[ Etude sur la transmission culturelle des savoirs naturalistes parmi le peuple Ekonda dans un contexte de la division sexuelle du travail, Province de l’Equateur, en République Démocratique du Congo ]
Volume 34, Issue 4, November 2021, Pages 791–802
Benjamin L. Mandjo1 and Patrick A. Dande2
1 Professeur Associé, Unité d’Écodéveloppement, Ethnobiologie et Savoirs endogènes, Département des Sciences de l’Environnement, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, RD Congo
2 Assistant, Département des Sciences de l’Environnement, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, RD Congo
Original language: French
Copyright © 2021 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
In the present study, an ethno-botanical survey, we consider the processes by which today the knowledge and know-how related to the various subsistence activities and also in the social field are acquired and transmitted in a context of sexual division of labour among the Ekonda populations of the Territory of Bikoro in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The method used is to submit a questionnaire to a randomly selected sample of key individuals and informants, whether they know how to do the requested activity, and if so, from whom they learned it. The results obtained show that the Ekonda differ from other members of the Mongo ethnolinguistic group in the activities for which they are recognized as specialists and connoisseur, namely: dance and ceremonial songs, to some extent the hunt for net and sagary. However, the differences observed can be explained more by the age and sex of the informants than by the place of residence. Differences according to sex, between men and women, are distinguished in the same sectors of activity. However, hunting activities, honey collection, palm wine making, felling of trees for cultivation and the construction of houses are more clearly mastered by men than by women within the Ekonda community. While at first sight the practice of agriculture is likely to involve a decrease in the use of the wild plants collected as well as the knowledge related to them, it can be seen that collection still plays an important role in the daily life of the Ekonda, especially for food.
Author Keywords: Tumba lake, ecuador, naturalistic knowledge, culture, Ecodevelopment.
Volume 34, Issue 4, November 2021, Pages 791–802
Benjamin L. Mandjo1 and Patrick A. Dande2
1 Professeur Associé, Unité d’Écodéveloppement, Ethnobiologie et Savoirs endogènes, Département des Sciences de l’Environnement, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, RD Congo
2 Assistant, Département des Sciences de l’Environnement, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, RD Congo
Original language: French
Copyright © 2021 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
In the present study, an ethno-botanical survey, we consider the processes by which today the knowledge and know-how related to the various subsistence activities and also in the social field are acquired and transmitted in a context of sexual division of labour among the Ekonda populations of the Territory of Bikoro in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The method used is to submit a questionnaire to a randomly selected sample of key individuals and informants, whether they know how to do the requested activity, and if so, from whom they learned it. The results obtained show that the Ekonda differ from other members of the Mongo ethnolinguistic group in the activities for which they are recognized as specialists and connoisseur, namely: dance and ceremonial songs, to some extent the hunt for net and sagary. However, the differences observed can be explained more by the age and sex of the informants than by the place of residence. Differences according to sex, between men and women, are distinguished in the same sectors of activity. However, hunting activities, honey collection, palm wine making, felling of trees for cultivation and the construction of houses are more clearly mastered by men than by women within the Ekonda community. While at first sight the practice of agriculture is likely to involve a decrease in the use of the wild plants collected as well as the knowledge related to them, it can be seen that collection still plays an important role in the daily life of the Ekonda, especially for food.
Author Keywords: Tumba lake, ecuador, naturalistic knowledge, culture, Ecodevelopment.
Abstract: (french)
Cette étude a pour objectif de considérer les procédés par lesquels aujourd’hui les savoirs et savoir-faire liés aux différentes activités de subsistance et aussi dans le domaine social sont acquis et transmis dans un contexte de division sexuelle du travail parmi les populations Ekonda du Territoire de Bikoro en République Démocratique du Congo. La méthode utilisée consiste à soumettre un questionnaire à un échantillon des personnes-clé et d’informateurs, choisis de manière aléatoire, s’ils savent faire l’activité demandée, et si oui, par qui ils l’ont appris. Les résultats obtenus montrent que les Ekonda se distinguent des autres membres du groupe ethnolinguistique Mongo dans les activités pour lesquelles ils sont reconnus comme étant des spécialistes et de fins connaisseuses, à savoir: la danse et les chants de cérémonie, dans une certaine mesure la chasse au filet et à la sagaie. Les différences observées s’expliquent toutefois plus par l’âge et le sexe des informateurs que par le lieu de résidence. Les différences selon le sexe, c’est-à-dire entre hommes et femmes, se distinguent dans les mêmes secteurs d’activités. Cependant, les activités de chasse, la collecte du miel, l’élaboration du vin de palme, l’abattage des arbres pour la mise en culture et la construction de maisons sont plus nettement maitrisés par les hommes que par les femmes au sein de la communauté des Ekonda. Alors qu’à première vue la pratique de l’agriculture est susceptible d’impliquer une diminution de l’usage des plantes sauvages collectées ainsi que les savoirs qui en sont liés, on constate que la collecte tient encore aujourd’hui une place importante dans la vie quotidienne des Ekonda, notamment pour l’alimentation.
Author Keywords: RDC, équateur, savoirs naturalistes, culture, Ecodeveloppement.
How to Cite this Article
Benjamin L. Mandjo and Patrick A. Dande, “Study on the cultural transmission of traditional ecological knowledge among the Ekonda people in a context of the sexual division of labour, Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of Congo,” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 791–802, November 2021.
