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

frequent old farms, and are hunted in these locations, but this seems to be regarded
as largely fortuitous. Ethnoecological data on the plant and animal communities
associated with old farms is presented in chapter 6.4.2. The use of farms and fallows
as hunting areas is discussed more extensively below (chapter 4.2.6). Conscious
manipulation of their composition in order to increase the abundance of either game
or useful plants appear to take place on only a limited scale: some people reported
that they will weed selectively, leaving useful plants such as bishawud.
Unintentional manipulations of forest composition may well be of greater
importance than the deliberate modifications described. Certainly, the ecological
characteristics of anthropogenic secondary forest appear to be important in
subsistence (chapter 4.2.6), even if these do not result from any conscious intent on
the part of farmers. Such a situation is in many ways comparable to that described
among the Guajá and Ka’apor of Maranhão, Brazil. Guajá foraging activities rely
extensively on forests whose composition has undergone significant modification as a
result of the activities of the agriculturalist ancestors of the present-day Ka’apor
(Balée 1993). This does not appear to be the outcome of any intentional habitat
enrichment strategy on their part, but as in the Wapishana case, the utilitarian value
of the habitat has been enhanced as an incidental consequence of their agricultural
activities.
4.2.3 Dietary importance of agriculture
The importance of agriculture in the Wapishana lifestyle reflects its importance in the
diet, as it is the source of almost all carbohydrate. The major crop is bitter cassava
(Manihot esculenta), of which numerous varieties are grown and whose products are
consumed at every meal. Bitter cassava is eaten in a variety of forms, most popular
being a coarse meal known as farina. Manufacture of farina is similar to that of the
cassava bread more familiar among other Amerindan groups in Guyana and elsewhere,
except that during the cooking stage it is placed on a lightly greased pan and
continually agitated with a paddle, rather than being left to bake into a solid loaf.
A typical Wapishana meal consists of farina and a stew made from meat or fish,
seasoned with peppers and cassreep, a condiment produced by boiling down the
poisonous juice extracted from cassava tubers during their processing until it forms a
thick, rich, dark brown sauce. Cassava bread is also commonly eaten, tapioca
(cassava porridge) and starch are used, and the crop is also used to make a variety of
alcoholic beverages. The most popular of these, parakari, is an important social
lubricant and generally features in collective work, especially manurin, although