Language: A Resource for Nature 147Often, the loss of traditional languages and cultures may be hastened by environ-
mental degradation – such as logging, mining, agribusiness, cattle-raising and so
forth – by creating a negative feedback loop. In the Yoeme pueblo of the Yaqui
people of the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the performance of Yoeme ritual is ham-
pered by the disappearance from the local environment of many plant species that
were traditionally employed in religious ceremonies. Ritual is one of the main
contexts for the teaching of the Yoeme Truth, and in particular of the intimate
spiritual and physical connection with and respect for nature. ‘Yaquis have always
believed that a close communication exists among all the inhabitants of the Sono-
ran desert world in which they live: plants, animals, birds, fishes, even rocks and
springs. All of these come together as a part of one living community which Yaquis
call the huya ania, the wilderness world ... Yaquis regard song [as a part of ritual]
as a special language of this community, a kind of “lingua franca of the intelligent
universe”.’ The Yoeme elders’ inability to correctly perform ritual due to environ-
mental degradation thus contributes to precipitating language and knowledge loss,
and creates a vicious circle that in turn affects the local ecosystem.^13
The regression lines drawn here represent: (a) a linear or binomial model (r^2 = 0.22: y =
0.7471 – 0.0307x); and (b) a curvilinear or polynomial model (r^2 = 0.415; y = 1.7739 +
0.2311x – 1.1022√x – 0.0009/x).
Source: Zent (in press)^13
Figure 5.7 Regression of formal education and ethnobotanical competence among the
Piaroa of Venezuela