Learning with elders of the Dao, Hmong, Kinh, Lu, Ma Lieng, Sach, Tai, Tay, and Xinh Mun ethnic communities of Northern Vietnam.

Learning with elders of the Dao, Hmong, Kinh, Lu, Ma Lieng, Sach, Tai, Tay, and Xinh Mun ethnic communities of Northern Vietnam.

Author(s): 
Whitney, Cory - Rhine Waal University of Applied Sciences
Vang Sin Min (Meej Vaj) - Hmong, Young Indigenous Ethnic Minority Leadership Program/ Mekong Community Networking and Ecological Trading, Si Ma Cai, Vietnam
Lê Hồng Giang - Social Policy Ecology Research Institute, Hanoi, Vietnam
Vu Van Can - Social Policy Ecology Research Institute, Hanoi, Vietnam
Keith Barber - Waikato University, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Hamilton, New Zealand
Tran Thi Lanh - Social Policy Ecology Research Institute, Hanoi, Vietnam

An applied human ecology and ethnobotany study of selected healers from the Vietnamese Dao, Hmong, Kinh, Lu, Ma Lieng, Sach, Tai, Tay, and Xinh Mun ethnic groups was undertaken to catalogue traditional uses and conservation practices related to biodiversity and plant use in Northern Vietnam. The study utilized the systems theory of biological human ecology, an approach developed by the indigenous peoples’ networks of the Mekong region. Through ethnobotany field interviews the study gathered traditional knowledge of plants, including 27 climbers, 4 ferns, 29 herbs, 2 perennials, 24 shrubs, 24 trees, and 1 liana species. Plant importance was analyzed using quantitative indices. Findings offer support for the biological human ecology systems model and suggest that culture (especially spirituality) are an important contributor to plant conservation practices.