Agir en secret : un regard sur la circulation des usages associés aux souchets des jardins, aux fougères des sous-bois et aux caladions des berges chez les Yanesha (Haute Amazonie péruvienne)

Abstract

This article presents a view of possibilities of shifts in plant usage from one vegetal group to another. These insights were made possible by the contextualization of key botanical and ecological elements of high and low Amazonian lands. Using selected available literature on different botanical aspects as well as ethnographical and historical elements of several Amazonian groups, the distribution, function and use of sedges (Cyperaceae), caladium (Araceae) and ferns (Pteridophytae) by the Yanesha are examined here, based on their migration history that divided this population into distinct ecological zones. The goal of this approach is to reevaluate the construction of plant knowledge based on the relationships that humans maintain with other living species.

Keywords

• Yanesha
• Cyperaceae
• Araceae
• interspecific relationship
• plant knowledge
• Amazonia Highlands