Abstract

SUAREZ, María Eugenia. Wichi plant morphology: an ethnobiological study. Rev. Mus. Antropol. [online]. 2020, vol.13, n.3, pp.07-22. ISSN 1852-060X.  http://dx.doi.org/http://doi.org/10.31048/1852.4826.v13.n3.27844.

Abstract In this article I study the plant morphology from the perspective of the Wichi people of the Gran Chaco. I specifically study here the lexicon of plant parts with wider aims in mind, which are related to the comprehension of motivations and processes behind vernacular classifications of nature. Being ethnobiology the frame of the research, I try to answer how Wichi people describe, name and understand plant parts; how is the process of assigning names; and if morphological, functional and/or positional criteria underlie this action. Using primary data, I describe and analyse 38 terms that name plant parts, identifying homonymies, parts that are distinctive of plants, criteria and concepts underlying partonomy and nomenclature. I conclude that: a) there isn’t a vernacular term for the category “plant”, although lhile may be acquiring this new meaning; b) for culturally relevant species, there are specific terms and suffixes to derivate the name of fruits, thus the analysis of terms is a useful way to identify species and resources of local importance; c) there is an idea of repetition or reiteration in the general plant structure which is reflected in the form of naming some plant parts; d) there are morphological, functional, positional and symbolic criteria behind the names of plant parts; and e) nomenclature of plant parts can reflect the loss of practices and/or knowledge on some wild species.

Keywords : Ethnobotany; Interculturality; Ethnoclassification; Vernacular lexicon; Meronymy; Partonomy.

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