Affiliation:
1. School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.
2. Jardin botanique de Montréal, Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
Abstract
This paper describes the importance of fungi to Canadian Indigenous Peoples. Based on collaborative research with Indigenous knowledge holders and a review of literature, approximately 30–40 fungi are documented as having cultural roles for Canadian Indigenous groups. Some peoples have not eaten mushrooms traditionally, whereas others have a history of harvesting, cooking, storing, and trading mushrooms for their diets. Perennial tree fungi have application as tinder, fire starter, and for carving masks. They also have a range of medicinal uses, some being consumed as medicinal teas, and others applied externally, in some cases by moxibustion to relieve underlying pain. Puffballs also have a range of material and medicinal applications, especially for stopping haemorrhages. Fungi are widely known for spiritual or sacred associations and play key roles in rituals, ceremonies, stories, and beliefs, which are also reflected in the names of some species. The antiquity of peoples’ relationships with fungi is likely very deep, extending back to ancient Asian or European ancestors of Pleistocene times, whose descendants on those continents have used them in similar ways. Fungi continue to play important roles for Indigenous Peoples today, with some being harvested commercially, and many still used in traditional ways.
Publisher
Canadian Science Publishing
Subject
Plant Science,Ecology,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Reference112 articles.
1. California Indian Ethnomycology and Associated Forest Management
2. Andre, A., and Fehr, A. 2002. Gwich’in ethnobotany: plants used by the Gwich’in for food, medicine, shelter and tools. Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute, Tsiigehtchic, Northwest Territories, and Aurora Research Institute, Inuvik, NWT.
3. Andre, A., Karst, A., and Turner, N.J. 2011. Plant use by Arctic and Subarctic indigenous peoples. In The Subsistence Economies of Indigenous North American Societies. Edited by B. Smith. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. pp. 11–30.
4. Use of plants for food and medicine by Native Peoples of eastern Canada
Cited by
4 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献