Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 132# Lanhei Road, Heilongtan, Kunming, 650201, Yunnan, China.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2023 May 5;19(1):14. doi: 10.1186/s13002-023-00583-7.
By comparing the differences in plant use between various cultures or regions, we can gain a better understanding of traditional knowledge of plant use among different groups, which may lead to a more objective understanding. Even though the Tibetan and Daman people live in the same ecosystem in Gyirong town, China, their cultural backgrounds and livelihoods differ. Therefore, the objective of this study is to document the traditional knowledge of plant use among the Daman people and compare it with the local Tibetan knowledge of plant use. By doing so, we aim to explore the relationship between plant selection and use and the cultural backgrounds of different groups.
During fieldwork, ethnobotanical data were collected using various methods including free listings, key informant interviews, and semi-structured interviews. To quantify the importance of plant species in the Daman people's culture, the culture importance index, informant consensus factor index, and The Index of Agreement on Species consensus (IASc) were used. In addition, we cited previous ethnobotanical survey data from the Tibetan in Gyirong. To more comprehensively compare the differences in plant use between the Daman and Tibetan, this study constructed a knowledge network to compare the knowledge differences between the two groups.
In this study, traditional knowledge was collected from 32 Daman informants, resulting in a total of 68 species belonging to 39 families mentioned by Daman people and 111 species mentioned by Tibetans. Of these, 58 plants were used by both populations. The plants were classified into 3 categories and 28 subcategories, with 22 identical classes in both groups. The majority of use categories showed a high degree of sharing in both groups, and the Tibetan people had more plant use categories than the Daman people. Five plants with IASc value > 0.5 were identified in both groups: Rhododendron anthopogon D. Don, Artemisia japonica Thunb., Juniperus indica Bertol., Gastrodia elata Blume, and Rheum australe D. Don. The analysis of the knowledge network revealed a 66% overlap between the knowledge of the Daman and the knowledge of the Tibetans. Additionally, the plant knowledge of Tibetan people was found to be richer and more complex than that of the Daman people. However, the Daman people possess 30 unique knowledge items.
From the perspective of plant use, the history of the Daman people's discrete migration on the border between China and Nepal allows them to retain their own knowledge of plant use. The status quo of joining Chinese nationality and settling in Gyirong town allows them to gradually integrate into the local Tibetan society. In summary, despite living in the same ecosystem and biodiversity background, the plant utilization of the Daman people and Tibetans still shows significant differences, which are due to their different cultural backgrounds and social status.
通过比较不同文化或地区之间的植物使用差异，我们可以更好地了解不同群体对植物使用的传统知识，这可能会导致对其有更客观的理解。尽管中国吉隆镇的达曼人和藏族人生活在相同的生态系统中，但他们的文化背景和生计方式却有所不同。因此，本研究的目的是记录达曼人对植物使用的传统知识，并将其与当地藏族人对植物使用的知识进行比较。通过这样做，我们旨在探讨植物选择和使用与不同群体文化背景之间的关系。
在实地考察期间，使用多种方法收集民族植物学数据，包括自由列表、关键信息提供者访谈和半结构式访谈。为了量化达曼人文化中植物物种的重要性，使用了文化重要性指数、信息提供者共识因子指数和物种共识的协议指数。此外，我们还引用了之前在吉隆的藏族人进行的民族植物学调查数据。为了更全面地比较达曼人和藏族人在植物使用方面的差异，本研究构建了一个知识网络来比较两组之间的知识差异。
本研究从 32 位达曼信息提供者那里收集了传统知识，共涉及 68 种植物，分别来自 39 个科，其中 58 种植物被达曼人和藏族人共同使用。这些植物被分为 3 个类别和 28 个子类别，其中 22 个类别在两组中相同。大多数使用类别在两组中都有很高的共享度，而且藏族人的植物使用类别比达曼人多。在两组中都有五个 IASc 值大于 0.5 的植物：Rhododendron anthopogon D. Don、Artemisia japonica Thunb.、Juniperus indica Bertol.、Gastrodia elata Blume 和 Rheum australe D. Don。知识网络的分析表明，达曼人和藏族人的知识有 66%的重叠。此外，藏族人的植物知识比达曼人更丰富和复杂。然而，达曼人拥有 30 个独特的知识项目。
从植物使用的角度来看，达曼人在中国和尼泊尔边境离散迁移的历史使他们保留了自己的植物使用知识。加入中国国籍并定居吉隆镇的现状使他们逐渐融入当地的藏族社会。总之，尽管生活在相同的生态系统和生物多样性背景下，达曼人和藏族人对植物的利用仍然存在显著差异，这是由于他们不同的文化背景和社会地位所致。
