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      Ethnoichthyology of the indigenous Truká people, Northeast Brazil

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          Abstract

          Background

          Historically, fishing is an important activity for riverine communities established along the São Francisco River, including indigenous communities. In the present study, we researched fishing activities in two villages of the Truká ethnic group, both located in the State of Pernambuco along the sub-middle section of the São Francisco River, Northeast Brazil. We recorded the richness and uses of the fished species and the ecological knowledge on these species, the fishing techniques employed and the perception of the indigenous people regarding current environmental impacts on the São Francisco River that influence local fishing.

          Method

          The information was obtained through interviews with 33 Truká fishers (27 men and six women), including 17 interviewees from Central Village (Cabrobó) and 16 from Tapera Village (Orocó).

          Results

          Using five fishing techniques, the interviewees caught 25 fish species, including 21 native and four exotic species. All species are used as food, and two species are used in traditional Truká medicine. The interviewees revealed that fishing currently has less importance in their subsistence. They indicated that this situation is occurring because of several factors, such as the introduction of exotic species, pollution and urbanization, that have impacted the São Francisco River, resulting in a decline of fishing resources. Nevertheless, we found that the indigenous people who are still fishing have a broad knowledge of the habitat and ecology of the target fishing.

          Conclusion

          Although fishing is declining in importance among the Truká, we found that the individuals who are still practicing this activity have a broad knowledge about the habitat and ecology of the target species and apply that knowledge to fishing methods. Knowledge about the ecology of the species and the environmental impacts that have affected them can support basic research on local fish populations and research investigating the environmental impacts, resource management and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources.

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          Fauna used in popular medicine in Northeast Brazil

          Background Animal-based remedies constitute an integral part of Brazilian Traditional Medicine. Due to its long history, zootherapy has in fact become an integral part of folk medicine both in rural and urban areas of the country. In this paper we summarize current knowledge on zootherapeutic practices in Northeast of Brazil, based on information compiled from ethnobiological scientific literature. Methods In order to examine the diversity of animals used in traditional medicine in Northeast of Brazil, all available references or reports of folk remedies based on animals sources were examined. 34 sources were analyzed. Only taxa that could be identified to species level were included in assessment of medicinal animal species. Scientific names provided in publications were updated. Results The review revealed that at least 250 animal species (178 vertebrates and 72 invertebrates) are used for medicinal purposes in Northeast of Brazil. The inventoried species comprise 10 taxonomic categories and belong to 141 Families. The groups with the greatest number of species were fishes (n = 58), mammals (n = 47) and reptiles (n = 37). The zootherapeutical products are used for the treatment of different illnesses. The most widely treated condition were asthma, rheumatism and sore throat, conditions, which had a wide variety of animals to treat them with. Many animals were used for the treatment of multiple ailments. Beyond the use for treating human diseases, zootherapeutical resources are also used in ethnoveterinary medicine Conclusion The number of medicinal species catalogued was quite expressive and demonstrate the importance of zootherapy as alternative therapeutic in Northeast of Brazil. Although widely diffused throughout Brazil, zootherapeutic practices remain virtually unstudied. There is an urgent need to examine the ecological, cultural, social, and public health implications associated with fauna usage, including a full inventory of the animal species used for medicinal purposes and the socio-cultural context associated with their consumption.
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            Food taboos: their origins and purposes

            Food taboos are known from virtually all human societies. Most religions declare certain food items fit and others unfit for human consumption. Dietary rules and regulations may govern particular phases of the human life cycle and may be associated with special events such as menstrual period, pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and – in traditional societies – preparation for the hunt, battle, wedding, funeral, etc. On a comparative basis many food taboos seem to make no sense at all, as to what may be declared unfit by one group may be perfectly acceptable to another. On the other hand, food taboos have a long history and one ought to expect a sound explanation for the existence (and persistence) of certain dietary customs in a given culture. Yet, this is a highly debated view and no single theory may explain why people employ special food taboos. This paper wants to revive interest in food taboo research and attempts a functionalist's explanation. However, to illustrate some of the complexity of possible reasons for food taboo five examples have been chosen, namely traditional food taboos in orthodox Jewish and Hindu societies as well as reports on aspects of dietary restrictions in communities with traditional lifestyles of Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and Nigeria. An ecological or medical background is apparent for many, including some that are seen as religious or spiritual in origin. On the one hand food taboos can help utilizing a resource more efficiently; on the other food taboos can lead to the protection of a resource. Food taboos, whether scientifically correct or not, are often meant to protect the human individual and the observation, for example, that certain allergies and depression are associated with each other could have led to declaring food items taboo that were identified as causal agents for the allergies. Moreover, any food taboo, acknowledged by a particular group of people as part of its ways, aids in the cohesion of this group, helps that particular group maintain its identity in the face of others, and therefore creates a feeling of "belonging".
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              Predicting impact of freshwater exotic species on native biodiversity: Challenges in spatial scaling

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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                cacobatista@yahoo.com.br
                Journal
                J Ethnobiol Ethnomed
                J Ethnobiol Ethnomed
                Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
                BioMed Central (London )
                1746-4269
                6 January 2016
                6 January 2016
                2016
                : 12
                : 1
                Affiliations
                [ ]Programa de Pós Graduação em Etnobiologia e Conservação da Natureza, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Rua Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, 52171-900 Recife, PE Brasil
                [ ]Departamento de Tecnologia e Ciências Sociais, Universidade do Estado da Bahia, Avenida Edgard Chastinet, s/n, São Geraldo, 48905-680 Juazeiro, BA Brasil
                [ ]Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Av. das Baraúnas, 351/Campus Universitário, Bodocongó, 58109-753 Campina Grande, Paraíba Brasil
                Article
                76
                10.1186/s13002-015-0076-5
                4702390
                26739346
                21c48318-586c-44e7-9160-2858c7ede0a0
                © Santos and Nóbrea Alves. 2016

                Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

                History
                : 19 November 2015
                : 23 December 2015
                Funding
                Funded by: National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)
                Award ID: 476460/2012-3
                Categories
                Research
                Custom metadata
                © The Author(s) 2016

                Health & Social care
                ethnobiology,ethnozoology,fisheries,são francisco river,traditional knowledge

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