XXII. Conservation of Culturally Important Sites

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Among the Mursi of southern Ethiopia, wild plant foods are discussed as having a lower profile than agro-pastoral foods. While sorghum (or maize) porridge (tila), makes the most significant contribution to the daily diet of the Mursi (Turton 1973), in the absence of milk, wild edible plants, especially boiled leaves (kinnoi), are eaten together with porridge. Wild edible fruits (kênô bhurra) and roots (kirimoga) also provide vital nutrients throughout the year, especially during periods of cyclical scarcity. One of the most culturally salient ‘famine foods’ (bhaaga rôbhôgay) in northern Mursi is that of marula (chobui), also referred to as ‘children’s food’ (tilaa eruin) (LaTosky 2022). Understanding the importance of marula for the Mursi has been largely understudied and will be discussed in relation to Mursi rhetoric, knowledge, production, and the use of ‘children’s famine foods’ using visual anthropological methods.

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Given this year’s conference theme of ethnobiology across depths and heights, this presentation will focus on environmental factors that influence the potency of medicinal plants with a focus on traditional gathering sites. A review of the research will illustrate the effects of altitude, soil conditions, temperature, light, and stage of development on secondary metabolites of select herbs. Growing conditions have been found to affect volatile chemical production, essential oils, flower production, antioxidants, etc. Compiling the known compounds of gathered medicinal plant species, in combination with the above research, could help the feasibility of highlighting a particular plant species population as critical to an Indigenous community’s health. With methods in place to maintain the privacy of sites, the collecting practices and site conditions could be documented along with known information on the plant species to clarify the medical importance and need for protection of traditional gathering sites.

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Red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) is a cultural keystone species vital to the cultural identify and lifeways of local and neighboring California Indigenous communities for millennia. Now critically endangered, red abalone populations face threats from climate change, habitat loss, and other impacts. Indigenous abalone gardens in southern Humboldt County, CA give insights into long-term socio-ecological relationships between the Ancestral Nek'anní (Bear River) and their marine environments. Archaeological and ecological research suggests that these gardens have increased the abundance and biodiversity of intertidal organisms and have enhanced microhabitats crucial for successful red abalone reproduction. This research has the potential to inform red abalone restoration efforts, providing a blueprint for community-based conservation strategies and innovative solutions for protecting important marine ecosystems for future generations. This work is in support of and supported by the Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria who aim to revitalize their cultural heritage and traditional practices within their homelands.

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Appeasing gods, witches and ancestral spirits constitute an integral part of the traditional healing practices of Yorubas. Ten classes of sacrifice were identified, some with proven efficacy. Response from astral realm could signify acceptance, when presentation is “consumed” within a stipulated time, or it could be “ignored” to indicate rejection. Most sacrifices have time and presentation-spot specificity. A wide variety of wild animals were utilized in preparing these sacrifices without consideration for conservation interests. Preparations involved animals under varying degrees of threats and age grades. In addition to depleting populations, such requirements eat deep into the procreation base of populations, denying members the opportunity to participate in reproductive activities. There is an urgent need to improve the yield of these animals, in-situ, and ex-situ. There is also a need to reduce demand for, and utilization of, these resources through massive conservation education, extension services and capacity building for indigenous people.