PIERONI ET AL. Local knowledge on plants and domestic remedies in the mountain villages of Peshkopia (Eastern Albania) (2014) (original) (raw)
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Journal of Mountain Science, 2014
Ethnobotanical studies in the Balkans are crucial for fostering sustainable rural development in the region and also for investigating the dynamics of change of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), which has broad-sweeping implications for future biodiversity conservation efforts. A survey of local botanical and medical knowledge and practices was conducted in four mountainous villages of the Peshkopia region in northeast Albania, near the Macedonian border. Snowball sampling techniques were employed to recruit 32 informants for participation in semi-structured interviews regarding the use of the local flora for food, medicinal, veterinary and ritual purposes. The uses of 84 botanical taxa were recorded as well as a number of other folk remedies for the treatment of both humans and livestock. Comparison of the collected data with another ethnobotanical field study recently conducted among Albanians living on the Macedonian side of Mount Korab shows a remarkable divergence in medicinal plant uses, thus confirming the crucial role played by the history of the last century in transforming TEK. Most noteworthy, as a legacy of the Communist period, a relevant number of wild medicinal taxa are still gathered only for trade rather than personal/familial use. This may lead to unsustainable exploitation of certain taxa (i.e. Orchis and Gentiana spp.) and presents some important conservation challenges. Appropriate development and environmental educational frameworks should aim to reconnect local people to the perception of limitation and renewability of botanical resources.
Local Knowledge of Past and Present Uses of Medicinal Plants in Prespa National Park, Albania
Economic Botany, 2019
Ethnobotanical studies have highlighted the need to address temporal dynamics of local knowledge in response to socioeconomic changes. The southwestern Balkans are a hotspot of folk botanical knowledge and represent a unique region to study such dynamics. The present study focused on changes in ethnomedicinal knowledge in the rural mountains of Prespa National Park, Albania. The resident ethnic Macedonian minority was fairly isolated under communism (1946-1991), with a long tradition of wild medicinal plant collection. We identified 80 adults and 20 young community members through snowball sampling based on knowledgeability of medicinal plants. In-depth open and semi-structured interviews, free-listing, and participant observation elicited ethnomedicinal knowledge on past and present uses. We recorded 82 botanical taxa belonging to 39 families. Cultural importance analyses showed that Sideritis raeseri Boiss. & Heldr. was by far the culturally most salient species. Informants perceived a steep increase in home consumption of medicinal plants compared to the communist period, despite increased globalization and market liberalization. Trade had significantly decreased but remained an important fallback option in times of economic uncertainty. We observed the phenomenon of knowledge hybridization through access to Bmodern^knowledge and homogenization through political influences, pointing towards a both resilient and dynamic body of knowledge.
In recent years, an increasing number of ethnobotanical investigations have focused on the documentation of folk plant knowledge systems in mountainous areas of the Balkans, as this area is considered a very important reservoir of bio-cultural heritage. An ethnobotanical field study was carried out among (Gheg) Albanians living in eight villages of NorthEastern Albania. The field survey was conducted by interviewing 45 local, elderly informants, who retain folk plant knowledge. Sixty-three wild food and medicinal folk taxa and approx. 150 plant reports, as well as other domestic remedies, were recorded and represent a crucial portion of the local cultural heritage related to traditional food, medicinal, and veterinary practices; approximately one-third of the reports were not previously recorded in Albania or Kosovo. Among these findings, the uncommon, yet abandoned uti-lizations of wild pears to produce home-made vinegar, unripe wild apples, and grapes as starters/yeasts for baking, and a few unripe wild fruits, as well as beech cambium and Sedum album leaves as yogurt starters deserve further in-depth food technological and nu-traceutical investigation. The fact that the most interesting findings are represented by obsolete and past practices and that most of the selected villages were chosen expressly because of their disadvantaged economic conditions and, in a few cases, remarkable geographical isolation, demonstrates that even in remote areas of SE Europe eth-nobotanical knowledge is vanishing. Nevertheless, this study supports the idea that territories which are less economically advantaged may retain more ethnobotanical knowledge than other, more " developed " ones. Initiatives aimed at revitalizing traditional practices of wild food and medicinal plant use may be crucial in the study area for implementing rural development programs focusing on local food resources and associated small scale trade.
Background: Ethnobotany in South-Eastern Europe is gaining the interest of several scholars and stakeholders, since it is increasingly considered a key point for the re-evaluation of local bio-cultural heritage. The region of Gollobordo, located in Eastern Albania and bordering the Republic of Macedonia, is of particular interest for conducting ethnobiological studies, since it remained relatively isolated for the larger part of the 20 th Century and is traditionally inhabited by a majority of ethnic Macedonians and a minority of Albanians (nowadays both sharing the Muslim faith). Methods: An ethnobotanical survey focused on local food, medicinal, and veterinary plant uses was conducted with 58 participants using open and semi-structured interviews and via participant observation. Results: We recorded and identified 115 taxa of vascular plants, which are locally used for food, medicinal, and veterinary purposes (representing 268 total plant reports). The Macedonian Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) was greater than the Albanian TEK, especially in the herbal and ritual domains. This phenomenon may be linked to the long socio-cultural and linguistic isolation of this group during the time when the borders between Albania and the former Yugoslavia were completely closed. Moreover, the unusual current food utilisation of cooked potatoes leaves, still in use nowadays among Macedonians, could represent the side effect of an extreme adaptation that locals underwent over the past century when the introduction of the potato crop made new strategies available for establishing stable settlements around the highest pastures. Additionally, the difference in use of Helichrysum plicatum, which is popular in the local Macedonian folk medicine but absent among Albanians, confirms the particular significance of this taxon as it relates to the yellow colour of its flowers in South Slavic folklore.
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 2014
Background: Ethnobotany in SouthEastern Europe is gaining the interest of several scholars and stakeholders, since it is increasingly considered a key point for the re-evaluation of local bio-cultural heritage. The region of Gollobordo, located in Eastern Albania and bordering the Republic of Macedonia, is of particular interest for conducting ethnobiological studies, since it remained relatively isolated for the larger part of the 20 th Century and is traditionally inhabited by a majority of ethnic Macedonians and a minority of Albanians (nowadays both sharing the Muslim faith). Methods: An ethnobotanical survey focused on local food, medicinal, and veterinary plant uses was conducted with 58 participants using open and semi-structured interviews and via participant observation. Results: We recorded and identified 115 taxa of vascular plants, which are locally used for food, medicinal, and veterinary purposes (representing 268 total plant reports). The Macedonian Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) was greater than the Albanian TEK, especially in the herbal and ritual domains. This phenomenon may be linked to the long socio-cultural and linguistic isolation of this group during the time when the borders between Albania and the former Yugoslavia were completely closed. Moreover, the unusual current food utilisation of cooked potatoes leaves, still in use nowadays among Macedonians, could represent the side effect of an extreme adaptation that locals underwent over the past century when the introduction of the potato crop made new strategies available for establishing stable settlements around the highest pastures. Additionally, the difference in use of Helichrysum plicatum, which is popular in the local Macedonian folk medicine but absent among Albanians, confirms the particular significance of this taxon as it relates to the yellow colour of its flowers in South Slavic folklore. Conclusion: Botanical studies with an ethnographic approach are crucial for understanding patterns of use of plants within given cultures. Importantly, such studies can also allow for analysis of the dynamics of change in these TEK patterns over the time. The results of this study may be important as baseline data set to be used in rural development programs in Gollobordo, aimed at fostering community-based strategies of management of natural resources.
A medico-ethnobotanical study was conducted among Albanians, Macedonians, and Gorani in forty-one villages located in the Sharr Mountains in western Macedonia. The survey was conducted by interviewing local people of each community about the medicinal plants and their uses and properties. Seventy-six mainly wild taxa were found to represent the remaining folk medical heritage of the area. The large majority of the recorded plants are used in form of teas, and mainly for minor dysfunctions of the respiratory system. Among the findings, the uncommon uses of Ballota nigra L. (leaves) tea as a digestive, Convolvulus arvensis L. (aerial parts) tea against hypertension, Chenopodium urbicum L. leaves (topically applied) for treating hemorrhoids, and Cornus sanguine L. (leaves and fruits) tea against stomachaches could be of interest for further phytopharmacological studies. A significant portion of study participants raised concerns regarding the possibility of over-exploitation of a few species due to collecting practices serving both local and outside (pharmaceutical) markets. Most of the uses reported by Macedonians and Gorani were also recorded among Albanians, while a significant portion of plants quoted by Orthodox Macedonians showed an idiosyncratic use. This may be explained by the fact that the Gorani lived very close to the Albanian communities in the study area over the last century, with marriages between the two communities being commonplace and facilitated by their shared (Muslim) faith.
Background: Ethnobotanical surveys of the Western Balkans are important for the cross-cultural study of local plant knowledge and also for obtaining baseline data, which is crucial for fostering future rural development and ecotourism initiatives in the region. The current ethnobotanical field study was conducted among the last remaining Albanians inhabiting the upper Reka Valley at the base of Mount Korab in the Mavrovo National Park of the Republic of Macedonia. The aims of the study were threefold: 1) to document local knowledge pertaining to plants; 2) to compare these findings with those of an ethnographic account written one century ago and focused on the same territory; and 3) to compare these findings with those of similar field studies previously conducted in other areas of the Balkans. Methods: Field research was conducted with all inhabitants of the last four inhabited villages of the upper Reka Valley (n=17). Semi-structured and open interviews were conducted regarding the perception and use of the local flora and cultivated plants. Results and conclusion: The uses of ninety-two plant and fungal taxa were recorded; among the most uncommon uses, the contemporary use of young cooked potato (Solanum tuberosum) leaves and Rumex patientia as a filling for savory pies was documented. Comparison of the data with an ethnographic study conducted one century ago in the same area shows a remarkable resilience of original local plant knowledge, with the only exception of rye, which has today disappeared from the local foodscape. Medicinal plant use reports show important similarities with the ethnobotanical data collected in other Albanian areas, which are largely influenced by South-Slavic cultures.
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 2013
Background: Ethnobotanical surveys of the Western Balkans are important for the cross-cultural study of local plant knowledge and also for obtaining baseline data, which is crucial for fostering future rural development and ecotourism initiatives in the region. The current ethnobotanical field study was conducted among the last remaining Albanians inhabiting the upper Reka Valley at the base of Mount Korab in the Mavrovo National Park of the Republic of Macedonia. The aims of the study were threefold: 1) to document local knowledge pertaining to plants; 2) to compare these findings with those of an ethnographic account written one century ago and focused on the same territory; and 3) to compare these findings with those of similar field studies previously conducted in other areas of the Balkans. Methods: Field research was conducted with all inhabitants of the last four inhabited villages of the upper Reka Valley (n=17). Semi-structured and open interviews were conducted regarding the perception and use of the local flora and cultivated plants. Results and conclusion: The uses of ninety-two plant and fungal taxa were recorded; among the most uncommon uses, the contemporary use of young cooked potato (Solanum tuberosum) leaves and Rumex patientia as a filling for savory pies was documented. Comparison of the data with an ethnographic study conducted one century ago in the same area shows a remarkable resilience of original local plant knowledge, with the only exception of rye, which has today disappeared from the local foodscape. Medicinal plant use reports show important similarities with the ethnobotanical data collected in other Albanian areas, which are largely influenced by South-Slavic cultures.
Background: Kosovo represents a unique hotspot of biological and cultural diversity in Europe, which allows for interesting cross-cultural ethnobotanical studies. The aims of this study were twofold: 1) to document the state of traditional knowledge related to local (esp. wild) plant uses for food, medicine, and handicrafts in south Kosovo; and 2) to examine how communities of different ethnic groups in the region (Albanians, Bosniaks/Gorani, and Turks) relate to and value wild botanical taxa in their ecosystem. Methods: Field research was conducted in 10 villages belonging to the Prizren municipality and 4 villages belonging to the Dragash municipality, located in the Sharr Mountains in the southern part of Kosovo. Snowball sampling techniques were used to recruit 139 elderly informants (61 Albanians, 32 Bosniaks/Gorani and 46 Turks), for participation in semi-structured interviews regarding the use of the local flora for medicinal, food, and handicraft purposes.