Dear all,

I'll post a fuller report on what was a wondrful 12th PAOC soon but for now I'd just like to present the abstracts of presentations at the 2 Symposia and Roundtable session dedicated to ethnoornithology.

Here are the Abstracts fom Sympoium number one, held on Monday 8 September 2008.

Symposium: Ethno-Ornithology in Africa – Bird Knowledge, Culture and Conservation (1)

1 - Opportunities, prospects and developments in African ethno-ornithology - an outsider's perspective. Robert Gosford Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Australian National University, Australia. robertgosford@...

In recent years Ethnoornithology has emerged as a valuable source of ethnobiological research, partly for its potential to be able to make a valuable contribution to bird conservation and also as a means of empowering people of all cultures preserve, re-examine and discover the connections between individuals, groups and cultures and the birds that people hunt, venerate
and cherish. In this seminar it is proposed to examine, through a variety of oral presentations, current ethnoornithological research in Africa, future directions for proposed research and support and professional development, particularly in the area of methodology, will also be considered.

2 - The knowledge-base of, and attitudes to, some large birds among herdsmen in the Lesotho Maloti Mountains. Steven Piper, School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. vulture@...

For nearly two centuries teenagers and sometimes adult men have herded sheep, goats & cattle in the mountain regions of Lesotho, at altitudes of 2750+ m, in the summer months. In recent times, with increases in human and live-stock densities this age-old practice of transhumance has started to collapse and some herds and their herders have started to spend the winters
in these extremely cold and inhospitable mountains. To test the herdsmen's knowledge of large birds they were shown three plates of paintings of storks, owls and vultures. All herders recognized the White Stork and said that it was the only stork to visit Lesotho in the summer and they knew its Sesotho name. However, none of them knew the difference between the White
Stork and the Black Stork and they thought that White Storks just went down-country in winter to breed. (Black Storks breed at lower altitudes in winter.) All the herders recognized and correctly named the Cape Eagle Owl but some also reported seeing the Spotted Eagle Owl but this is highly unlikely and is probably the result of confusion. They all knew and correctly
named Cape and Bearded Vultures and said that no other vultures occurred in the mountains. They thought vultures useful in showing them the location of dead livestock and in removing rotting carcasses from their environment but said that they and their dogs (1-6 per herder) were in direct competition for the meat. Attitudes to large birds varied from an old herder who said "The birds were here before I came and I have no problem with them" to younger herders who said "We kill large birds when we can and then eat them" – one even added "especially Cape Eagle Owl which tastes just like chicken"! Herders survive on starvation rations eating at most a small bowl of porridge a day with their only protein being what they can catch, kill and
eat (most begged tobacco to assuage their hunger). They all related folk stories concerning these birds and held traditional beliefs on their magical powers, e.g. vulture parts used for prognostication.

3 - Hornbills for heroes: Compromising biodiversity for traditional knowledge?
Yilma Dellelegn Abebe, NatureConcern Research and Promotion Agency, P.O. Box 18112, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. ornithopia@...

The Abyssinian Ground Hornbill Bucorvus abyssinicus, is a bird that lives in open and wooded grasslands in Ethiopia and is of comparable weight and size of an adult domestic turkey. It is usually found at mid-altitudes within and outside the rift valley system in the country. The Oromo people of the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia perceive this bird as primeval and
attach various socio-cultural values to it. Hunters who have killed large game animals or heroes from battles are rewarded with the black and white wing feathers of a hornbill to commemorate their bravery. The death of an unusually old person (usually male members of the ethnic group) will have his grave decorated with the feathers of the hornbill. This symbolises their age and wisdom. Ground Hornbills are sought and killed for acts of heroism but little is known about the sustainability of this action. This paper, beyond exploring local perceptions surrounding the Ground Hornbill within the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia, will also look at the implications for conserving a species such as the Ground Hornbill with regard to preserving indigenous cultures and traditions.

Yilma was unable to make this presentation at the PAOC but I look forward to seeing further details on this valuable research.

4 - The inspiration of birds in the proverbs and sayings of the Agikuyu people of Kenya
Wanyoike Wamiti1 and Francis Muigai2
1Department of Zoology (Ornithology Section), National Museums of Kenya, P.O. Box 40658-00100, Nairobi, Kenya. wamsnarina@...
2Friends of Kinangop Plateau, Njabini Sub-branch, P.O. Box 174 – 20319, South Kinangop,
Kenya.

The Agikuyu people are one of the indigenous peoples of Kenya. One theory has it that they migrated to Kenya from central and western Africa together with other Bantu speaking groups, and settled in the mountainous central highlands, spreading through the land bounded by the four landmarks of Mt. Kenya, Aberdares, Ol Donyo Sabuk and the Ngong Hills. The environment
in which they lived presented a naturally-blended and rugged landscape with numerous valleys that had perpetual springs, streams, rivers, waterfalls and dense montane forests, plains full of game, and a large land area. Nature has played a key role in their folklore and mythology as is shown clearly from the many uses of wildlife names and geographic features in songs and dances, the naming of children, riddles, oral narratives and tales, poetry, idiomatic expressions and proverbs. In this paper, we present how birds inspired the Agikuyu in the coding of tribal laws, norms and customs in the form of proverbs in an elaborate manner. We used our own knowledge as speakers of this language, oral interviews with knowledgeable and elderly members of the society, and a literature review. The Agikuyu's interaction and appreciation of birds in their folklores is apparent from the large number of proverbs and sayings. Possible categories would include ecology, weather, material, wealth, labour and industry, war and peace, advice and counsel, and God's creation and the universe. Some challenges to
further research on the applied use of ethno-ornithological knowledge are identified and discussed.

5 - Bird behaviour as depicted in Lepcha folklores
Vanya Jha
Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, Majitar, Rangpo, Sikkim 737 132, India. vanyanegia@...

Folklores have invited attention of many a scholars all over the world not only for the poetic beauty but also for simple truths that are enshrined in them. They have come to be recognized as important repository of experiential knowledge of people belonging to oral culture. Lepchas are one such group of people, now generally residing in Sikkim Himalayas in India. Their
folklore has been found to be rich and vibrant by modern scholars. Lepchas are particularly knowledgeable about fauna and flora found in Sikkim Himalayas. Behaviour of birds has also been an important area of interest for researchers. The present work is focused on collecting Lepcha folklores depicting specific behaviour of a few bird species and assessing the scientific
veracity of the fact they depict by direct observation or through literature and experience survey. The paper contains ten such instances that have been collected by visiting old Lepcha inhabitants of state of Sikkim in general and those living in Dzongu (a reserved area to preserve Lepcha identity and culture) in particular. The paper concludes that Lepchas have noted specific and at time unusual behaviour of birds and at times this behaviour helps Lepchas in their day-to-day work.

Vanya was also unable to make it to PAOC to give her presentation and I look forward to hearing more about her work, and perhaps catching up on my planned trip to India in early 2009.