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Zheng Xilong1,2 (zhengxl@scib.ac.cn), Xin Fuwu1 (xinfw@scib.ac.cn)
1 South China Botanical Garden, Guangzhou 510650, 2 Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049
Thatched cottages supported by bamboo poles are the traditional dwellings for Li people, in which there are kitchen, living room and bedrooms This picture shows the Pogao village in Nankai.
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The Li Minority are the indigenous group of Hainan Island, where they have lived for more than 3,000 years. The Li people are believed to be descendants of the ancient "Luo Yue"1, a branch of the aboriginal Southern Yue of Lingnan (South China). Having long inhabited an island in the South China Sea, the Li Minority has remained rather isolated and self-sufficient, and a peasant economy prevails. To them, plants are more than a constant supply of food and clothing; they are an essential source of defence against various diseases, and even in the spiritual realm. A great pool of traditional knowledge2 and experience have been accumulated regarding the use of different plants. However social development, accelerating urbanisation and the introduction of exotic culture have altered both the living environment and lifestyles of Li people, resulting in a rapid loss of traditional knowledge and culture.
Ethnobotany is the study of the direct interactions between
plants and people, and its focus is on the history, current
status and characteristics3 of the economic, medicinal and
ecological purposes served by plants. It thus helps preserve
and inform people about traditional knowledge of plant
use. With this in mind, I was much honoured to receive a
KFBG Studentship grant in 2005 to further my study on
the ethnobotany of the Li Minority.
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| Chinese Motherwort Leonurus japonicus collected in the wild can be boiled or fried. |
During the study we spent two years conducting interviews in some 20 ethnic villages in several counties. They included Yuanmen and Nankai Townships in Baisha Li-minority Autonomous County, Qicha in Changjiang Li-minority Autonomous County, Jiangbian Township in Dongfang City, Baolong Village in Ledong Li-minority Autonomous County, Maoyang Township in Wuzhishan
City and Maogan Township in Baoting Li-minority Autonomous County. Two strategies were applied during the interviews: key informant interviews and participatory observation. The former was applied after seeking advice from village heads, village party secretaries and team leaders in forest conservation to identify a target list of key informants, among whom renowned healers and herbalists were chosen for interview. The latter strategy was to gain a close and intimate familiarity with the local community by staying with the herbalists, joining them for herb collection and jotting details of every plant encountered including their name, application, purposes and medicinal uses. Interviewees were asked "5W1H" (What, Where, Which, Who, When, How) questions to get specific information, for instance: "what is the herb?"; "where to collect it?";
"which part is applied?"; "who (child or adult) should use it?"; and "how/how much to apply?". The data collected from interviews and field surveys were subsequently sorted, followed by identification of voucher specimens, data compilation and review. An ethnobotanical inventory of medicinal plants will then be developed to present all detailed records. The inventory will contain particulars of every species, including scientific name, Chinese name, voucher number, which plant part is used, clinical application and healing properties4.
Li people are renowned not only for their hospitality, but
also their intimate acquaintance with plants. The vegetables
they grow are limited, as they gather wild vegetables
from the hillsides or fields, such as Leonurus japonicus
(=L. heterophyllus or L. artemisia: Chinese Motherwort),
Eryngium foetidum (Long Coriander), Gynura crepidioides (Okinawa Spinach), Polygonatum cyrtonema
(Chinese Solomons-seal), Piper sarmentosum, Solanum
nigrum (Black Nightshade), Centella asiatica (Gotu Kola)
and Costus speciosa, which are household delicacies. Wild fruits are more varied than the vegetables, and include
Ficus aurantiaca, Garcinia oblongifolia, Lithocarpus corneus and Baccaurea ramiflora (Burmese Grape).
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