic rank-changing differences in performance between lowland and highland field sites, indicative of local adaptation. Quantitative trait mapping identified genomic regions linked to effects on yield components that were conditionally expressed depending on the environment. For the principal genomic regions associated with ear weight and total kernel number, the Palomero Toluqueño allele conferred an advantage specifically in the highland site, consistent with local adaptation. We identified Palomero Toluqueño alleles associated with expression of characteristic highland traits, including reduced tassel branching, increased sheath pigmentation and the presence of sheath macrohairs. The oligogenic architecture of these three morphological traits supports their role in adaptation, suggesting they have arisen from consistent directional selection acting at distinct points across the genome. We discuss these results in the context of the origin of phenotypic novelty during selection, commenting on the role of de novo mutation and the acquisition of adaptive variation by gene flow from endemic wild relatives.

Conception, construction and the cultural significance of Te Parapara Garden in Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wiremu T. Puke
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
Cultural Importance ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Academic Researchers ◽  
The World ◽  
International Visitors ◽  
Ongoing Functioning ◽  
Initial Concept ◽  
Waikato River

Te Parapara Garden is the only complete pre-European-style Māori horticultural garden in the world. Historically inspired and empirically researched, it lies within the Hamilton Gardens on a young river terrace immediately adjacent to the Waikato River in Hamilton (Kirikiriroa), Aotearoa New Zealand. In this article, Wiremu Puke (Ngāti Wairere, Ngāti Porou) – a tohunga whakairo (master carver, including using pre-steel tools) and a tohunga whakapapa (genealogical expert on his tribal affiliations) of Ngāti Wairere (the mana whenua, or first people of the traditional ancestral tribal lands of Kirikiriroa) – describes the design and development of Te Parapara Garden from its initial concept in 2003 and the construction of its many features, including the waharoa (gateway), pou (carved pillars), pātaka (storehouse), whatarangi (small storehouse), taeapa (fencing) and rua kūmara (underground storage pit), and the sourcing and use of kōkōwai (red ochre). The garden was completed in 2010. Its ongoing functioning, including the annual planting and harvesting of traditional pre-European kūmara (sweet potato) using modified, mounded soils (puke or ahu), is also covered. The unique Te Parapara Garden is of great cultural importance and a source of pride, knowledge and understanding for national and international visitors and empirical and academic researchers.

scholarly journals Ethnobotanical study on Daksina constituent plants on Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
NI KETUT AYU SUTRANINGSIH ◽  
KURNIASIH SUKENTI ◽  
SUKIMAN SUKIMAN ◽  
EVY ARYANTI
Keyword(s):  
Sampling Methods ◽  
Ethnobotanical Study ◽  
Cultural Resources ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Importance Value ◽  
Cultural Importance ◽  
Field Data Collection ◽  
Participatory Observation ◽  
Lombok Island

Abstract. Sutraningsih NKA, Sukenti K, Sukiman, Aryanti E. 2019. Ethnobotanical study on Daksina constituent plants on Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Asian J Ethnobiol 2: 48-53. Lombok Island is located between Bali and Sumbawa Island in Lesser Sunda, Indonesia. About 80% of the population is inhabited by the original tribe called Sasak. Another tribe that has a close cultural relationship is Bali, whose a variety of Hinduism traditional rituals both religious and ancestral beliefs. In carrying out a traditional ritual, Balinese required several means to support the ceremony, one of which is daksina. Daksina is a kind of offerings in Hindu ceremonies composed of various types of plants. This research aims to explore the ethnobotanical aspects of plants that compose daksina. The study was conducted in several Balinese-Hindu villages in 5 regions in Lombok Island, i.e., Mataram City, West Lombok Regency, North Lombok Regency, Central Lombok Regency and East Lombok Regency. Field data collection was done through participatory observation, interviews and documentation. Informants were selected based on purposive sampling and snowball sampling methods. Reported Use (RU) and Index of Cultural Significance (ICS) were calculated to obtain the cultural importance value of the species. The result records that 46 plant species of 27 families are utilized in composing daksina that used in 13 traditional ceremonial rituals in Balinese-Hindu communities on Lombok Island. In general, traditional rituals have some valuable ethnobotanical aspects that should be revealed as an effort in preserving natural and cultural resources, and in supporting ecotourism.

Chuchuyamba/ Soda Rock: Toward an Applied Critical Geographic Perspective on Traditional Cultural Properties (TCPS)

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-28
Author(s):  
Beth Rose Middleton
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Federal Agencies ◽  
Active Engagement ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Native Community ◽  
Cultural Importance ◽  
Cultural Properties ◽  
Traditional Cultural Properties ◽  
Trust Responsibility ◽  
Geographic Perspective

Preservation of indigenous Traditional Cultural Properties (TCPs) is limited by narrow legal and procedural interpretation. First, indigenous communities (federally recognized or non-recognized) must often rely on the federal trust responsibility for site protection. Following the trust responsibility, federal agencies that hold indigenous TCPs must argue on behalf of indigenous interests for their protection. Such a structure is problematic, because federal agencies have multiple mandates to serve a broad public, despite the seniority of the tribal trust responsibility, and may not possess a full understanding of the importance of TCPs to indigenous communities. Second, courts are often loath to accept that different meanings of “preservation” exist within indigenous communities. For some indigenous people, sacred and/or storied geographies should be completely undeveloped and open only to traditional uses. For others, active engagement with these geographies by Native community members— even extractive use that may change their character— reinforces their importance and integration within the Native community. This paper approaches these issues from a particular contested TCP in the northeastern Sierra, examining case narratives, legal precedent, and interviews with stakeholders to assess how the site was ultimately left vulnerable to extractive mining despite its documented cultural importance, and how this may inform critical geographic perspectives on defining, stewarding, and protecting TCPs.

scholarly journals Wild edible plants in Yeşilli (Mardin-Turkey), a multicultural area

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeter Yeşil ◽  
Mahmut Çelik ◽  
Bahattin Yılmaz
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Knowledge ◽  
Juglans Regia ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Wild Edible Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Ethnobotanical Study ◽  
Edible Plants ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
Traditional Use ◽  
Informant Consensus

Abstract Background The Yeşilli district (Mardin) is located in the southeastern of Turkey and hosts different cultures. The objective of this study was to record the traditional knowledge of wild edible plants used by indigenous people in Yeşilli, where no ethnobotanical studies have been conducted previously. Methods An ethnobotanical study was carried out in Yeşilli district in March 2017–March 2019 to document the traditional knowledge of wild edible plants. The data were collected by interviewing 62 informants. Additionally, the data were analysed based on the cultural importance index (CI) and factor informant consensus (FİC) to determine the cultural significance of wild edible plants and knowledge of wild edible plants among the informants. Results We documented 74 wild edible taxa belonging to 31 families and 57 genera in the present study. The richness of the wild edible taxa was highest for vegetables (46 taxa), followed by medicinal plants (17 taxa) and fruit (14 taxa). The most important families were Asteraceae (ten taxa), Rosaceae (seven taxa) and Fabaceae (six taxa). The most culturally important taxa (based on the CI index) were Ficus carica subsp. carica, Lepidium draba, Anchusa strigosa, Rhus coriaria, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Sinapis alba, Gundelia tournefortii, Notobasis syriaca, Onopordum carduchorum, Malva neglecta, Mentha longifolia, Juglans regia and Urtica dioica. The maximum number of use reports was recorded for vegetables (1011). The factor informant consensus index (Fic) varied between 0.95 and 0.98 for preserved vegetables, beverages and spices and processed fruits have the highest Fic (0.99). We reported for the first time the ethnobotanical usage of 12 taxa as food. We also recorded the use of Allium wendelboanum, an endemic species in the study area. Conclusion The obtained data were compared with data from other wild edible and ethnobotanical studies conducted in Turkey and particularly those conducted in eastern Turkey. Furthermore, the data were compared with data from studies conducted in the bordering countries of Iraq and Armenia. The present study reflects the cultural diversity of the region, and it is necessary to conduct more studies since it is thought that this diversity will contribute to the economy. This study will enable the traditional use of wild plants as food sources to be passed on to future generations.

scholarly journals INCREASED DEMANDS FOR NATURAL IMMUNO- BOOSTERS IN SELECTED TOURISM AREAS

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milica Luković ◽  
◽  
Jovan Nićiforović ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
World Health ◽  
Wild Edible Plants ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Edible Plants ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
The World ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Health Organization

Rural areas have been facing distinctive challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. As in other parts of the world, in the Republic of Serbia noticed movement of people from places with high concentration of settlements, like cities, into less densely populated communities. Searching for rural, natural, wild areas far away from cities, tourists made different pressures on local environment (sound, litter, pressure on natural resources, pollution) but also increased demands for healthier way of living in accordance with World Health Organization recommendation during the Covid 19 period. Besides a clear environment, they would like to enjoy locally produced food and wild edible plants as a source of minerals, vitamins and other functional substances for strengthening immunity. Using standard botanical questionnaire, the research was conducted in selected rural areas with the aim to create a list of the most wanted wild edible plants by tourists and to overview their potential contribution to immune system strengthening in the COVID-19 pandemic period.

scholarly journals Traditional knowledge of wild edible plants in Hasankeyf (Batman Province, Turkey)

2019 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeter Yeşil ◽  
İlyas İnal
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Knowledge ◽  
Chenopodium Album ◽  
Amaranthus Retroflexus ◽  
Wild Edible Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Edible Plants ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
Rural Settlements ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
The Town

Hasankeyf is an ancient city located on the shores of the Tigris River in Batman Province, southeast Turkey. The town and some of its surrounding villages will be soon submerged, due to the construction of Ilısu Dam, which will force the residents to move to new settlements. The aim of the present study was to collect and record the traditional knowledge regarding the indigenous wild plants that will be submerged by this flooding. The study was carried out between March 2017 and April 2019. Interviews were conducted with 72 women and 53 men in the town center and 22 rural settlements, with a focus on the five villages that are due to be submerged. Information about a total of 86 wild edible plants belonging to 32 families was recorded. Interviewees reported that these were used as green vegetables (45 taxa), ripe fruits and seeds (25 taxa), seasoning and preservatives (16 taxa), beverages (nine taxa), and children’s snacks (seven taxa). In addition, the data were analyzed on the basis of the cultural importance index to determine the cultural significance of these wild edible plants and the informants’ knowledge about them. Culturally, the most significant species included <em>Mentha longifolia</em>, <em>Polygonum cognatum</em>, <em>Rosa canina</em>, <em>Chenopodium album</em>, <em>Urtica dioica</em>, <em>Amaranthus retroflexus</em>, and <em>Malva neglecta</em>. In addition, the data were compared with relevant data in the ethnobotanical literature of Turkey and its neighboring countries. Several uses mentioned here are documented here for the first time. Our research highlights the importance of wild edible plants in the daily lives of inhabitants and their potential for economic use. The present study also provides information for future archaeobotanical studies in this region.

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