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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.
List of contents
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.
About the author
Dr. Aung Si McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow University of Melbourne School of Languages and Linguistics Babel Building 139 Parkville, VIC 3010 Australia
Summary
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.
Additional text
“The writing style is accessible to a broad audience, and it fills a gap in the linguistics literature on Solega language. More importantly, the book contains significant considerations for documentary linguistics as our field increasingly embraces the documentation of TEK as part of our regular practice.” (Andrea L. Berez-Kroeker and Lucia Miller, Language Documentation & Conservation, Vol. 12, 2018)
Report
"The writing style is accessible to a broad audience, and it fills a gap in the linguistics literature on Solega language. More importantly, the book contains significant considerations for documentary linguistics as our field increasingly embraces the documentation of TEK as part of our regular practice." (Andrea L. Berez-Kroeker and Lucia Miller, Language Documentation & Conservation, Vol. 12, 2018)
