[pbs] Australian Ethnobotany
Jane McGary
janemcgary at earthlink.net
Wed Feb 4 12:28:50 EST 2009
Pam asked about Australian ethnobotanical information for an exhibit
where she volunteers.
>At Boyce Thompson Arboretum where I volunteer, we're talking about in an
>Australian Seep exhibit. In studying a little but very interesting monograph
>called "Mutooroo," I found the following entries about bulbous
>plants but would
>like to pass on the definition of mutooroo found in the book - "Aboriginal for
>'place where we go for food'." The following is verbatim and I will thus, not
>use quotes:
>
>This book was first published in 1984. I was told that its title
>"Mutooroo" is
>pronounced moo-jer-OOO. Is this correct? Also, isn't the correct Crinum name
>pendiculatum? There are also interesting but longer entries for Alocasia and
>Calocasia spp. that I'd be glad to share if anyone's interested.
Pam, there's no such language as "Aboriginal." Australia has many
native languages in more than one family. If you'd like this
clarified for your exhibit, I can track down some more rigorous
information for you. The languages of Australia, most of which are
extinct or nearing extinction (thanks in part to colonial efforts to
separate children from their cultures), have been relatively well documented.
Jane McGary
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