The traditional ecological knowledge of the Solega : a linguistic perspective

Abstract

The traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of a language community is not only a repository of that community's cultural and intellectual heritage, but also a rich source of detailed information with the potential to inform conservation policies and basic scientific research. In this thesis, I present some key aspects of Solega TEK, which is shown to be a complex, inter-related network of detailed observations of natural phenomena, well-reasoned and often highly accurate theorising, as well as a belief system, derived from cultural norms, regarding the relationships between humans and other species on the one hand, and between non-human species on the other. In addition, the appendices to the thesis contain a sketch grammar of Solega and a small lexicon of around 2,300 entries. The thesis begins with a brief survey of the types of research usually carried out under the heading of ethnobiology, and shows that language-based studies are stongly biased towards investigations of ethno-taxonomy and nomenclature. I then argue the importance of studying TEK in its proper context, and that making context and encyclopaedic knowledge the objects of study are essential for a proper understanding of TEK.

In Chapter 2, I provide a further critique of the acontextualised approach to uncovering 'universals' in ethno-taxonomy and nomenclature, and suggest that some basic assumptions implicit in this enterprise are seriously flawed. Chapter 3 develops this theme further by investigating Solega ways of naming and classifying birds, and provides an alternative approach - one that takes into account not only linguistic context and variation, but also Solega knowledge of the behaviour and ecology of these birds. Moving away from classifications, in Chapter 4, I describe the manner in which the Solega perceive various named landscapes. These, along with the plants and animals that inhabit them, form a mental map - a three dimensional mosaic - that is constantly updated in sync with the annual cycling of the seasons, the life cycles of plants and the migrations of culturally significant animals. Further details of these seasonal cycles, as well as other forest 'signs' that Solega people can detect and use to their advantage, are to be found in Chapter 5, along with Solega perspectives on the place of humans in the natural environment. Chapter 6 focuses in some detail on the Solega's knowledge of the behaviour, reproductive biology and ecology of one very important group of animals, the honeybees. Comparing Solega observations with those of a pre-industrial beekeeping society, I show that the former's knowledge of certain hard-to-observe honeybee behaviours rivals, and in some cases exceeds, that of the latter.

Finally, in the last chapter, I reiterate the need to develop novel approaches to carrying out ethnobiological research from a linguistic perspective - approaches that acknowledge the fact that classifications are but a small part of a language community's TEK, and that contextualised studies, which take into account variation, diachrony and encyclopaedic knowledge, are required to obtain an unbiased picture of people's understanding of the natural world. -- provided by Candidate. Show more