Ecolinguistics of ethno-medicinal plants of the Dayak Ngaju community

This article describes aspects of the Dayak Ngaju language, specifically as they relate to plants used for medicinal purposes by the ethnic community. Data were gathered through participant and non-participant observation, interviews, and analysis of ritual incantations spoken by the traditional healers (shamans). Three important elements of the relationships between the ethnic culture and the language of ethno-botany in Dayak Ngaju were identified. These are: (1) the names of thirty six ethno-medicinal plants along with their components and medicinal functions; (2) the terminology used for the plants, which is based on their ecology: their colour, the places in which they grow, their shape, and/or their sex; (3) the social and cultural values expressed in local wisdom and their implications for the use ad preservation of plant life in the locality.
Source: Language Sciences - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research