The Traditional Ecological Knowledge of the Solega A Linguistic Perspective

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Excursus 6.2: Solega Agriculture

Elements of traditional Solega agricultural practice mirror new-age, western

‘organic’ farming practices that are increasingly in vogue among enthusiasts of

alternative, sustainable food production. The practice in question is the ‘Three

Sisters’ method of growing corn, beans and pumpkins as companion crops in the

same plot of land—this practice is often attributed, in the popular media, to the

Iroquois people of North America. The benefi ts of this method, as stated by its

modern practitioners, are threefold: that the legumes fi x nitrogen for the nutrient-

hungry corn plants, the corn provides the support upon which the beans grow,

while the pumpkin fi lls the understorey, and shades the soil and roots from strong

sunlight. The Solega sow jo:ḷa ‘corn’, avare and togari ‘beans’ simultaneously

on the same cleared plot of land, while pumpkin is usually grown off to one side,

adjacent to a wooden framework which acts as a support for the vine, and also

keeps the developing fruit out of the reach of wild pigs. Sa:savi ‘mustard’ and

eḍḍã ‘amaranthus’ can also be sown as companion crops at this time. When the

corn reaches a height of ondu aḍi (approximately 10 inches), ra:gi ‘fi nger millet ’

seeds are scattered between the corn and bean plants. A guḷḷi or temporary shelter

is constructed next to the fi eld, and the growing crops are watched over during the

hours of darkness by at least one family member until harvest time. Kaḷe ‘weeds’

are removed after around 1 month, and following harvest, the grain is stored in

bags within an hollow excavated in the ground. The Solega recognise different

stages of growth in ra:gi plants, which appear as follows:

pairu ‘small seedling’; common to all plants, indicates the fi rst

appearance of a seedling above the soil

ra:gi geṇṇu a:gide ‘the ra:gi has developed joints’; indicates the appearance

of distinct nodes and internodes on the developing stem

ka:sakki a plant approximately 1.5 feet tall, starting to develop a

hoḍe ‘infl orescence’

dore a seed head with immature grain

tene a seed head with mature grain, ready for harvest

6.2.2 Short-Term Cycles and (Temporal) Coincidences

Apart from the annual cycles described above, the Solega keep track of many
shorter-term biological cycles that provide them with useful information. Many of
these have a period of a single day, and allow people working in the fi elds or in the
forest to keep track of the passage of time. The calls of the kuṭrakki ‘ Barbet ’ and the
ka:nagoravã ‘ Malabar Whistling Thrush ’, which sing primarily in the early morn-
ing and in the late afternoon respectively, and which make signifi cant contributions

6.2 Types of Signs