Abstract

SCARPA, Gustavo F.. Plants associated to fishing and to their resources by Chorote indians from Chaco Semiarido (Argentine). Bol. Soc. Argent. Bot. [online]. 2007, vol.42, n.3-4, pp.333-345. ISSN 1851-2372.

Chorote indians belong to the Mataco-mataguayo linguistic family, they live in Argentina's Semiarid Chaco along the riverbanks of the Pilcomayo river in Salta province. Traditionally, they obtained their own living from hunting, gathering and fishing; being the latter of high cultural and economic value at present times already. Seven fieldwork expeditions were carried out in order to obtain the information and to collect plant specimens. Semi-structured interviews were made to 37 qualified informants about the roles of plants in their culture and, specifically, in fishing practices and the utilization of derived resources. Forty-nine (49) plant species and 100 ethnobotanical data were recorded. Plants are used in ritual practices, as temporal indicators, for making fishing tackle, weapons, traps on the river, baits, and implements for handling, cooking and storing fishes. Baits, fishing nets, and weapons involved the highest number of species and uses. The most outstanding plants involved in fishing are Bromelia urbaniana, B. hieronymi, Mimozyganthus carinatus, Ruprechtia triflora, Salix humboldtiana, Solanum argentinum and Tessaria integrifolia var. ambigua. Without them fishing activity would become practically impossible to Chorote people, from which they still obtain a good part of their living.

Keywords : Ethnobotany; Chaco; Semiarid forest; Fishing; Chorote.

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