Books / Raamatud by Renata Sõukand
Вчені з різних країн вивчали використання рослин на території
колишнього Радянського Союзу і в пр... more Вчені з різних країн вивчали використання рослин на території
колишнього Радянського Союзу і в прилеглих до нього
областей. Метою проекту було зрозуміти, як змінюються
знання та практика в контексті тоталітарного режиму, коли за
роки терору традиційне використання рослин зникає або стає
просто спогадом. Як можна зберегти та сприяти майбутньому
розвитку таких важливих навичок? Як це відбувалося в той
час, коли «плавильний котел народів» працював на повну
потужність? Як Україна за 30 років свободи відновила свої
місцеві екологічні знання?
Радянську епоху можна охарактеризувати як час «зробисам-з-того-що-є-під рукою», тому що їжу було важко знайти в
продуктових магазинах і її доводилося вирощувати самостійно.
Брак медичних засобів не дозволив народній медицині зникнути,
але відбулася послідовна гомогенізація знань, в результаті
чого різні нації, колись окуповані Радянським Союзом, досі
використовують, в принципі, ті самі лікарські рослини.
The more versatile the knowledge and skills, the more likely it is
to cope and adapt in a rapidl... more The more versatile the knowledge and skills, the more likely it is
to cope and adapt in a rapidly changing world, to have a higher
resistance to any extreme events, as it supports creativity, allowing
to protect freedom and respond to any aggression. That is why it
is important to document the food threatened with extinction that
has been created in this high bio-cultural diversity in Ukraine. This
is exactly what the book in your hands reflects on, going beyond
plants to include the animals that feed on them, as well as artisanal
foods and associated traditions.
These local foods, which we have recorded in this volume of the Ark
of Taste, can represent the pillars of a future Ukrainian food system
that is sustainable, safe, and sovereign. With the help of a wonderful Ukrainian civil society, its conscious consumers, passionate
producers, artisans, and chefs, as well as international stakeholders
and the support of the European Union, Ukrainian traditional food
can be a success story for reviving foodscapes that respect whole
socio-ecological systems and local communities.
Eesti maitselaegas: toit, teadmised ja lood gastronoomilisest pärandist, 2021
Alati hakkavad kõik, ka suured asjad, liikuma esimesest sammust. Ark of Taste nimekirja oli 2020.... more Alati hakkavad kõik, ka suured asjad, liikuma esimesest sammust. Ark of Taste nimekirja oli 2020. aasta seisuga nomineeritud Eestist kaks toodet: Saaremaa kaeraküpsised ja kuivatatud lestad. Loomulikult ei pretendeeri ka nüüd kogumikku koondatud loend lõplikule tõele ja kindlasti muutub ajapikku. Ark of Taste kriteeriumite järgi loetakse pärandiks toodet, mis on elavas käibes olnud vähemalt ühe inimpõlve ehk 30 aastat. Seega võivad tänased uudistooted olla 30 aasta pärast juba uue Eesti Maitselaeka sees. Traditsioonis püsimise eeldus on aga, et kohalikud elanikud selle maitse omaks võtavad, sest ilma toodet müümata/tootmata ei saaks olla järjepidevust.
Changes in the Use of Wild Food Plants in Estonia: 18th - 21st Century, 2016
This book is a systematized overview of wild edible plants eaten in the territory of present Esto... more This book is a systematized overview of wild edible plants eaten in the territory of present Estonia, with a focus on the systematic changes within the field. Starting in the end of 18th century, when the first data was published, the text is an extended version and compilation of articles on the subject published by Drs. Kalle and Sõukand and includes unpublished fieldwork results. This work covers changes and tendencies not covered previously due to the limits of article length. Included in this data is a general overview table containing all used plant taxa, parts used and purposes of use. More details on specific food-uses are provided in separate chapters analysing dynamics of changes of the importance of wild plants within the specific food category.
The herbal landscape is personal or community-shared knowledge of the medicinal plants available ... more The herbal landscape is personal or community-shared knowledge of the medicinal plants available in the surroundings (be it farm garden, local meadow, nearby forest, faraway bog, etc., but also the kitchen-self or the pharmacy store). The herbal landscape develops in the course of people's everyday activities. As plants were traditionally gathered from places visited daily or on certain occasions, the more frequent the visits to the habitat where the plant was growing, the greater the chance that that particular plant would be discovered and used in case of need. Although being a phenomenon of perception, in this dissertation the notion of herbal landscape is primarily used as a model to explain the mechanism of the use of medicinal plants and its changes over time, deepening in this way the understanding of the cognitive and human ecological concepts underlying the use of medicinal plants.
Ravimtaimemaastik on maastik, mis moodustub inimese suhetest raviotstarbel kasutatavate taimedega. See haarab isikliku või kogukondliku teadmise ümbruskonnas kättesaadavatest ravimtaimedest. Ravimtaimemaastik on kognitiivne väli, mis tekib ravi või profülaktika vajaduste ilmnemisel ja moodustub kindlas looduse ja kultuuriruumis. Olles üheaegselt dünaamiline (muutuv ajas ja ruumis) teadmiste kogum, mis on samas staatiliselt seotud kindla paigaga (inimese elukoha ja/või sagedase külastuskohaga), on ravimtaimemaastiku elemendid märgina tajutavad vaid mitme asjaolu (taime kasutuse vajadus, taime tundmine, õige koha külastamine) täitumisel. Käesolevas töös on ravimtaimemaastik kui maastiku tajumise fenomen kasutusel mudelina, mille abil analüüsitakse ravimtaimede kasutamise mehhanisme ning nende muutusi ajas, süvendades nõnda taimravi kognitiivsete, inimökoloogiliste ja semiootiliste põhimõtete mõistmist.
Eesti looduslikud toidutaimed. Kasutamie 18. sajandist tänapäevani, 2013
Läbi aegade on inimene saanud oma toidu teda ümbritsevast loodusest. Ka meie esivanemad on siin m... more Läbi aegade on inimene saanud oma toidu teda ümbritsevast loodusest. Ka meie esivanemad on siin maal elades saanud kõigepealt põhitoidu ja hiljem leivakõrvase just loodusest. Kuigi potentsiaalselt söödavate taimede hulk on Eestis oluliselt suurem, on suuremal või vähemal määral toiduks kasutatud pea 200 siinses looduses leiduvat taimeliiki. Raamatu eesmärk on tuua lugejani praeguse Eesti territooriumil elanud ja elavate inimeste looduslike taimede toiduks kasutamise kultuurilugu vastates küsimustele: mida Eestimaal elanud inimesed on loodusest korjanud toiduks, milleks ja kuidas neid taimi kasutanud, kuidas on taimekasutus aja jooksul muutunud, millised taimed on tänaseks kasutusest kõrvale heidetud ja millised uued taimed asemele tulnud?
Articles by Renata Sõukand
Fungi have been used for medicinal purposes for many centuries. This study, based on 35 historica... more Fungi have been used for medicinal purposes for many centuries. This study, based on 35 historical written sources and 581 in-depth semi-structured interviews from eight countries in the western borderlands of the former Soviet Union, investigates the medicinal use of fungi by local communities. We compared the taxa and uses obtained from fieldwork and historical sources with works that advocated fungi use within Soviet herbals, representing the centralised medical system. During fieldwork, we identified eight locally used fungi and one lichen. The highest numbers of medicinal uses were documented in Russia, Estonia and Ukraine. Studies published before the Soviet era listed 21 fungal taxa and one lichen species used in the study region. However, only six of these taxa were mentioned as used by people in our field studies (Amanita muscaria, Boletus edulis, Lycoperdon, Morchella, Phallus impudicus and Cetraria islandica). Notably, these same six taxa were consistently endorsed in Soviet herbals. Of the remaining three taxa recorded in the fieldwork, none were mentioned in historical written sources. However, they were promoted either in Soviet herbals (Inonotus obliquus, Kombucha) or later popular publications (Cantharellus cibarius). This highlights the significant influence of written sources on the use of fungi for medicinal purposes within the studied local communities.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Background Understanding how Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) evolves over time is crucial for fo... more Background Understanding how Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) evolves over time is crucial for fostering social and environmental responsibility. This study aims to develop a conceptual model of plant knowledge circulation, providing insights into the temporal dynamics of LEK in the Polish-Lithuanian-Belarusian border region. It explores the key patterns and driving forces behind changes in the use of wild plants for food. Methods Field research was conducted in 60 rural settlements across Podlasie Voivodeship (Poland), Vilnius Region (Lithuania), and Hrodna Region (Belarus). This included 200 semi-structured interviews and participant observation among two local communities, Lithuanians and Poles. To assess the temporal dynamics of wild food use, we performed a cross-ethnic, cross-border analysis over time, dividing the data into three major temporal dimensions: past, continuous, and recently acquired uses. Results Of the 72 wild plant taxa reported by Poles or Lithuanians in the Polish-Lithuanian-Belarusian borderland, 47 were continuously used for food, 58 were utilised in the past, and 41 were recently acquired. Crosscountry trends were similar, with Poland showing more past uses. Diachronic comparisons between Poles and Lithuanians in each studied country revealed no significant differences. Recently acquired taxa overlapped considerably with those used continuously and in the past. The most diversely utilised taxa showed the greatest overlaps. By observing the movement of specific plant taxa within various time dimensions, we distinguished overlapping flow variations: retention (3 taxa), decay (11), invention (8), stagnation (17), revitalisation (6), re-invention (3), and knowledge in motion (24). Shifts in the use of wild food plants were influenced by changes in environmental conditions, governmental policies, cultural practices, and economic factors. Conclusion The findings of this study have important implications for improving methods of tracking changes in LEK and enhancing our understanding of the relationship between people and nature. Our results underscore the importance of considering knowledge circulation over time in different directions. Recognising the various stages of knowledge circulation might help in pursuing sustainable solutions that balance the needs of human communities with environmental protection.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-... more This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 2024
This essay brings forward the idea that there is more than meets the eye in local knowledge syste... more This essay brings forward the idea that there is more than meets the eye in local knowledge systems than what science can show us now. To comprehend this, we need to make a conceptual jump and look for the "dark matter" (the notion borrowed from astronomy that refers to a hypothetical form of matter that does not interact with light or electromagnetic fields) that can potentially sustain local knowledge. Considering that it is a complex of knowledge, practices, and beliefs contained in TEK, knowledge in LEK does not correspond to the notion of knowledge in science. Therefore, in order to map LEK-science interactions, we will refer to the concept of peoples' knowledge of LEK as acknowledgement and the scientific recognition and awareness of information, facts, and principles as knowledge. Applying this to a Johari Window, we can observe four categories of LEK in a known-unknown/acknowledged-unacknowledged matrix. We can refer to unknown and unacknowledged as dark local knowledge. Indeed, local knowledge systems contain many aspects that modern science cannot yet explain, as a major part of its components are not even considered in scholarly research. Dark local knowledge can potentially provide us with the invaluable touch of experience of countless generations, opening different ways of seeing reality.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Local knowledge is highly endangered in the modern world, and therefore, it is important to under... more Local knowledge is highly endangered in the modern world, and therefore, it is important to understand the factors contributing to the preservation of biocultural diversity. Three major aspects were identified: continuity of the practice, support for the ritual related to the use, and external acknowledgment of the local use by an authoritative source. Moreover, strong centralization of current local knowledge in institutionalized domains (ethnomedicine) was identified, which has excluded unacknowledged or officially unapproved local knowledge from circulation. The inclusion of local ecological knowledge as a practice in school curricula and the highlighting of local historical uses in herbals and popularizing activities are recommended. Summary • Plant use in local communities changes over time along with changing social, political, economic, and environmental conditions. The study aimed to understand the factors influencing the continuity of certain interactions between plants and people. • To understand the drivers of resilience of the use of local flora, the historical (1930s) and current (2021) uses of plants on the small island of Kihnu in Estonia were compared, and the resilient uses were identified. • Use resilience depended on the use domain. While the ethnoveterinary domain completely disappeared, the most resilient uses were those related to ritual (religious) activities, with 75% being retained (6 of 8 taxa used historically). This was followed by the wild food plant domain, in which 66% of taxa (21 of 32) have been retained, along with the highest proportion of taxa-use combinations (57%, 21 of 37). Historically the largest domain, ethnomedicine showed low resilience: 18 of 73 taxa have been retained, with only eight emic (or local) plant uses (PU). Moreover, we observed that 75% of the retained emic PU (6 out of 8) were supported by a centralized medical system, while this proportion was 87% for current uses and only 15% for interrupted uses that were promoted or acknowledged in centralized herbals. • As the most important aspects influencing the resilience of plant use are the continuity of practice, ritualization, and external support for usage, the inclusion of local
Introduction: Forests play a crucial role in the lives of millions of people worldwide by providi... more Introduction: Forests play a crucial role in the lives of millions of people worldwide by providing material and non-material contributions. Despite forests' paramount importance from ecological, economic, and cultural perspectives, the long-term relationship between forests and local communities living in their proximity is often an undervalued contribution to our understanding of local ecological knowledge systems and forest changes. Methods: We studied the interrelationships between the Mandinka peoples and forests in an understudied area of West Africa, the Gambia's Lower River Region (LRR). Through 35 semi-structured interviews, we documented the forests' contributions to local Mandinka peoples and their perception of forest changes. We also used geographic information systems (GIS software) for remote sensing satellite imagery to establish a baseline for these complex connections and changes. Results: This research revealed the crucial importance of the forest's contributions to Mandinka communities and specifically to their psychological well-being. In addition, the interviewees revealed how ongoing socioeconomic changes are affecting the human-forest relationship and possibly eroding the local ethnoforestry knowledge in the LRR of the Gambia. The most common forest contributions are those that provide material goods, serving as the driving force in connecting people with the forest, while non-material contributions are eroding due to complex socioeconomic changes. Major socioeconomic changes are also believed to drive the shift from dense forest to mixed forest and grassland. Discussion: In line with the state of the art, the knowledge and perception of changes documented in this article underline the quintessential need to include local communities' views in shaping forest management, in order to better finetune the strategies to safeguard biocultural diversity across forest areas.
Local knowledge is highly endangered in the modern world, and therefore, it is important to under... more Local knowledge is highly endangered in the modern world, and therefore, it is important to understand the factors contributing to the preservation of biocultural diversity. Three major aspects were identified: continuity of the practice, support for the ritual related to the use, and external acknowledgment of the local use by an authoritative source. Moreover, strong centralization of current local knowledge in institutionalized domains (ethnomedicine) was identified, which has excluded unacknowledged or officially unapproved local knowledge from circulation. The inclusion of local ecological knowledge as a practice in school curricula and the highlighting of local historical uses in herbals and popularizing activities are recommended. Summary • Plant use in local communities changes over time along with changing social, political, economic, and environmental conditions. The study aimed to understand the factors influencing the continuity of certain interactions between plants and people. • To understand the drivers of resilience of the use of local flora, the historical (1930s) and current (2021) uses of plants on the small island of Kihnu in Estonia were compared, and the resilient uses were identified. • Use resilience depended on the use domain. While the ethnoveterinary domain completely disappeared, the most resilient uses were those related to ritual (religious) activities, with 75% being retained (6 of 8 taxa used historically). This was followed by the wild food plant domain, in which 66% of taxa (21 of 32) have been retained, along with the highest proportion of taxa-use combinations (57%, 21 of 37). Historically the largest domain, ethnomedicine showed low resilience: 18 of 73 taxa have been retained, with only eight emic (or local) plant uses (PU). Moreover, we observed that 75% of the retained emic PU (6 out of 8) were supported by a centralized medical system, while this proportion was 87% for current uses and only 15% for interrupted uses that were promoted or acknowledged in centralized herbals. • As the most important aspects influencing the resilience of plant use are the continuity of practice, ritualization, and external support for usage, the inclusion of local
Wild edible plants, particularly berries, are relevant nutritional elements in the Nordic countri... more Wild edible plants, particularly berries, are relevant nutritional elements in the Nordic countries. In contrast to decreasing global trends, approximately 60% of the Finnish population is actively involved in (berry) foraging. We conducted 67 interviews with Finns and Karelians living in Finnish Karelia to: (a) detect the use of wild edible plants, (b) compare those results with the published data about neighbouring Russian Karelians, and (c) document the sources of local plant knowledge. The results revealed three main findings. First, we observed a similarity in wild food plant knowledge among Karelians and Finns from Karelia. Second, we detected divergences in wild food plant knowledge among Karelians living on both sides of the Finnish-Russian border. Third, the sources of local plant knowledge include vertical transmission, acquisition through literary sources, acquisition from "green" nature shops promoting healthy lifestyles, childhood foraging activities performed during the famine period following WWII, and outdoor recreational activities. We argue that the last two types of activities in particular may have influenced knowledge and connectedness with the surrounding environment and its resources at a stage of life that is crucial for shaping adult environmental behaviours. Future research should address the role of outdoor activities in maintaining (and possibly enhancing) local ecological knowledge in the Nordic countries.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
In the past two decades, ethnobiologists have increasingly paid attention to the scouting and doc... more In the past two decades, ethnobiologists have increasingly paid attention to the scouting and documentation of endangered corpora of local food elements and associated traditional knowledge. In this endeavor, food scouting encompasses the methodological tools used for mapping, inventorying, and documenting food and food-related resources. The growing body of research in this field is shedding light on the potentialities of these practices in obtaining baseline data regarding food heritage, which can, in turn, empower local communities in their dynamic understanding and safeguarding of this resource. While food scouting have been gaining an important role in current food and gastronomic ethnobiological research, as well as in other fields of study (e.g., geography and anthropology), little attention has been paid thus far to the methods and approaches underpinning these activities. To partially fill this gap, this contribution aims to tackle some methodological issues connected to the documentation of food and gastronomic elements embedded in local knowledge. Acknowledging the plethora of methods applicable in food scouting research, we describe three specific applications of food scouting to elicit data on local food diversity, highlighting their prospects and limitations. The first case addresses market surveys to obtain baseline data on the local food systems and their associated diversity, the second focuses on context-based freelisting methods for eliciting wild food plant uses, and the third discusses methods for scouting and inventorying artisanal food products. Acknowledging the contributions of Justin Nolan to the advancement of methods in the field of ethnobiology, we suggest that the methodological toolkit of food scouting should include ad hoc transdisciplinary platforms codesigned together with local food actors.
Centralization is one mechanism of authoritative control, where citizens receive operation guidel... more Centralization is one mechanism of authoritative control, where citizens receive operation guidelines from a single source. This can impact various spheres of life including local gastronomic knowledge, a cornerstone of biocultural diversity. We explored how to evaluate the effects of Soviet centralization on wild food plant local gastronomic knowledge. We considered four case studies of ethnic communities that are divided by political borders. In total, we conducted 581 semi-structured interviews. Our results suggest three main findings. The first regards the high similarity of use of wild food plants among the communities living in Russia and Finland. The second involves the higher proportion of simple preparations made with wild food plants in Soviet contexts, which is not evident in adjacent non-Soviet countries. The third concerns the low(er) number of distinct wild plant-based foods retained by non-Soviet countries and, in post-Soviet contexts, those that refer to past uses. We argue that the erosion of wild food plant-based local gastronomic knowledge guided by homogenization and repression poses a serious risk to local food security.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
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Books / Raamatud by Renata Sõukand
колишнього Радянського Союзу і в прилеглих до нього
областей. Метою проекту було зрозуміти, як змінюються
знання та практика в контексті тоталітарного режиму, коли за
роки терору традиційне використання рослин зникає або стає
просто спогадом. Як можна зберегти та сприяти майбутньому
розвитку таких важливих навичок? Як це відбувалося в той
час, коли «плавильний котел народів» працював на повну
потужність? Як Україна за 30 років свободи відновила свої
місцеві екологічні знання?
Радянську епоху можна охарактеризувати як час «зробисам-з-того-що-є-під рукою», тому що їжу було важко знайти в
продуктових магазинах і її доводилося вирощувати самостійно.
Брак медичних засобів не дозволив народній медицині зникнути,
але відбулася послідовна гомогенізація знань, в результаті
чого різні нації, колись окуповані Радянським Союзом, досі
використовують, в принципі, ті самі лікарські рослини.
to cope and adapt in a rapidly changing world, to have a higher
resistance to any extreme events, as it supports creativity, allowing
to protect freedom and respond to any aggression. That is why it
is important to document the food threatened with extinction that
has been created in this high bio-cultural diversity in Ukraine. This
is exactly what the book in your hands reflects on, going beyond
plants to include the animals that feed on them, as well as artisanal
foods and associated traditions.
These local foods, which we have recorded in this volume of the Ark
of Taste, can represent the pillars of a future Ukrainian food system
that is sustainable, safe, and sovereign. With the help of a wonderful Ukrainian civil society, its conscious consumers, passionate
producers, artisans, and chefs, as well as international stakeholders
and the support of the European Union, Ukrainian traditional food
can be a success story for reviving foodscapes that respect whole
socio-ecological systems and local communities.
Ravimtaimemaastik on maastik, mis moodustub inimese suhetest raviotstarbel kasutatavate taimedega. See haarab isikliku või kogukondliku teadmise ümbruskonnas kättesaadavatest ravimtaimedest. Ravimtaimemaastik on kognitiivne väli, mis tekib ravi või profülaktika vajaduste ilmnemisel ja moodustub kindlas looduse ja kultuuriruumis. Olles üheaegselt dünaamiline (muutuv ajas ja ruumis) teadmiste kogum, mis on samas staatiliselt seotud kindla paigaga (inimese elukoha ja/või sagedase külastuskohaga), on ravimtaimemaastiku elemendid märgina tajutavad vaid mitme asjaolu (taime kasutuse vajadus, taime tundmine, õige koha külastamine) täitumisel. Käesolevas töös on ravimtaimemaastik kui maastiku tajumise fenomen kasutusel mudelina, mille abil analüüsitakse ravimtaimede kasutamise mehhanisme ning nende muutusi ajas, süvendades nõnda taimravi kognitiivsete, inimökoloogiliste ja semiootiliste põhimõtete mõistmist.
Articles by Renata Sõukand
колишнього Радянського Союзу і в прилеглих до нього
областей. Метою проекту було зрозуміти, як змінюються
знання та практика в контексті тоталітарного режиму, коли за
роки терору традиційне використання рослин зникає або стає
просто спогадом. Як можна зберегти та сприяти майбутньому
розвитку таких важливих навичок? Як це відбувалося в той
час, коли «плавильний котел народів» працював на повну
потужність? Як Україна за 30 років свободи відновила свої
місцеві екологічні знання?
Радянську епоху можна охарактеризувати як час «зробисам-з-того-що-є-під рукою», тому що їжу було важко знайти в
продуктових магазинах і її доводилося вирощувати самостійно.
Брак медичних засобів не дозволив народній медицині зникнути,
але відбулася послідовна гомогенізація знань, в результаті
чого різні нації, колись окуповані Радянським Союзом, досі
використовують, в принципі, ті самі лікарські рослини.
to cope and adapt in a rapidly changing world, to have a higher
resistance to any extreme events, as it supports creativity, allowing
to protect freedom and respond to any aggression. That is why it
is important to document the food threatened with extinction that
has been created in this high bio-cultural diversity in Ukraine. This
is exactly what the book in your hands reflects on, going beyond
plants to include the animals that feed on them, as well as artisanal
foods and associated traditions.
These local foods, which we have recorded in this volume of the Ark
of Taste, can represent the pillars of a future Ukrainian food system
that is sustainable, safe, and sovereign. With the help of a wonderful Ukrainian civil society, its conscious consumers, passionate
producers, artisans, and chefs, as well as international stakeholders
and the support of the European Union, Ukrainian traditional food
can be a success story for reviving foodscapes that respect whole
socio-ecological systems and local communities.
Ravimtaimemaastik on maastik, mis moodustub inimese suhetest raviotstarbel kasutatavate taimedega. See haarab isikliku või kogukondliku teadmise ümbruskonnas kättesaadavatest ravimtaimedest. Ravimtaimemaastik on kognitiivne väli, mis tekib ravi või profülaktika vajaduste ilmnemisel ja moodustub kindlas looduse ja kultuuriruumis. Olles üheaegselt dünaamiline (muutuv ajas ja ruumis) teadmiste kogum, mis on samas staatiliselt seotud kindla paigaga (inimese elukoha ja/või sagedase külastuskohaga), on ravimtaimemaastiku elemendid märgina tajutavad vaid mitme asjaolu (taime kasutuse vajadus, taime tundmine, õige koha külastamine) täitumisel. Käesolevas töös on ravimtaimemaastik kui maastiku tajumise fenomen kasutusel mudelina, mille abil analüüsitakse ravimtaimede kasutamise mehhanisme ning nende muutusi ajas, süvendades nõnda taimravi kognitiivsete, inimökoloogiliste ja semiootiliste põhimõtete mõistmist.
traditional knowledgeinEuropeispoorlydocumented.
Methods: Reviewofprimaryethnographicliterature,archivalsourcesandafewad-hocethnobotanical
field studiesinsevenselectedEasternEuropeancountries(Albania,Belarus,Bulgaria,Estonia,Hungary,
Kosovo,andPoland)wereconducted.
Results: Current orrecentlyabandonedusesof116botanicaltaxa,belongingto37familiesinfermented
food ormedicinalfoodproductswererecorded.These findings demonstratearichbio-culturaldiversity
of use,andalsoaclearprevalenceoftheuseoffruitsofthetannin-andphenolic-richRosaceaespeciesin
alcoholic, lactic-andaceticacidfermentedpreparations.Intheconsideredcountries,fermentationstill
plays(orhasplayeduntilrecentyears)acrucialroleinfolkcuisinesandthisheritagerequiresurgentand
in-depth evaluation.
Discussion: Futurestudiesshouldbeaimedatfurtherdocumentingandalsobio-evaluatingthe
ingredients andprocessesinvolvedinthepreparationofhomemadefermentedproducts,asthiscan
be usedtosupportlocal,community-baseddevelopmenteffortstofosterfoodsecurity,foodsovereignty,
and small-scalelocalfood-basedeconomies.
and white flowers. In Torma they are called seebililled (soapflower), because they
are used for washing hands. This plant is used if the milk of a cow goes bad, becomes watery – that means some stranger has looked at the milk or the cow with
an evil eye, which has made the milk go bad. Then the kaebtus is used to wash or
steam the milk churns: kaebtus is boiled in a pot and then the steam or the hot
water is used to heat the churn. Also cows are given the decoctions to drink and
people use it against internal diseases« (Vilgaste TN 1, 302(2)).
This is a small part of a report sent in 1929 by a correspondent Mihkel Sild
from Torma parish in answer to the request to collect data about folk use of plants
made by a man we now know as Gustav Vilbaste. However, most of his life he was
known as Gustav Vilberg. The name-change took place during the nation-wide
campaign of Estonification in 1935. Gustav was born on the 3 September 1885 in
Kuusalu parish, Northern Estonia, as the fifth child in a family of tenant peasant
fishermen. He received his primary education in the four-year school in his home
village, Saunja. At twelve Gustav had to start working, but he returned to school
when he was fifteen, graduating in 1903 with a teacher’s diploma. For ten years he
worked as a teacher and later attended high-school in Tartu, interrupted by the
mobilization for the First World War.
As the research of rituals in Eastern Europe was limited in the second half of the 20th century because of the totalitarian regimes in that region, we compared our fieldwork results mainly with the data collected in the 1930s. Ten plants and the smoke they emitted were earlier used for treatment of supernatural diseases; by today, these treatment methods have fallen into oblivion. Only two plants have been taken into use for a rational way of treatment — using them as herbal tea and using the smoke emitted by burning juniper branches to freshen the air in rooms and to get rid of home parasites.
Throughout times, the pine has been used as the Christmas tree on Kihnu, and nuts have occupied an important role in customs, but the use of rye straw, potato tubers and apples in Christmas decorations has disappeared. On Palm Sunday, the branches of a concrete willow, namely the sharp-leaf willow (Salix acutifolia Willd.), are used. On Easter, eggs are coloured with onion skins, birch leaves and grains of rice. On Pentecost and St John’s Day, rooms are decorated with young birches or birch branches. Birches are also used in wedding rituals and spruce branches at funerals. The Christmas and Lent food was potato, on days of remembrance, rye bread with caraway seeds, on St John’s Day freshly pickled cucumbers, on Shrove Tuesday broad beans. Birch, rowan and juniper are considered trees that have magic power. The Christian legends which explain the origin of the properties of plants have been forgotten.
Andmebaasis sisalduvad tekstid on ortograafiliselt redigeeritud.
Rahvapärased taimenimetused on antud võimalikult originaalilähedaselt. Igale rahvapärasele taimenimetusele vastab teatud hulk taimeliike või -perekondi, mis on kirjeldatud eraldi ja varustatud fotoga. Haigusnimetused on koondatud märksõnadesse. Osa neist on varustatud selgitustega, mille on lisatud viited lähedaste märksõnade tüüpidele. Tekstid on andmebaasi praeguses versioonis otsitavad rahvapärase taimenimetuse ja haiguse märksõna järgi.
There is as yet no systematised overview of Estonian folk medicine. A new system of categorization needs to be created for this.
plants) have to be integrated into own, while also remaining ‘foreign’ in some respect
(which, in the case of medicinal plants, gives additional potency to their healing power). The paper takes as examples two imported species of herbs introduced into
Estonian ethnomedicine before the 19th century: arnica and camomile. Camomile
was already described as a medicinal plant in the first medicinal magazine in Estonian (in 1776), whereas arnica emerged in the popular medicinal literature in the
middle of the 19th century. In the folklore collection of Jakob Hurt arnica seems to be
more popular than camomile and is described there as a local plant. Indeed, according
to the information of Gustav Vilbaste, the first Estonian ethnobotanist, there where
altogether 19 local plants known by the phytonym. Arnica montana (the prototype of
arnica name) did not get acclimatized in the Estonian climate and thus became ‘own’
by extending its name to locally grown plants, a process that could be called cultural
acclimatization; Matricaria sp. acclimatized here, shifted from the cultural sphere to
natural and from there into the medical use of the common people. In the more recent
tradition, camomile exceeded arnica in popularity; this might have been influenced
by its popularity in the 20th-century medical literature.
In most cases, the introduced species do not have a folkloric name and are known only by way of the naming given by botanists. Pharmacies and chemist’s are the first major and recognisable institutions affecting herbal folklore, as the names of the sold drugs coincided with the names of species. The more thorough analysis focuses on how widespread in oral tradition is the name of the drug made of the roots of the wild rose. Likewise, diverse herbal knowledge has also been influenced by popular science books in Estonian, published for nearly 340 years, and is currently affected by the media and the relevant influential figures presented therein. A number of species, which used to be common, have become rare during recent decades and a similar tendency can also be noted in herbal folklore.