Ethnobotany Researches at the University of Santo Tomas Graduate School

  Ethnobotany* Researches at the University of Santo Tomas  Graduate School 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Former professor, UST-GS

Let me cite some studies in ethnobotany conducted at the UST Graduate School with Dr. Romulado M. Del Rosario as professor and thesis adviser. Dr. Del Rosario introduced me into this field, and with him I worked on the Ethnobotany of Maguey in the Ilocos Region, and the Ethnic Practices of Basi Wine Making in the Ilocos Region.

Old camphor trees at UST campus Manila

One of the pioneering works is Ethnobotany of the Itawes, a dissertation by Sister Mamerta Rocero SPC, which was published by the National Museum in 1982. Ethnozoology soon followed. Ethnozoology of the Itawes by Generosa Balubal. (MS Biology 1996) is a pioneer research in our country.

Wilfredo Vendivil (1994) worked on Ethnomedicinal Plants in Ilocos Norte along the borders of Cordillera and Cagayan. He reported 141 species of plants, 58 percent of which grow in the wild, while the 42 percent are cultivated, mainly on the backyard. 

The study reported 228 uses of these plants on 56 kinds of diseases and ailments, which include fever and flu, diarrhea, stomachache, boils, toothache, colic, dysmenorrhea, and rheumatism. PHOTO Pansit-pansitan (Peperomia pellucida) The list also includes anemia, general weakness, numbness, gall bladder trouble, convulsion, paralysis, tuberculosis, intestinal worms, heart problem, poisonous bites, scabies, lumbago, beri-beri, and fungal and bacterial infections.

Vendivil reported that the local residents believe there is no plant growing in their area that does not have any importance. This implies that there is a wealth of knowledge these people have on plants, and their belief in the curative power of plants - which brings to mind that healing and faith go hand on hand.

Lolita O. Uy (1994) worked on the Ethnobotany of the Ilongots in Nueva Viscaya. PHOTO Internet

She described 141 species of plants belonging to 136 genera and 108 families, of which 42 species are for food, 9 for construction, 10 for animal feeds. The rest are used for cleaning, making toys, preservative, masticatory, soap and shampoo, ripening agent, perfume, fish poison, insect repellant and ornamental purposes. The tribe’s local economy is centered in the forest and there are 9,000 hectares of virgin forest they claim as their ancestral land. Like other ethnic tribes, they feel threatened by lowlander intruding into their territory.

Reny Casanan (1997) conducted a similar study with the Gaddangs of Isabela PHOTO Internet. Among the 167 plant species she studied, 88 are food to the natives, 47 as medicine, 18 for construction, handicraft, furniture and the like, and 56 for various uses from toys to perfumes, rituals and ceremonies. The Gaddangs are now a heterogeneous group through inter-marriage and cultural integration with the nearby population centers.  

Alma Poblete (1999) worked on Ethnobotany of Bamboo among the Aetas in Orion, Bataan. There are four important species of bamboo for their edible shoot, and two species as an occasional source of drinking water (water is stored in the internodes). The leaves of Bambusa blumeana is used in curing kidney disorder, while Schizostachyum lumampao is used to bring a patient from relapse, and as cure of fever and malaria. It is this species that the Aetas use in cooking rice and other food. Three species are used in making flute, toys and different kinds of basket that they sell on the lowland. Bamboo is indispensable to the Aetas. Aside from the uses mentioned they depend on bamboo for transport, weapon, fish trap and even riprapping river banks. Because of this they have learned to propagate bamboo, intercropping it with bananas, thus indicating a departure from fundamental ethnobotany.

Meet Maria Dulce Pototoy-Bunquin who worked on Wild Food Plant Resources of the Batak Tribe in Palawan and lived with these natives during her study to learn their culture and dialect. (PHOTO Batak Village Internet)  There are 24 uncultivated plant species belonging to 15 families utilized by the Bataks as food, the most important is Arecaceae or the Palm Family. But the use of wild food plants has become infrequent in the presence of cultivated crops in the settlement. The utilization of wild plants and their method of kaingin farming are part of their indigenous culture. The Bataks are no longer a homogeneous ethnic group, although they are still very much dependent on the forest for their subsistence.

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* Ethnobotany is an interdisciplinary field at the interface of natural and social sciences that studies the relationships between humans and plants. It focuses on traditional knowledge of how plants are used, managed, and perceived in human societies. Ethnobotany integrates knowledge from botany, anthropology, ecology, and chemistry to study plant-related customs across cultures. Researchers in this field document and analyze how different societies use local flora for various purposes, including medicine, food, religious use, intoxicants, building materials, fuels and clothing. Richard Evans Schultes, often referred to as the "father of ethnobotany", provided an early definition of the discipline: Ethnobotany simply means investigating plants used by primitive societies in various parts of the world. Wikipedia