Foodways in transition: food plants, diet and local perceptions of change in a Costa Rican Ngäbe community

Abstract

Background: Indigenous populations are undergoing rapid ethnobiological, nutritional and socioeconomic transitions while being increasingly integrated into modernizing societies. To better understand the dynamics of these transitions, this article aims to characterize the cultural domain of food plants and analyze its relation with current day diets, and the local perceptions of changes given amongst the Ngäbe people of Southern Conte-Burica, Costa Rica, as production of food plants by its residents is hypothesized to be drastically in recession with an decreased local production in the area and new conservation and development paradigms being implemented.

Methods: Extensive freelisting, interviews and workshops were used to collect the data from 72 participants on their knowledge of food plants, their current dietary practices and their perceptions of change in local foodways, while cultural domain analysis, descriptive statistical analyses and development of fundamental explanatory themes were employed to analyze the data.

Results: Results show a food plants domain composed of 140 species, of which 85 % grow in the area, with a medium level of cultural consensus, and some age-based variation. Although many plants still grow in the area, in many key species a decrease on local production-even abandonment-was found, with much reduced cultivation areas. Yet, the domain appears to be largely theoretical, with little evidence of use; and the diet today is predominantly dependent on foods bought from the store (more than 50 % of basic ingredients), many of which were not salient or not even recognized as 'food plants' in freelists exercises. While changes in the importance of food plants were largely deemed a result of changes in cultural preferences for store bought processed food stuffs and changing values associated with farming and being food self-sufficient, Ngäbe were also aware of how changing household livelihood activities, and the subsequent loss of knowledge and use of food plants, were in fact being driven by changes in social and political policies, despite increases in forest cover and biodiversity.

Conclusions: Ngäbe foodways are changing in different and somewhat disconnected ways: knowledge of food plants is varied, reflecting most relevant changes in dietary practices such as lower cultivation areas and greater dependence on food from stores by all families. We attribute dietary shifts to socioeconomic and political changes in recent decades, in particular to a reduction of local production of food, new economic structures and agents related to the State and globalization.

Fig. 1

Study area. a Central America south of the Yucatan Peninsula. Source: [66]; b location of Conte-Burica in Southern Costa Rica. Source: [63]; c Conte-Burica indigenous territory map. The black line corresponds to current limits, and the red line to suggested extensions. Southern Conte-Burica is separated from its Northern part by the Caña Blanca River. Source: [67]

Fig. 2

Local agroecosystems. a & b Lowland evergreen tropical forests are common in Southern Conte-Burica; c & d Amid forested areas, patches of grassland of different sizes can be found

Fig. 3

Overall ethnographic methods employed. Methods employed for research design, data collection and analysis of food plants and perceived production changes amongst most salient plants in Conte Burica, Costa Rica

Fig. 4

Research methods for data collection. a Focused interview; b Autoethnography; c Workshop; d Agricultural inventory; e Culinary inventory; f Store inventory

Fig. 5

Smith's salience index curve with 102 items elicited in freelistings. Included are 25 key food plants and their correspondent ranking (In the list, notice that after item 20, ranking of key food plants does not match with Smith’s salience index, as species with lower S may be key, while others with higher S may not). Unclear 'elbow' between items 9 and 14

Fig. 6

Informant-food plant curve (n = 72 informants). The relative change in slope observed in the figure at about 100 ethnospecies mentioned, corresponds to the last adult informant participating in extensive freelisting, while additional species were recorded by other means. In black: Observed values. In gray, dashed: Best-fitting theoretical curve (y = 26.462 ln x + 27.863; R² = 0.971)

Fig. 7

Ethnobotanical characteristics of 135 identified plants within the cultural domain of food plants. a) Botanical families; b) life forms; c) plant parts used; d) agroecosystem moslty found (includes stores)

Fig. 8

Ethnobotanical characteristics of 25 key food plants. a) Botanical families; b) life forms; c) plant parts used; d) agroecosystem moslty found (includes stores)

Fig. 9

Perception of change in household production of key food plants (in descending Smith's salience order). (n = 38 informants). Items: 1 = Aro (Oryza sativa); 2 = Mumá (Phaseolus vulgaris); 3 = Mumá krire (Cajanus cajan); 4 = I (Zea mays); 5 = Ö (Manihot esculenta); 6 = Naran (Citrus × sinensis); 7 = Tä (Xanthosoma spp.); 8 = Drun (Dioscorea alata); 9 = Baran bun (Musa acuminata × balbisiana); 10 = Kä (Theobroma cacao); 11 = Mumá köire (Vigna unguiculata); 12 = Kabe (Coffea arabica); 13 = Rugá (Musa acuminata); 14 = Drune (Dioscorea trifida); 15 = Bé (Cucurbita moschata); 16 = Muá (Ananas comosus); 17 = Jlimú (Citrus × limón); 18 = Dugá (Persea americana); 19 = Söran (Annona muricata); 20 = Mölen (Heliconia spp.); 21 = Mraño (Anacardium occidentale); 22 = Dabá (Bactris gasipaes); 23 = Mitdrá (Attalea butyracea and Bactris gasipaes); 24 = Kolan (Eryingium foetidum); 25 = Bere (Brosimum alicastrum)