Evidence of a link between taboos and sacrifices and resource scarcity of ritual plants.

ABSTRACT:

Background

One of the main obstacles for the mainstreaming of religious traditions as tools for the conservation of nature is the limited applicability of research results in this field. We documented two different restrictions implemented by local people (taboos and sacrifices) related to the use of ritual plants in Benin (West Africa) and Gabon (Central Africa).

Methods

To see whether these restrictions reflected plant scarcity from an etic perspective (official threat status) and an emic viewpoint (perceived scarcity by local people), we conducted 102 interviews with traditional healers and adepts of traditional faiths.

Results

We documented a total of 618 ritual plants, from which 52 species were used in both countries. In Benin, the use of 63 of the 414 ritual pl

SUBMITTER: Quiroz D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4326513 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature