235other terms, however, which encode very fi ne-grained distinctions between forest
habitats, were only used in the context of describing the places where certain organ-
isms or resources are found, or in the context of travelling to (or actively avoiding)
certain locations. These contexts suggest that, as proposed by Burenhult and
Levinson [ 104 ], the interactional properties of the forest/landscape terms (i.e. the
nature of the activities that people regularly perform in these places) play an impor-
tant role in maintaining the distinctiveness of these places for the Solega.
In Chap. 6 , I presented an overview of the Solega’s rich encyclopaedic knowl-
edge of the ecological processes and relationships that link the plant and animal
inhabitants of the B. R. Hills to each other on the one hand, and to the abiotic envi-
ronment on the other. The annual monsoon cycle provides an oscillating backdrop
against which the cyclic behaviours and life histories of living organisms are viewed,
while predictable temporal co-incidences between two discrete events, such as the
blooming of a fl ower at a particular time of day, or the migration of a particular
honeybee species into the high-altitude forests, inform Solega observers of the pas-
sage of time. Certain phenomena will collocate in a single place—certain edible
mushrooms are only said to grow on particular substrates—and the Solega use such
information to locate useful resources in an otherwise complex forest environment.
The Solega are aware of the numerous trophic, agonistic and antagonistic interac-
tions that occur on a daily basis between living organisms, and although such inter-
actions may have a direct bearing on the well-being of humans (e.g. Lantana
outcompetes native grasses which are the food of elephants ; hungry elephants are
more likely to attack people), a signifi cant proportion of the interactions noted by
the Solega are ‘third-party’ interactions, where humans play little, if any, role.
The fi ndings in Chap. 6 are complemented by the Solega’s keen observation of
the utilisation of numerous plant species, presented in Chap. 3 (Table 3.4 ). Indeed,
the number of plants said to be of nutritional or medicinal use to birds and animals
(42 species) is close to the numbers of plants used by humans as food (52 species)
or medicine (49 species). This interest in the habits of other species arises out of not
only utilitarian motivitations, but also the affi nity that Solega people feel with other
organisms. It is almost a cliché to say that a non-industrial people’s way of life is in
some way ‘close to nature’,^1 but in Sect. 6.4 , I have presented direct quotes from
Solega people professing a strong sense of empathy for all manner of wild creatures
ranging from honeybees to elephants. Many Solega folk tales also tell of how cer-
tain organisms were once people, and how their current form refl ects a relevant
aspect of their human personality. Solega encyclopaedic knowledge , then, is the
result of not merely a recognition of perceptually salient organisms and phenomena,
or an awareness of the utility of particular species and environments, but also a
strong sense of empathy with living beings that are perceived to share the same
experiences and challenges as the Solega themselves.
Chapter 6 also highlights an ecological approach to linguistic ethnobiology, in
contrast to more traditional, taxonomy-focused studies. Hunn ([ 235 ], p. 13) has
(^1) A Google search for [(“native people” OR “indigenous people”) AND “close to nature”] resulted
in 861,000 hits (July 13, 2015).
8.5 Linguistic Context and Encyclopaedic Knowledge