Ethnozoology as a Fundamental Field of Study

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Importance of Respect
Taboos and Animals
Restrictions on Roles of Women
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Ethnozoology is the scientific study of the relationships between animals and various ethnicities across the world. Ethnozoology is a fundamental field of study because it enhances understanding of indigenous cultures that rely on hunting and gathering as their dominant economic activity.

Ethnozoologists study relationships between animals and varied ethnicities so that they can elucidate the cultural importance of animals. Among indigenous communities, animals play a significant role in cultures because they do not only have economic value, but also cultural value in terms of shaping traditions, beliefs, and taboos of people.

Ethnical communities such as Gwich’in, Seri Indians, Koyukon, and Sebei attach their cultural traditions, beliefs, and taboos to animals. The Gwich’in is an indigenous community that lives in Alaska, while Seri Indians are indigenous community that lives in Sonora, Mexico.

The Koyukon is an indigenous community that lives in northern Alaska, while the Sebei is an indigenous community that lives in eastern Uganda around the slopes of Mount Elgon. Since the four indigenous ethnicities rely on animals in their social, economic, and cultural aspects, ethnozoology is essential in understanding their traditions, beliefs, and taboos.

Hence, ethnozoology of different ethnicities indicates that, respect given to animals is central in the formulation of taboos relating to interaction with animals and restriction of women’s roles.

Importance of Respect

The Gwich’in is an indigenous community that occupies northeastern part of Alaska in North America. The Gwich’in has lived in Alaska since time immemorial while practicing their subsistence form of lives for many years.

Due to their subsistence way of life, the Gwich’in highly respects their environment because it provides them with food that has continually helped them for many years. Specifically, the Gwich’in relies on Porcupine caribou in production of food, source of livelihood, basis of religion and foundation of respect in a community.

Herd of Porcupine caribou lives in Coastal Plain where the Gwich’in believes to be a sacred place where life originates. For many years, the Gwich’in has been relying on the herd of Porcupine caribou, as they are animals that are critical for their existence and culture, as well.

The Gwich’in believes that, the existence of Porcupine caribou herd is same as their existence, because they do not only depend on the animals as food, but they also respect them as the source of their culture. Inoue (2004) argues that, Gwich’in rejected preposition to change Coastal Plain into mining ground for oil because it would cause extinction of Porcupine caribou and consequently damage their culture (p.183).

Apart from Porcupine of caribou, the Gwich’in also survive by hunting animals such as snowshoe hare, moose, muskrat, lynx and wolverine amongst other wild animals that they highly regard as the source of their livelihood.

The Seri Indians are indigenous community that resides in Sonora, Mexico. The Seri Indians live subsistence lives where they hunt reptiles, birds, fishes, and mammals for survival. They highly respect animals as part of their lives because they profoundly depend on them as the source of food as well as cultural importance.

The Seri Indians hunt green turtle for both substance and commercial purposes during the winter and summer because they have various tactics of hunting. The turtles provide oil for cooking and their skin is the source of genuine leather for making sandals.

Other reptiles that Seri Indians hunt are tortoise, snakes, and lizards. The Seri Indians also hunt different types of birds such as gulls, pelicans, waterfowl, owl, heron, and yellowlegs. They feed on birds and use their feathers as decorations or making arrows that they use in hunting.

In addition to hunting reptiles and birds, the Seri Indians also hunt mammals such as mule deer, antelope, coyote, and pronghorn amongst other mammals that are available in their environment. Fleger and Moser (1995) state that, mule deer provides the main source of food, and has cultural significance to Seri culture (p.51).

Thus, they have many strategies of hunting that include tracking, luring, creeping and by using dogs without trapping them. Hence, it is quite evident that Seri Indians immensely respect wild animals.

The Koyukon is an indigenous community that lives in northern parts of Alaska. The Koyukon community lives subsistence form of lifestyle of hunting and gathering. The Koyukon community respects flora and fauna because they provide them with food and have cultural significance.

Hunting lifestyle of this community is more than satisfying economic needs of subsistence because the Koyukon have ritualized hunting and its related practices. The Koyukon community takes hunting as both cultural and economic activity that they do in their subsistence form of lifestyle.

Since hunting is the main economic activity, which suffices subsistence lifestyles, the Koyukon believe that, flora and fauna are the source of their lives; hence, they jealously guard their forest in northern Alaska.

Since Koyukon respect animals, they have hunting ethics that prohibit them from setting traps so that porcupines can have freedom of wandering without endangering them. Nelson (1986) holds that, the Koyukon community has hunting ethics that protect animals from undue suffering because they respect animals (p.161). Hence, promote sustainable hunting because they show respect to animals through their ethical hunting and proper disposal of bones.

The Sebei are indigenous community that lives on slopes of Mount Elgon in the eastern part of Uganda. Economic activity of the Sebei is mainly keeping livestock. The Sebei believe that livestock such as goats, sheep, and cows are their inherent property, and thus they raid neighboring communities to obtain more animals.

According to myth, the Sebei community believes that spirits recognize livestock as community’s property, thus making the community use sheep, goats, and cows in offering sacrifices or appeasing their gods. Goldschmidt and Goldschmidt (1976) argue that, when one is sick, a diviner may advise a person to sacrifice an animal to the spirits (p.139).

Sacrifice is central to cultural beliefs and traditions because the Sebei keep large herds of livestock. Possession of livestock in not only a sign of richness but also acts a cultural pride. The Sebei respect their livestock because they look after them in grazing field by ensuring that they feed well.

They also help them in breeding by ensuring that a hybrid bull is available by castrating the rest. Thus, care that the Sebei give to their livestock indicates that they respect and value animals due to their economic and cultural significance.

Taboos and Animals

The respect that the varied ethnical communities attach to animals results into various taboos. Since the Gwich’in are hunters, they greatly value hunting weapons for they prohibit women and children from touching them.

Thus, it is a taboo for women and children to touch bow and arrows because they will reduce the effectiveness of the weapons during hunting. Moreover, among the Gwich’in, Porcupine caribou is a sacred animal that portrays the existence of the community.

Since the Gwich’in mainly relies on Porcupine caribou, they recognize it as a sacred animal that is in the heart of every person and community. According to Inoue (2004), the Coastal Plain is a sacred field where life originates because it provides a calving ground where Porcupine caribou breeds (p.183).

Porcupine caribou does not only provide food, but also has physical, emotional, cultural, and spiritual importance to the community. Hence, since the Gwich’in value Porcupine caribou, they have set ethics that governs their hunting practices. For instance, it is a taboo for one to use traps in hunting because it disregards the sacred value they place on Porcupine caribou.

Although the Seri Indians hunt for reptiles, birds, and mammals, they do not eat all animals because of taboos. The Seri Indians eat turtles because they believe that they have substantial proteins and oil; however, it is a taboo to feed on their eggs.

Moreover, the Seri Indians do not feed on some snakes and lizards because of taboos that consider them dangerous even though they are not poisonous. According to Fleger and Moser (1995), the Seri Indians eat most of the birds that they capture except ravens, hawks, and vultures (p.50).

They believe that ravens, hawks, and vultures are birds that are not good because they spell misfortunes to hunters. Additionally, Fleger and Moser (1995) add that, Seri Indians do not eat dogs and coyotes because they believe them to have reincarnated from ancient people (p.53). Hence, taboos associated with certain animals determine whether they are edible or not among the Seri Indians.

The Koyukon have taboos and beliefs that guide their community in showing respect to nature, particularly the animals. The Koyukon taboos dictate who consume certain animals that they hunt. For instance, taboos dictate that women should not eat lynx or some forbidden parts of a bear.

Thus, when a man goes hunting, he should consider killing animals that women need as well as that men require. Violation of taboos by eating forbidden animals has serious consequences, which may include one being an outcast from society or denied specified food for the rest of his/her life.

Arundale and Jones (1989) argue that, since taboos forbid women from eating specified parts of bears, when men butcher bears, they keep their meat in the jungle for a longer period to reduce the spells associated with fresh meat (p.160).

Hence, forbidden animals require certain form of treatment during slaughter to avoid violation of taboos. For instance, since the Koyukon believe that fresh meat of forbidden animals is not good for women and children, men would slaughter lynx and bears in the bush and preserve them for a period of one week before bringing the meat home.

Moreover, the respect that the Koyukon community has for animals require that there should be proper disposal of bones according to beliefs of reincarnation or sacrifice. Poor disposal of bones is a taboo because it is like cursing the source of livelihood and disrespecting spirits that reincarnates.

The Sebei have a fantastic deal of taboos associated with their livestock. They believe that, livestock play a significant role in mediating between spirits (oyik) and humanity; hence, they use animal products in offering sacrifices.

For instance, when one is sick, they believe that the spirits are angry, and the only way to heal a person is through sacrifice of a goat, a sheep, or a bull to appease ancestors or spirits, otherwise failure to offer sacrifice is spiteful to spirits.

Traditions and taboos dictate the choice of sacrificial animals and ways of slaughtering them. For example, a medicine man can order a sick man to slaughter a bull at homestead during the evening and place pieces of meat together with bull’s skull in the kraal to appease spirits. According to Goldschmidt and Goldschmidt (1976), the Sebei smear chyme on initiates, path of mourners, and parents of twins to purify them and protect them from evil spirits.

Moreover, the Sebei use milk and fat in ceremonies to anoint and bless people. The Sebei also believe in reincarnation of people from one generation to another in that, spirits can turn one into an animal. Kawachi (2010) contends that, religious beliefs of the Sebei hold that, one can reincarnate according to the dictates of spirits (p.131). Thus, it is a taboo for one to go against traditions and taboos associated with offering of sacrifices to spirits.

Restrictions on Roles of Women

The respect that varied ethnical communities have for animals has given rise to beliefs that have defined and restricted roles of women in community. While the Gwich’in men go hunting Porcupine caribou and other animals, women take care of children and do some farming as they await men to come home with meat.

In the Gwich’in community, lifestyle of hunting and gathering has restricted the roles of women to chores for they do not participate in hunting. Likewise, among the Seri Indians, men usually go into the sea where they hunt for turtles and catch fishes while women remain at home taking care of children and doing other chores.

Women cannot go into the sea and fish because it is full of dangerous animals like bears, whales, and sea lions. The Seri Indians believe that, men have the capacity to venture into deep seas while women have limited capacity, hence restricting their roles to activities within homes.

The Koyukon also have restricted roles that women play in their community. Traditions dictate that, women should not hunt nor slaughter animals because it is the responsibility of men. Arundale and Jones (1989) assert that, the Koyukon belief system restricts women from handling hunting equipment or overstepping their roles by slaughtering some animals (p.161).

Hence, taboos that prohibit women from eating certain animals also prevent them from performing certain activities that relate to hunting. In the Sebei, while the roles of men involve raiding and looking after livestock, the roles of women entail taking care of children and milking livestock.

Raiding and looking after livestock are dangerous activities that do not fit women because other raiders from neighboring communities can attack. Hence, warriors have the responsibility of looking after livestock and raiding other communities. In this view, keeping of livestock as the main economic activity of the Sebei restricts the roles of women in the community.

Conclusion

Ethnozoology gives comprehensive understanding of culture from perspective animals associated with respective indigenous communities. Ethnozoology indicates that relationships that the Gwich’in, the Seri Indians, the Koyukon and the Sebei have with animals define cultural beliefs, values, and taboos.

Moreover, respect that different communities attach to animals determines how a given community defines roles of women. Hence, ethnozoology is critical in understanding cultural beliefs and taboos of indigenous communities.

References

Arundale, W., & Jones, E. (1989). Historic Land Use Processes in Alaska’s Koyukuk River Area. Arctic, 42(2), 148-162.

Fleger, R., & Moser, M. (1995). People of the Desert and the Sea: Ethnobotany of the Seri Indians. Arizona: University of Arizona Press.

Goldschmidt, G., & Goldschmidt, W. (1976). Culture and Behavior of the Sebei: A study In Continuity and Adaptation. California: University of California Press.

Inoue, T. (2004). The Gwich’in Gathering: The Subsistence Tradition of their Modern

Life and the Gathering against Oil Development by the Gwich’in Athabascan. Senri Ethnological Studies, 66, 183-204.

Kawachi, K. (2010). An Overview of the Sociolinguistic Situation of the Kusapiny, A Southern Nilotic of Uganda. African Study Monographs, 31(2), 127-137.

Nelson, R. (1986). Make Prayers to the Raven: A Koyukon View of the Northern Forest. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

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