This book covers the ethnobiology and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of the Solega people of southern India. Solega TEK is shown to be a complex, inter-related network of detailed observations of natural phenomena, well-reasoned and often highly accurate theorizing, as well as a belief system, derived from cultural norms, regarding the relationships between humans and other species on the one hand, and between non-human species on the other. As language-based studies are strongly biased toward investigations of ethno-taxonomy and nomenclature, the importance of studying TEK in its proper context is discussed as making context and encyclopedic knowledge the objects of study are essential for a proper understanding of TEK.

Autorentext
Dr. Aung Si McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow University of Melbourne School of Languages and Linguistics Babel Building 139 Parkville, VIC 3010 Australia

Inhalt

Introduction.- Ethnotaxonomies and Universals: Investigating some Key Assumptions.- Plants in Solega Language and Culture.- Solega Ethno-ornithology.- Landscape terms in Solega.- Signs and Relationships.- Honeybee Lore.- Conclusions.