Traditional knowledge and cultural importance of Borassus aethiopum Mart. in Benin: interacting effects of socio-demographic attributes and multi-scale abundance

Abstract

BackgroundEliciting factors affecting distribution of traditional knowledge (TK) and cultural importance of plant resources is central in ethnobiology. Socio-demographic attributes and ecological apparency hypothesis (EAH) have been widely documented as drivers of TK distribution, but their synergistic effect is poorly documented. Here, we focused on Borassus aethiopum, a socio-economic important agroforestry palm in Africa, analyzing relationships between the number of use-reports and cultural importance on one hand, and informant socio-demographic attributes (age category and gender) on the other hand, considering the EAH at multi-scale contexts. Our hypothesis is that effects of socio-demographic attributes on use-reports and cultural importance are shaped by both local (village level) and regional (chorological region level) apparency of study species. We expected so because distribution of knowledge on a resource in a community correlates to the versatility in the resource utilization but also connections among communities within a region.MethodsNine hundred ninety-two face-to-face individual semi-structured interviews were conducted in six villages of low versus high local abundance of B. aethiopum spanning three chorological regions (humid, sub-humid and semi-arid) also underlying a gradient of increasing distribution and abundance of B. aethiopum. Number of use-reports and score of importance of uses of B. aethiopum were recorded in six use-categories including medicine, food, handcraft, construction, firewood, and ceremonies and rituals. Data were analyzed using Poisson and ordered logistic models.ResultsInformants listed 121 uses for B. aethiopum: medicine (66 uses), handcraft (16 uses), food (16 uses), construction (12 uses), firewood (6 uses), and ceremonies and rituals (5 uses); but food use was the most culturally important use (2.45 ± 0.03), followed by construction (0.61 ± 0.03), medicinal (0.57 ± 0.03) and handcraft (0.56 ± 0.03), firewood (0.29 ± 0.02), and ceremonies and rituals (0.03 ± 0.01). Food use was the most important for women who were specialized in hypocotyls and fruits collection for commercialization. Men valued more the species for handcrafting, construction, and medicine. The number of use-reports was significantly dependent on age category and gender, and differences between age categories (young, adult, and old) in particular were dependent upon local and regional apparency. In particular, discrepancies among age categories were higher in areas of low abundance and distribution, which may be linked to different speed in the process of knowledge acquisition. In areas of low abundance, the species past abundance was also found instrumental in understanding current knowledge distribution.ConclusionFindings suggest that studies aiming at understanding relationship between current TK and cultural importance of a resource on one hand and socio-demographic attributes on the other hand should consider the resource current local and regional apparency but further its local past abundance...

Inter and intra cultural variations of millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br) uses in Niger (West Africa)

“…Indeed, Indigenous knowledge is often unevenly distributed among those factors [13]. Moreover, the level of individual knowledge of native plant species can be affected by many factors such as sex, age, ethnicity, occupation, religious and cultural beliefs, abundance, and the usefulness of the species [13, 17]. In addition, research conducted in the West African Sahel reported that the Fulani , Kel Tamashek , Bellah , and Maure groups were the main major livestock-rearing groups, while the farmers were mainly from the Bambara , Hausa , Djerma , Gourmantche , Mossi , and Soninke [13, 18].…”

Traditional knowledge and cultural importance of Gardenia erubescens Stapf & Hutch. in Sudanian savanna of Burkina Faso

“…According to Geng et al [38], the transmission of knowledge from the older to the younger generation is nowadays confronted with a gradual disappearance of these knowledge systems partly due to migration from rural to urban areas. Several other studies including those of Lougbégnon et al [39] and Salako et al [15] have shown that individual characteristics such as age, for example, can influence knowledge of resources and their use within a community. The difference observed in medicinal use of the plant can be explained by the fact that such uses are often specific and are mostly reserved for the elderly.…”

“…erubescens in Burkina Faso. These use-categories are also the most important for Bombax costatum [41], Lannea microcarpa [9], and Borassus aethiopum [15]. Food and medicinal uses are basic needs for local population living in Boulon, Tapoa-Boopo, and Tiogo.…”

“…For instance, men and women possess distinct ethnobotanical knowledge that is related to the different roles they play in local livelihoods [12]. To understand patterns of knowledge distribution within communities, quantitative methods have been used [10, 13, 14], including regression analysis [11, 15]. This is important, since the effects of one variable may depend on the levels of another one and carrying out analyses that do not allow for this could mask the “true” knowledge of local plant species thereby leading to conclusions that are misleading [14].…”

Dépendance socioculturelle des connaissances locales des usages de Isoberlinia spp. au Moyen-Bénin, Afrique de l’Ouest

“…La VU est la moyenne des nombres d'usages assignés par les enquêtés à chaque essence : (Phillips et Gentry, 1993 ;Fandohan et al, 2017) avec U i : nombre d'usages mentionnés par l'informateur i du groupe social, variant de 0 à 4 ; N : nombre total d'informateurs interviewés par modalité de chaque facteur. La valeur d'usage calculée suit une distribution de Poisson puisqu'il s'agit de la moyenne d'une variable de comptage (Salako et al, 2018). Ainsi, un modèle linéaire généralisé (GLM) de la famille des lois de Poisson a été réalisé pour tester l'effet séparé de chacun des cinq facteurs sociaux sur la VU.…”