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

other, occur by chance when it is either spotted, or located by dogs within the farm
area, rather than in situations where hunting is the major activity.
Another point that stands out is that primates were not mentioned by any
respondent, although over the course of the study it became clear that Ateles
(females only), Alouatta, Chiropotes, Pithecia, and both species of Cebus were all
hunted on occasion. This probably reflects a decline in the consumption of primates
owing to two factors. One is technological: monkeys are very difficult to kill with
bows and arrows, and an arrow shot at them is very likely to be lost. Many informants
remarked how commonly monkeys, especially the large howler and spider monkeys,
were shot and eaten in the days when guns and ammunition were readily available.
The second factor is cultural change: many children and young adults refuse to eat
monkey meat, and many older people whose children have adopted this habit report
that they have as a consequence ceased to pursue monkeys. An interesting
comparison can here be made with Orealla, where all age groups regard the
consumption of monkeys with a certain revulsion, owing to their perceived similarity
to people. When a family of Trio spent a few years living in their reservation, many
people in Orealla found their consumption of monkey meat somewhat disconcerting. It
may be that a transition in eating habits currently in progress in Maruranau occurred
in previous generations in Orealla, where the history of exposure to non-indigenous
customs and of missionary and state education is somewhat longer.
Half of the categories of game arising in interviews correspond to birds. As well
as important food sources in their own right, birds also provide a source of animal
protein which can be used when others are unavailable. In particular, customary
prohibitions during illness or convalescence, following birth of a child, and on many
other occasions, may affect some households for long periods (chapter 5.3). Avian
species are less commonly the subject of such restrictions, and may be of great
dietary importance at such times. The aggregate category 'birds' was mentioned at a
frequency equal to that of both peccaries and laba. Individual species or smaller
categories each obtained somewhat lower scores, indicating a diversity of individual
proclivities within this category. Powis (Crax alector), macaws (All four locally-
occurring species of Ara), marudis (Penelope spp. and possibly members of closely
related genera), parrots and toucans were all mentioned by over one third of
interviewees. Surprisingly, worakobra (Psophia crepitans) were mentioned with very
low frequency, and maams (various species in the genera Tinamus and Crypterellus)
not at all, despite the fact that other sources suggested the importance of these
species as food to be somewhat greater (see below). Many other species of bird