Ethnoecology, Resource Use, Conservation And Development In A ...

and is effectively a volunteer species. It thus may not be considered to be included in
the Wapishana segregate paoriba - which appears to be the closest translation of
crop plants in the language but in whose definition the act of planting appears to be
crucial - despite the fact that it commonly grows in farms and produces edible fruits.
4.2.4 Further forest-based agriculture
Agriculture is also practiced on a small scale beyond the main farming area, along
hunting roads and in the vicinity of hunting and fishing camps deep in the forest.
These camps remain at permanent locations, and at most of these a small area will be
planted with crops. This may be no more than a few pepper plants, but at more
commonly used camps a variety of crops will be found. Those recorded include
pumpkin, yams, sweet potatoes, sweet cassava, watermelons and bananas. One or
more tree crops, from the same range of species found near farm camps, are also
commonly present. A small area around the camp is usually felled in order to minimise
the possibility of trees falling and causing injury, and once these have dried out they
may be burned and seeds or tubers planted in the ashes. Ashes from campfires may
also provide a source of soil nutrients. Trail agriculture does not reach anything
remotely approaching the scale practised by the Kayapó (Posey 1985), but rather
seems to be a practice undertaken casually, opportunistically and rather infrequently.
Dead, fallen trees in the vicinity of the hunting trail, which have dried sufficiently, may
be set alight and the area of bare ashy ground that results planted. Owing to the
relative infrequency with which their locations are visited, these deep forest crops are
highly susceptible to predation by wild animals. However, they may also serve to
attract potential prey animals to the area around the camps and trails, especially in
the case of perennial crops such as banana, papaya and fruit trees.
4.2.5 Agricultural use of the savannah
The exceedingly low fertility of the savannah soil, combined with the need for any
edible plant to be protected by a fence from the ravages of voracious domestic cows
and pigs, the cultivation of plants is far less extensive on the savannah than in the
forest. However, it is of some significance to all residents of Maruranau. Every
household interviewed reported the presence of at least one species of cultivated
tree at the homestead, and a small number listed ten or more of a total of 23
different species reported (see table 4.3). Inter-household variability is high, with only
four species being cultivated by more than a third of the respondents. The fruits are
consumed directly as snacks, especially by children, and during seasonal gluts in