Awer Honey-Hunting Culture With Greater Honeyguides in Coastal Kenya
Authors
van der Wal, Jessica E. M.
Gedi, Isa I.
Spottiswoode, Claire N.
Publication Date
2022-01-03Journal Title
Frontiers in Conservation Science
Publisher
Frontiers Media S.A.
Volume
2
Language
en
Type
Other
This Version
VoR
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
van der Wal, J. E. M., Gedi, I. I., & Spottiswoode, C. N. (2022). Awer Honey-Hunting Culture With Greater Honeyguides in Coastal Kenya. [Other]. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2021.727479
Abstract
The remarkable mutualism between humans and greater honeyguides (Indicator indicator) is known still to thrive in only a few places in Africa. Here, we report on the honey-hunting culture of the marginalised Awer people in Kenya, historically a hunter-gatherer culture who today practise a mixed economy including significant amounts of foraging for wild foods. As part of a larger effort to document cross-cultural honey-hunting traditions in Africa, we interviewed six Awer honey-hunters to document their cultural practices. The interviewees reported that they depend on wild honey as a source of income, and that they readily seek the cooperation of honeyguides. Honey-hunting skills and the calls/whistles used to communicate with honeyguides are learnt from their fathers and other elders in village. The best time to honey-hunt is in the months following the big rains (August–December), when interviewees go out honey-hunting once a week on average. Honeyguides are not actively rewarded with wax, as it is believed that once a bird is fed it will not cooperate again for some time, and therefore after the honey harvest is complete, all remaining wax comb is buried. Honey-hunting practices are declining in this region, which interviewees attributed to drought and a lack of interest by the youth. These findings expand our understanding of how human-honeyguide mutualism persists across a range of human cultural variation.
Keywords
Conservation Science, Indicator indicator, honeyguide, mutualism, humans, cultural heritage
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2021.727479
This record's DOI: https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.80553
Rights
Licence:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Statistics
Total file downloads (since January 2020). For more information on metrics see the
IRUS guide.
Recommended or similar items
The current recommendation prototype on the Apollo Repository will be turned off on 03 February 2023. Although the pilot has been fruitful for both parties, the service provider IKVA is focusing on horizon scanning products and so the recommender service can no longer be supported. We recognise the importance of recommender services in supporting research discovery and are evaluating offerings from other service providers. If you would like to offer feedback on this decision please contact us on: support@repository.cam.ac.uk