When Knowledge Follows Blood

• Published in: Current anthropology Vol. 56; no. 3; pp. 471 - 483
• Main Authors: Salpeteur, M., Patel, H., Balbo, A. L., Rubio-Campillo, X., Madella, M., Ajithprasad, P., Reyes-García, V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago University of Chicago Press 01-06-2015; University of Chicago, acting through its Press
• Subjects: Communities; Community; Cultural anthropology; Environmental Factors; Kinship; Knowledge; Lineage; Migration; Natural Resources; Organizational Research; Organizational Structure
• ISSN: 0011-3204; 1537-5382
• DOI: 10.1086/681006

Understanding the patterns and processes underlying the heterogeneous distribution of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) across communities of natural resource users is a growing research topic. However, social organization as a factor potentially shaping TEK intracultural distribution has received scant attention. Here, we analyze the role played by kinship groups—namely, patrilineal lineages and segments—in shaping bodies of TEK among a group of seminomadic pastoralists in India. We use two quantitative approaches (score based and similarity based) to analyze variations in four TEK domains: soils, ethnoveterinary, breeds, and ethnobotany. We find that kinship groups share divergent bodies of knowledge, a finding that we interpret in light of the social organization of migration, in which kinship provides a privileged basis that structures migratory groups and, as such, favors the constitution of shared bodies of knowledge. We conclude by advocating for a better inclusion of the organizational features that structure the collective life of local communities in research aiming at understanding TEK dynamics.