The Roots Told from the Web: Preserving Ethnobotanical Knowledge through Jamaican Anancy Stories

抽象地说，一个半人半蜘蛛的实体在牙买加岛上有着不可动摇的存在。每个教区都流传着关于他的诡计、欺骗和狡猾本性的故事。但是Anancy的故事在牙买加社会有着更大的意义。Anancy与被奴役的非洲人一起穿越了中部航道，她的故事象征着一个压迫社会的斗争，并激励着被边缘化的牙买加人对生存、希望和自由的展望。这些故事代代相传，是岛上非物质遗产的一部分。今天，阿南西作为所有知识的守护者和世界的创造者的表现，让我们了解了这个国家独特的认识论信仰。本博士课程将专注于故事的作用和知识的传播。我将缩小我的视野，探索Anancy对牙买加植物的影响，并将说明Anancy如何体现在植物命名，传统和实践中。通过加勒比海民间传说的表演和执行，我将调查Anancy故事如何作为了解牙买加人与植物世界的本体论联系的富有成效的基础。此外，我试图理解故事如何塑造我们与植物的关系，并融入环境、健康和移民的政治中。在这种情况下，本博士将自己置于非殖民化的框架中，并询问在殖民和后殖民社会中，讲故事在多大程度上作为一种抵抗力量。为了实现这个项目的雄心壮志，我将在牙买加和英国进行民族植物学和民族志研究，以深入了解阿南西故事、植物和非洲加勒比遗产之间的关系。我将收集和记录参与者的植物故事，并进行口述历史采访，以更多地了解他们在这些故事中的成长经历，以及他们通过这些故事了解到的植物知识。由于牙买加社会担心Anancy的故事会消失，这个计划将成为保存牙买加历史、非裔加勒比人身份和民族生物学知识的档案。

AbstractAnancy, a half human-half spider entity has an unshakable presence on the island of Jamaica. Anancy stories are found throughout every parish, where they tell tales of his trickery, deceit and cunning nature. But tales of Anancy serve a larger purpose in Jamaican society. Having travelled across the Middle Passage with enslaved Africans, Anancy stories are symbolic of the struggles of an oppressive society and inspire marginalised Jamaicans with the prospects for survival, hope, and freedom. Passed down from one generation to the next, these stories are part of the intangible heritage of the island and today, Anancy's manifestation as the keeper of all knowledge and the creator of the world provides us with insight to the country's unique epistemological beliefs.This PhD will focus on the role of Anancy stories and the transmission of knowledge. Narrowing my lens, I will explore the influence of Anancy on the plants of Jamaica and will illustrate how Anancy is embodied in plant nomenclature, traditions, and practises. Through the performance and execution of Caribbean folklore, I will investigate the ways Anancy stories act as a fruitful ground for understanding Jamaicans' ontological connection to plant worlds. Moreover, I seek to understand how stories shape our relationships to plants and become embedded in the politics of the environment, health, and migration. In this light, this PhD situates itself within the framework of decolonisation, and asks to what extent does storytelling act as a force of resistance in colonial and post-colonial society.In order to fulfil the ambitions of this project, I will conduct ethnobotanical and ethnographic research in Jamaica and England, to intimately understand the relationship between Anancy stories, plants and African Caribbean heritage. I will gather and document Anancy stories from my participants and will carry out oral history interviews to learn more about their upbringing with these narratives and, what they learn about plants through them. As there are concerns within the Jamaican community that Anancy stories will dissipate, this project will become an archive for preserving Jamaican history, African Caribbean identity and ethnobiological knowledge.