ETHNO-ORNITHOLOGY OF THE MUSHERE PEOPLE OF PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA: A COMPARISON OF THE TRADITIONAL BIRD KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTIONS OF ADULT URBAN/RURAL DWELLERS

Abstract

Ethno-ornithology is the scientific study of the cultural relationships of people with birds, while Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) refers to the knowledge that local/indigenous people have of their environment, usually borne out of a relationship that often spans protracted periods. The study sought to find out the TEK of urban/village dwelling Mushere adults, compare the various aspects of their TEK, to determine the effect of urbanization/rural life on respondents’ TEK. Variables tested included age, occupation, education, childhood environment and years spent in the city, sources of TEK acquisition, and method of TEK transmission. Methods used included mixed methods approach, including the use of semi-structured questionnaires and free-listing exercises. Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) was used in data analysis. The results revealed that bird knowledge of urban respondents was significantly more than that of village respondents (p< 0.05), men held more knowledge in both village and urban groups (p< 0.05), and other occupational categories held more knowledge than farmers (p < 0.05). Mode of transmission was mainly through oral means, while knowledge acquisition was mainly oblique. Method of transmission was mainly vertical. Finally, culturally salient bird species were similar for both villagers/urban respondents.  Urbanization did not seem to affect Mushere urban-dweller’s TEK; the modes of acquisition and transmission were similar to theoretical predictions and changes in socio-cultural and economic settings might be key factors affecting TEK and perception of birds by the Mushere