Plant Species for the Manufacture of Malagasy Traditional Alcoholic Beverages

2024-07-26T00:31:02-07:00

Alcoholic beverages are an important component of many traditional events of Madagascar, including life-course events like male circumcision, burial and exhumation. As with many other parts of Malagasy customary practice, these beverages incorporate the unique and richly diverse flora of Madagascar. We conducted structured interviews with producers and consumers of Malagasy Traditional Alcoholic Beverages (MTABs) in 10 regions of Madagascar, spanning the island from east to west and north to south. We documented 75 plant species used to make three types of Malagasy Traditional Alcoholic Beverages: distilled toaka gasy, fermented cane wine betsa, and fermented palm wine trembo. Of the 75 species, 14 were main materials/main ingredients, 55 were additives during fermentation, and six were used as tools for distillation. The species were diverse, occurring in 35 plant families. Particularly species-rich families were Arecaceae (palm family) as main materials and Rutaceae (citrus family) as additives.

Local Ecological Knowledge of the Whitemouth Croaker, Micropologias furneri among the Caiçaras in the Sepetiba Bay, SE Brazil

2024-03-09T10:55:07-08:00

Local Ecological Knowledge of artisanal fishers (Caiçaras) was employed to investigate various biological aspects of the Whitemouth croaker (Micropogonias furnieri) in the Sepetiba Bay, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. This included migration patterns, reproduction, feeding habits, and interactions such as parasitism. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 40 fishers in two communities using the “snowball” technique. It was found that the fisher’s information coincides with the academic literature for some aspects of the biology and ecology of the species. Furthermore, the fishers provided descriptions of novel patterns, which contributed to a deeper understanding of the species' natural history. These included observations of reproduction occurring almost throughout the entire year, the influence of east and north winds on the species' entry into the bay, interactions with marine catfish (Ariidae), and notable records of the isopod Cymothoidae as an important parasite of the Whitemouth croaker. This study contributes new insights to the ecological understanding of this fish species, which holds significant socio-environmental importance. It also documents changes in the livelihoods of artisanal Caiçaras communities resulting from the increasing anthropogenic activities in the region. Finally, it highlights the species' significance in terms of its sale and consumption within these communities, owing to its relative abundance in the area, despite the environmental impacts.

Ethnobiology Letters

Plant Species for the Manufacture of Malagasy Traditional Alcoholic Beverages

Local Ecological Knowledge of the Whitemouth Croaker, Micropologias furneri among the Caiçaras in the Sepetiba Bay, SE Brazil