1994
314 pp.
2 maps, 29 colour photos, 16 drawings
Text language: English
The monograph is dedicated to plant taxonomy and plant knowledge of the Mukogodo Maasai of northern Kenya. It contains detailed information on the linguistic form, the sociolinguistic setting, and the ethnobotanic characteristics of the plants distinguished by this group of Maa-speaking people. For each plant a description of its uses is provided. The uses concerned are in domains such as human consumption, medicine, livestock economy, material culture, religion, etc. Among the areas that are considered in more detail is apiculture. For the ancestors of the Mukogodo Maasai, bee-keeping constituted one of the most essential economic activities and the monograph gives an account of the way in which the plant world is used to optimise the production of honey.
In addition to the plant nomenclature of the Mukogodo Maasai, there are also plant lists for other dialects of the Maa-speaking world, such as Chamus (Njemps) and Samburu. Selected plants are illustrated with 29 colour photos and 16 drawings.
Under these links you will find publications featuring ethnobotany / ethnozoology and further studies of bee-keeping and of the conceptualization of nature, environment, space and motion in African languages and cultures:
Bernd Heine / Karsten Legère: Swahili Plants – An Ethnobotanical Survey [PDF]
Martin Gruber / Mazi Sanda: Honey Hunting and Beekeeping in Adamaoua (Cameroon) [PDF]
Sirih-Nagang Nancy Nyindem: Linguistic Salvage – Isubu and Wovea (Bantu A231) [PDF]
Bompeti Ngila: Expérience végétale bolia (République Démocratique du Congo) [PDF]
C. König / B. Heine / K. Legère / I. Heine: The Akie Language of Tanzania – Texts and Dictionary [PDF]
Vincent Erskine Aziaku: A Linguistic Study of Ewe Animal Names among the Ewe of Ghana [PDF]
