Vol. 13 (1990): 23 —30
The Question of Classifying Plants in Simbu Ethnobotany”
Joachim Sterly
Summary
The Kuman or Simbu language is spoken by about 80.000 people within the Simbu Province, Central Highlands of Papua
New Guinea, and understood by most of the speakers of neighbouring languages such as Sinasina and Dom (BERGMANN
1966). The means of subsistence of the Simbu and their neighbours depend mainly on their agricultural activities; they are
skilled, hard-working gardeners as earlier researchers assure (BARRIE 1956, MONTGOMERY 1960, BROOKFIELD
AND BROWN 1963, CRIPER 1967, KOMBA 1978). The following paper deals with the question how these Highlanders
understand the plant world by which they are surrounded and within which they live.
Zusammenfassung
Die Kuman- oder Simbu-Sprache wird von 80.000 Menschen gesprochen, die inder 5 imbu-Provinz im Zentralen Hochland
von Papua New Guinea leben; sie wird von der Mehrzahl der Nachbarn, die andere Sprachen sprechen, etwa den Sinasina
und Dom, verstanden (BERGMANN 1966). Ihren Lebensunterhalt bestreiten die Simbu und ihre Nachbarn im wesentlichen
aus ihrer Landwirtschaft; sie sind geschickte, fleißige Gärtner, wie frühere Berichterstatter versichern (BARRIE 1956,
MONTGOMERY 1960, BROOKFIELD AND BROWN 1963, CRIPER 1967, KOMBA 1978). Im folgenden Text wird
gefragt, wie diese Hochlandbewohner die Pflanzenwelt verstehen, von der sie umgeben sind und in der sie leben.
Keywords: Papua New Guinea, Simbu, ethnobotany, classificatory system, traditional agriculture.
Simbu names of plants
The Simbu do not have a proper classificatory
system of the vegetable kingdom which is comparable
with that of our natural science, Unlike
scientists they are not „classifying animals‘“!,
They name plants only incidentally, and do not
even have a general term for ‚plant‘. However,
since most of all plants they know are present in
their surroundings no systematizing seems to be
necessary. This does not mean that they do not
distinguish trees, herbs, grasses from each other
by name, lacking the ability to discriminate between
different species of plants, but rather it
means that they do not form scientific Classes,
}hat they do no need principles of classification
or ‚taxonomic trees‘, Their ability to discriminate
plants from each other is not detached from
the vernacular language. A Simbu name, however,
is not a taxonomic term and may first come
to mind to a person faced with a plant in consequence
of his impressions and experiences. So
the term gigle or gigle gugl covers all Sauraula
spp., while all Saurauia with reddish-brown
leaves are called „red Saurauia“ (gigle gogl) and
all Saurauia with thorns and pricks „prickly Saurauia
trees‘“ (gigle kangigl ende).
The Simbu names of plants show that the
criteria of naming plants are often determined by
similarities, uses and biotops. This is illustrated
by terms such as „sun moon“ (andemba, certain
Ranunculaceae, also Keysseria radicans), „vulturine
parrot’s wing tree‘ (kawagl koye ende,
introduced poinsettia), „rib pattern‘ (dangigl
muno, Streblus urophyllus, Moraceae), or „pig’s
snout medicine“ (bugla gima kirai, Conyza sp.
and other Compositae), „nose ornament grass‘“
(nenduru bono kugl, Juncus sp., „cucumber medicine“
(sugla kirai, Polygala japonica), „liver
pity grass‘“ (munduo miri kugl, Eleusine indica),
„swamp grass‘“ (nigl bulkwa kugl, Cyperus
spp.), and „stone fern“ (kombuglo binga, Crypsinus
Sp.).
A name of a plant recalls its use, where it is
to be found, and which plants or other things it
resembles. Since the experience of the habits and
qualities of plants my diverge a Simbu name
“ Copyright by Joachim Sterly. Introductory chapter of „Simbu Plant-Lore“ forthcoming for 1991. The book gives an
outline of the Simbu people’s knowledge of the plant world and includes a dictionary of the plants known to them and used
by them. From 1971 to 1984 the author stayed nearly 5 years in the Simbu valley, studying the traditional agriculture,
tending a garden himself, and collecting more than 2300 botancial specimens (most of them are in the RUKSHERBARIUM
at LEIDEN), the local lore of which he documented in detail. The main aim of this work and according to the author’s
understanding of anthropological ethnobotany in general is to save the traditional plant-lore of local people undergoing
rapid cultural change. The paper shows that the Simbu themselves do not reflect upon a sytem of homogenous taxonomic
determinations comparable with that of botany when naming and ordering the plants of their surroundings, but rather refer
to what we would call an ecological way of looking at things.
