Abstract
The Inextricable Link Between Food and Linguistic Diversity: Wild Food Plants Among Diverse Minorities in Northeast Georgia, Caucasus. Divergences in the categorization and use of wild food plants among ethnic and linguistic groups living within the same environment are prototypical for the dual nature of biocultural diversity, which is generally richer on ecological and cultural edges. We interviewed 136 people from seven ethnolinguistic groups living in Georgia documenting the use of wild food plants. The results show the inextricable link between food and linguistic diversity; moreover, we observed a greater number of commonly used plants among Christian communities, as Muslim communities shared just one taxon widely used in all regions. Comparison with other Georgian regions and selected ethnic groups living in Azerbaijan showed lower use of wild food plants. Future investigations in the region should widen the ethnolinguistic research to include other aspects of ethnobiology and to dedicate more in-depth studies to understanding the underlying reasons for homogenization and plant-use erosion.
Highlights
Plant names as well as other associated knowledge are related to the richness of the perception of one’s environment and its use, being an expression of a very private sphere that may not be purposely targeted in the case of linguicide
Georgian Azeri seemed to be the only group that had been using the national names of dishes at the same time or beyond the Georgian names. Both the Udi and Azeri communities we interviewed in Azerbaijan used nearly twice as many taxa as their kin in Georgia (Fig. 7)
The role of relocation as a negative factor in plant use could not be confirmed, as the two communities that exhibited a smaller number of plants and uses were autochthonous to the region, whereas the two non-autochthonous groups exhibited rather a large number of plants used as well as a variety of uses
Summary
Ethnobiology has sparked growing interest in understanding the role of diverse social, economic, and political drivers affecting local plant knowledge systems, among them gender (Ayantunde et al 2008; de Albuquerque et al 2011; Karambiri et al 2017; LuzuriagaQuichimbo et al 2019; Montoya et al 2012), age (Bortolotto et al 2015; Brandt et al 2013; Lunelli et al 2016), socio-economic conditions (de Medeiros et al 2012; Stryamets et al 2015), religion (Bellia and Pieroni 2015; Pieroni et al 2015), and geopolitical changes (Pieroni et al 2017a; Sõukand and Pieroni 2016). Bieb.) Boiss, Allium atroviolaceum, Althea hirsuta L., Arctium lappa L., Capsella bursa-pastoris, and Rumex spp. are widely used for pkhali in many parts of Georgia (Bussmann et al 2016b, 2017, 2018) by local Georgian inhabitants, but were not mentioned in this study This might be due to the fact that pkhali use in general is much less common among Georgians in Kakheti because the short, relatively mild winters eliminate the need to use wild herbs as a source of vitamins. Both the Udi and Azeri communities we interviewed in Azerbaijan used nearly twice as many taxa as their kin in Georgia (Fig. 7) This supports the idea that the small number of used wild food plants, especially those used by only a few people, may be related to the specific ecological conditions of the region and the greater availability of cultivated food. Record the collection of acorns or the use of underground organs of woodland plants—two practices important for hunter-gatherers that are still partially alive in temperate forests in West and East Asia (Kang et al 2012b; Ong et al 2016; Pieroni et al 2019)
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