AI Article Synopsis
- This study focuses on the local ecological knowledge of edible plants with underground storage organs (USOs) among rural populations in North-Patagonia, aiming to understand usage patterns influenced by demographics like age, gender, and ethnicity.
- Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 51 locals, revealing that older individuals and those living with multiple generations use USOs more often, while Mapuche-identifying individuals utilize these plants the most frequently.
- The findings highlight the importance of wild plants in the Mapuche community for both historical sustenance and cultural identity, suggesting their potential in cultural revival and health promotion initiatives.
Article Abstract
Background: Edible plants with underground storage organs (USOs) are neglected resources. We studied the local ecological knowledge edible plants with (USOs) in rural populations of North-Patagonia in order to establish how people are utilizing these plants. Some aspect of corpus-praxis-cosmos complex associated to the local ecological knowledge was documented and discussed. In addition, variation in this ecological knowledge due to age, gender, family structure, ethnic self-determination was also evaluated.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 51 inhabitants in order to study the relationship between the current use of plants with USOs and the age, sex, family group composition and ethnic self-identification of interviewees. In addition, the Cultural Importance Index for each species was calculated.
Results: The current richness of known species in these populations is a total of 9 plants. Plants with USOs tend to be used more frequently as the age of the interviewee increases. Women and men showed no differences in the average richness of species cited. The interviewees who share their homes with other generations use these plants more frequently than those who live alone. Our results indicate that the interviewees who identified themselves as belonging to the Mapuche people use these plants more frequently.
Conclusion: For the Mapuche people, wild plants have constituted material and symbolic resources of great importance in their historical subsistence. In addition, they are currently being redefined as elements which present a connection with ancestral practices, produce a strong relationship with the 'land', and become markers which identify the 'natural' (historical) ways of their people; these are key elements in the current political processes of identity revaluation. This research is valuable to stimulate cultural revival and health promotion programs in the communities with their own local, cultural food.
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|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4582829 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13002-015-0053-z | DOI Listing |
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