Indigenous biosystematics of yams (Dioscorea spp.) in Southwest Ethiopia: folk taxonomy, ethnolinguistic analysis, and folk descriptors

Abstract

Background In Southwest Ethiopia, various plant species are coexisting in wild and cultivated forms. This provides an ideal setting for studying folk biosystematics of neglected species. One of such species is the Dioscorea species, in which we studied to assess the commonly applied folk wisdom of identifying, naming, and classifying yams by Sheko and Bench farmers. Methods This study was conducted in Bench-Maji and Sheka Zones using 272 farmers. Data on the lists of local names and system of folk taxonomy; the inherent logic, etymons, and consistency of names; and the folk descriptors and other criteria involved in taxonomy were collected. Data were collected by establishing participatory research appraisal tools, i.e., informant interviews and researcher direct observation. Results The result suggests that there exists a well-developed folk taxonomic system in Sheko and Bench. This is evident in the recognition of four distinct folk ranks: sub-variety, variety, supra-variety, and folk generic. Taxa assigned to each ranks have distinct features that mark them as members of a separate categories. Farmers over-differentiate 58 individual taxa at the intraspecific levels. Of these, 37 represented varietal taxa while the rest are sub-varietal taxa. Structurally, over 78% of the varieties are labeled with unitary names while all the sub-varieties consisted of binomial names. Farmers used a total of 26 characters and 74 character states for identifying the different taxa. More than 84% of these refer to aspects of plant characteristics. Tuber characters played a key role in the local identification of varietal and sub-varietal taxa while contexts and gender played a key role in the recognition of supra-variety groups. Conclusions This study documented a great wealth of knowledge on indigenous biosystematics of yams, constitutes an essential step towards setting development priorities aimed at in situ conservation. The study clearly demonstrated the value of folk biosystematics for assessing the actual extent and spatial dynamics of yam diversity in traditional farming.

Traditional Medicine Practice in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic: Community Claim in Jimma Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia

“…32 The most commonly reported parts of the herbal medicine were: seeds followed by leaves. The finding was comparable with the study conducted in Nepal 33 in which leaves, seeds and fruit were the commonly used parts of medicinal plants. The oral route of administration was the frequently used route of administration by the community.…”

Women’s Narratives about COVID-19, Preventive Practices and Sources of Information in Northwestern Tanzania

“…The preventive practices against COVID-19 also had implicit roots in traditional medicine, as alongside with biomedical and religious measures, some women also used traditional preventive measures to protect themselves and their families. These have been described in detail elsewhere [ 10 ]. These include (1) drinking a homemade medicinal drink made of common spices such as ginger, garlic, cinnamon, clover, lemon, and leaves of plants such as lemongrass, eucalyptus, lemon, neem, guava, and Kashwagara (local mint plant); and (2) steaming over a bowl of boiling herbal concoction or spices and inhale steam coming out while covered up with a cloth.…”

“…This indicates a general willingness of participants and the public at large to make behavioral changes in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. However, the analysis revealed the existence of medical pluralism [ 24 ] in the context of COVID-19, as women draw on biomedical and non-biomedical systems to protect themselves from catching SARS-CoV-2 [ 10 ]. As Muela [ 25 ] states, a society where medical pluralism is well established is rich in knowledge stemming from different explanatory systems.…”

“…This knowledge could help identify the knowledge gaps regarding COVID-19 among the opinion leaders, thus enable health programmers to develop specific interventions focused on dispelling the myths, and identify ways to engage the local and religious leaders in promoting healthy life in the community. Additionally, as also recommended by Mshana et al [ 10 ], there is a need of studies involving larger sample sizes to examine the community members’ knowledge and perceptions of COVID-19 in this population or other similar contexts.…”

“…Data was collected between July and September 2020. The recruitment procedures of the participants involved in this study has been described in detail elsewhere [ 10 , 11 ], but in summary, a total of 18 women aged 27 to 57 years were purposively selected to participate in qualitative telephone in-depth interviews. These women were selected from 85 women participating in the longitudinal mixed methods MAISHA study [ 12 ] who reported changes in their experiences of sexual intimate partner violence between the baseline and endline survey of the MAISHA trial.…”