learning about biodiversity Veld & Flora FACTSHEET INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS: PLANTS

From hunter to Farmer

Read moreabout traditionally useful indigenous plants in these books and articles in Veld & Flora.In Veld & Flora there are several articles by Phakamani Xaba in the series ‘Gardening with indigenous

traditionally-useful plants’. They are: Africa’s miracle bean, the cowpea vol. 93(3), 168-170 September 2007, The cancer bush, a timeless remedy vol. 93(4), 234-236 December 2007, The Century Plant vol. 94(1), 38-40 March 2008,

African Wormwood vol. 94(2), 102-103 June 2008, Bulbine frutescens vol. 94(3), 166-167 September 2008, Sorghum vol. 94(4), 224-225 December 2008, Amathungulu vol. 95(2), 104-105 June 2009, Buchu vol. 95(3),160-161 September

The earliest societies in Africa were hunter-gatherers who used temporary shelters and harvested all their plant and animal food from the wild. As long ago as 20 000 years ago they were well established in southern Africa. The only survivors of these early people are the Aba Thwa (also known as the San or Bushmen) and they are largely unable to carry on their traditional way of life although some of their extensive knowledge of indigenous biodiversity and ecology has been passed on. The domestication of animals began in the Mediterranean region some 12 000 years ago, and 7 800 years ago, pastoralists were present

in the Sahel area of West Africa, south of the Sahara Desert. Their domesticated cattle, sheep and goats supplemented hunting and gathering of wild food. Pastoralists move according to the seasons to find suitable grazing for their stock. The earliest pastoralists in southern Africa were the Khoekhoen who lived in the Cape interior some 2 000 years ago, and later, the Ova-Himba moved into northern Namibia and Angola. About 4 000 years ago, Sahel pastoralists began experimenting with selecting seed for planting for the next growing season, and a new way of life evolved where people could live in permanent settlements. The story of our early farmers is a fascinating one and the early subsistence farmers developed a great variety of food crops. The book Traditionally useful plants of Africa by Phakamani Xaba gives a good introduction and further reading suggestions. (Details below.)

Indigenous knowledge is that body of knowledge’ owned’ by humans in specific communities and passed on from generation to generation. It can be rural or urban, confined to a small area or widespread. It is related to the survival of communities, especially in a harsh local environment or during periods of stress, in providing sources of water, food, tools, shelter and medicine. It is also related to local traditions (folklore) and belief systems which bring human together with a sense of belonging that cuts across biological

family groups.The term indigenous knowledge is used synonymously with

‘traditional’, ‘cultural’ and ‘local’ knowledge to differentiate it from ‘mainstream science’ or ‘Western’ culture that is learned through schools and tertiary education systems and in the world of international business. Obviously there is some overlap, but often

indigenous knowledge is poorly documented, or not at all. The article ‘Veldkos from the Sandveld’ by Hester Steyn on p. 162

of this issue, introduces us to the plants that local Namaqualand farmers and residents used (and in many cases, still use) for various purposes. The documentation of their common names and uses by a team from the National Herbarium in Pretoria will enable future botanists to understand and appreciate local knowledge as well as

providing a record of the plants that occur there.

Nearly half of all medicines produced by pharmaceutical companies around the world come from plants. People still rely on the traditional knowledge of herbalists who are familiar with the medicinal effects of harvested plant parts that are sold at informal muthi markets. Examples of these plant parts include powdered or processed bark, roots, tubers, bulbs leaves, sap and wood. Traditional medicines are also used as tonics to treat the wellbeing of a person. One of the most popular tonic plants is the Pepper-bark Tree, isibhaha. Due to the great international demand for Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis), which occurs naturally in the Cederberg, more land is being converted to plantations and wild plants are being harvested unsustainably. (A good topic for investigation.)

Traditionally useful plants like the African Potato and the Cancer Bush have received a lot of attention recently for their role as immune boosters and appetite stimulants to alleviate the symptoms of HIV AIDS. A good book to read is Muthi and myths from the African bush by H. Dugmore and B. van Wyk (Marula 2008).

Traditional values Food and shelter

2009, Iboza vol.95(4), 214-215 December 2009, The Pepper-bark Tree vol. 96(1), 40-42 March 2010,The Matjiesgoed Sedge vol. 96(2), 92-93 June 2010, The Lemon Bush vol. 96(3),132-133 September 2010, Pigweed vol. 96(4),184-185 December 2010, Marula vol. 97(2), 76-77 June 2011,

The Calabash Gourd vol. 97(3), 130-131 September 2011, Wild Potato vol. 97(4), 180-181 December 2011, Tsamma Melon vol. 98(1), 38-39 March 2012. These articles are included in the new book by Phakamani Xaba and Peter Croeser, Traditionally useful plants of Africa: their cultivation and use,

published by Cambridge University Press in the Indigenous Knowledge Library series.

Text by Caroline Voget and Phakamani Xaba. Some of the Veld & Flora articles mentioned can be downloaded at http://LABpages.blogspot.com and at http://www.botanicalsociety.org.za.

Do we have Food Security?

The five main groups of traditional food crops are grass cereals, leaf vegetables, beans or pulses, tuber and root vegetables and indigenous fruit. They were grown by early farmers and provide a range of nutrients essential for human health. Cereals are our most important source of carbohydrates and include Sorghum, Pearl Millet, Finger Millet and Maize. Leaf vegetables add variety to a staple starch meal, especially when food is scarce and include common Pigweed. Beans are a source of protein, and include the Cowpea, a bean that has been eaten by humans for over 6000 years. Tubers like the Wild Potato (Plectranthus esculentus) are an important source of carbohydrates (starch), protein, trace elements and minerals. Fruit from the African Marula and Amathungulu and wild melons like Tsamma Melons are important sources of vitamin C and other vitamins as well as fat and several trace elements.

A variety of indigenous plants are used for making shelters, household items, clothing, jewellery and crafts. Woven mats, baskets and cloth use fibres from the leaves, bark, stems and roots of many varieties of plant, for example the leaves of the Real Fan Palm for baskets. The Calabash Gourd is grown to make bowls and storage bins.

The World Health Organization defines food security as having three facets: food availability, food access, and food use. Food availability is having sufficient quantities of food on a consistent basis, now and into the future. Food access is having sufficient resources, both economic and physical, to obtain food. Food use is having a knowledge of basic nutrition. ‘Put simply, food security is about people being able to get their hands on safe, wholesome food that meets their body’s dietary needs and which matches their palate or cultural preferences, and being able to have ongoing access to that kind of food, today, tomorrow, next month, next year’, Leonie Joubert writes in The Hungry Season: Feeding Southern Africa’s Cities (Pan Macmillan, South Africa). South Africa has an Integrated Food Security Strategy that commits to meeting all three of the requirements for providing its citizens with food security. Joubert continues, ‘... the issue is not whether or not the region produces enough food, but how people access that food and what decisions they make once they have the food. Generally there’s enough food to go around and yet we still have such high levels of hunger and malnutrition’. In many cases, communities can cope better with hunger,

illness and alienation if ideas and ideals of Indigenous Knowledge Systems are put into practice, particularly in the growing of indigenous food plants in urban food gardens.

Beautifully crafted baskets at a roadside stall outside Maun, Botswana. Baskets are traditionally woven by women from the leaves of the Real Fan Palm or Mokolwane (Hyphaene petersiana) using dyes from the roots and bark of local plants. Originally made for household use, the sale of baskets

for the tourist trade now constitutes a considerable portion of the women’s income.

A traditional way of life. Pastoralists on the Chobe River in Namibia augment their diet with freshwater fish.

Urban food gardens put indigenous knowledge of traditionally useful plants to good use to combat hunger and malnutrition in cities. Photo: S. Granger.

Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) is one of South Africa’s most well known herbal teas.

Herbalist, Mr Dlamini (left) points out plants with medicinal properties to younger herbalists in Pondoland. Photo: CREW.

Medicinal plants

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