Traditional taboos in biological conservation: the case of Colobus vellerosus at the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary,Central Ghana

Abstract

Englilish

The Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary in central Ghana has been called a classic example of successful ‘‘traditional’’ conservation. Local hunting taboos on two species of primates (the ursine black and white colobus and the Campbell's monkey) are thought to date back to the 1830s when a local oracle instructed the villagers to ‘‘care for the monkeys’’. However, the same level of protection is not given to the surrounding forest or other animals in the forest. In light of this situation, we examine the extent to which the traditional taboos on the monkeys complement the biological/ environmental conservation agenda. We come to the conclusion that the monkeys embody the history and foundation myths of the villages and serve as a totemic mechanism to preserve the villagers' social world.

French

Le "Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary'' au centre du Ghana est considéré comme un exemple classique de conservation "traditionnelle'' réussie. Les tabous locaux sur la chasse de deux espèces de primates (le colobus oursin noir et blanc et le singe de Campbell) datent, pense-t-on, des années 1830, lorsqu'un oracle local avait fait savoir aux villageois qu'ils devaient "prendre soin des singes''. Cependant, la protection accordée aux singes ne l'est pas à la forêt environnante ou aux autres espèces animales de la forêt. C'est pourquoi l'article cherche à établir dans quelle mesure les tabous traditionnels à l'égard des singes convergent avec l'agenda de conservation biologique/environnementale. L'article en arrive à la conclusion que les singes incarnent l'histoire et les mythes fondateurs de ces villages et servent de mécanismes totémiques pour préserver l'espace social des villageois.

Keywords

Local conservation practices Primates Standardized packages Taboos

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abu-Juam, M., Gyakari, J.N. and Ekpe, P.K. (1996) “Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary Floral Inventory”, unpublished report prepared for the BFMS Management Committee, University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

Beier, P. , van Drielen, M. and Kankam, B.O. (2002) “Avifaunal Collapse in West African Forest Fragments” , Conservation Biology 16: 1097–1111 .

Brugiere, D. , Gautier, J.P. , Moungazi, A. and Gautier-Hion, A. (2002) “Primate Diet and Biomass in Relation to Vegetation Composition and Fruiting Phenology in a Rain Forest in Gabon” , International Journal of Primatology 23: 999–1024 .

Claridge, W.W. (1964) A History of the Gold Coast and Ashanti, Vol. 1. London: Charles Birchall and Sons . (Orig. published 1915.)

Colding, J. and Folke, C. (1997) “The Relations among Threatened Species, their Protection and Taboos” , Conservation Ecology, www.consecol.org, 1(1): Article 6.

de Klemm, C. and Lausche, B. (1987) African Wildlife Laws. IUCN Environmental Policy and Law Occasional Paper No. 3. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN Environmental Law Centre .

Densu, K.A.K. (2001) “Tourism and Monkeys Can Go to Hell”, The Dispatch (Ghana) July 23.

Dickson, K.B. (1969) A Historical Geography of Ghana. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .

Douglas, M. (2002) Purity and Danger. London and New York: Routledge Classics .

10.

Durkheim, E. (1965) The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. New York: The Free Press .

11.

Fairhead, J. and Leach, M. (1996) Misreading the African Landscape: Society and Ecology in a Forest-Savanna Mosaic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .

12.

Fargey, P. (1991) “Assessment of the Conservation Status of the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary”, unpublished Final Report to the Flora and Fauna Preservation Society, University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

13.

Fargey, P. J. (1992) “Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary – an Example of Traditional Conservation in Ghana” , Oryx 26: 151–156 .

14.

Fashing, P.J. (2001) “Feeding Ecology of Guerezas in Kakamega Forest, Kenya: the Importance of Moraceae Fruit in their Diet” , International Journal of Primatology 22: 579–609 .

15.

Frazer, J.G. (1910) Totemism and Exogamy, 4 vols. London: Macmillan .

16.

Frazer, J.G. (1951) The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion, 1 vol., abridged edn. New York: Macmillan .

17.

Fujimura, J. (1992) “Crafting Science: Standardized Packages, Boundary Objects and ‘Translation’ ”, in A. Pickering (ed.) Science as Practice and Culture, pp. 168–211. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press .

18.

Goldenweiser, A. (1910) “Totemism, an Analytical Study” , Journal of American Folklore 23: 179–293 .

19.

Greene, S. (2002) Sacred Sites and the Colonial Encounter: A History of Meaning and Memory in Ghana. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press .

20.

Hawthorne, W. (1990) Field Guide to the Forest Trees of Ghana. London: Natural Resources Institute, Overseas Development Agency .

21.

IUCN (2005) “IUCN Red List of Threatened Species”, in www.redlist.org, downloaded on November 24.

22.

Kankam, B.O. (1997) “The Population of Black and White Colobus (Colobus polykomos) and the Mona Monkeys (Cercopithecus mona) at the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary and Surrounding Villages”, BSc thesis, University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

23.

Lang, A. (1912) “ Method in the Study of Totemism” , American Anthropologist 14: 368–382 .

24.

MacDonald, G. (1969) The Gold Coast: Past and Present. New York: Negro Universities Press . (Orig. published 1898.)

25.

McLennan, J.F. (1869–70) “The Worship of Animals and Plants” , Fortnightly Review 6–7: 407–427 .

26.

Maisels, F. , Gautier-Hion, A. and Gautier, J.-P. (1994) “Diets of Two Sympatric Colobines in Zaire: More Evidence of Seed-Eating in Forests on Poor Soils” , International Journal of Primatology 15: 681–701 .

27.

Mueller-Dombois, D. and Ellenberg, H. (1974) Aims and Methods of Vegetation Ecology. New York: John Wiley .

28.

Ntiamoa-Baidu, Y. (1991) “Conservation of Coastal Lagoons in Ghana: the Traditional Approach” , Landscape and Urban Planning 20: 41–46 .

29.

Ntiamoa-Baidu, Y. (1995) Indigenous vs. Introduced Biodiversity Conservation Strategies: The Case of Protected Area Systems in Ghana. African Biodiversity Series No. 1. Washington: Biodiversity Support Program .

30.

Ntiamoa-Baidu, Y. (1998) Wildlife Development Plan 1998–2003 Vol. 6: Sustainable Harvesting, Production and Use of Bushmeat. Protected Area Management and Wildlife Conservation Project. Accra: Ghana Wildlife Division .

31.

Opoku, K. (1978) West African Traditional Religion. Singapore: FEP International .

32.

Radcliffe-Brown, A.R. (1965) Structure and Function in Primitive Society. New York:The Free Press .

33.

Saj, T. and Sicotte, P. (in press) “Colobus vellerosus”, in J. Kingdon , D. Happold and T. Butynski (eds) Mammals of Africa: Primate Volume. London: Academic Press .

34.

Saj, T.L. , Sicotte, P. and Paterson, J.D. (2001) “The Conflict between Vervet Monkeys and Farmers at the Forest Edge in Entebbe, Uganda” , African Journal of Ecology 39: 195–199 .

35.

Saj, T.L. , Teichroeb, J.A. and Sicotte, P. (2005) “The Population Status of Colobus vellerosus at Boabeng-Fiema Sacred Grove, Ghana”, in J.D. Paterson and J. Wallis (eds) Commensalism and Confict: Human–Primate Interface, pp. 350–375. Oklahoma City: American Society of Primatology .

36.

Sarpong, P. (1974) Ghana in Retrospect. Accra-Tema: Ghana Publishing Corporation .

37.

Sicotte, P. and Uwengeli, P. (2002) “Reflections on the Conception of Nature and Gorillas in Rwanda: Implication for Conservation”, in A. Fuentes and L. Wolfe (eds) Primates Face to Face, pp. 163–182. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .

38.

Star, S.L. and Griesemer, J.R. (1989) “Institutional Ecology, ‘Translations’ and Boundary Objects: Amateurs and Professionals in Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, 1907–1939” , Social Studies of Science 19: 387–420 .

39.

Struhsaker, T.T. and Oates, J.F. (1975) “Comparison of the Behavior and Ecology of Red Colobus and Black-and-White Colobus Monkeys in Uganda: a Summary”, in R.H. Tuttle (ed.) Socioecology and Psychology of Primates, pp. 102–123. The Hague: Mouton .

40.

Swain, M.D. , Agyeman, V.K. , Jyereh, B. , Orgle, T.K. , Thompson, J. and Veenendaal, E.M. (1997) Ecology of Forest Trees in Ghana. ODA Forestry Series no. 7, University of Aberdeen. Aberdeen: University of Aberdeen Press .

41.

van der Sluijs, J. , van Eijndhoven, J. , Shackley, S. and Wynne, B. (1998) “Anchoring Devices in Science for Policy: The Case for Consensus around Climate Sensitivity” , Social Studies of Science 28: 291–323 .

42.

Wong, S.N.P. and Sicotte, P. (2005) “Population Size and Density of Colobus vellerosus at the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary and Surrounding Forest Fragments in Ghana” , American Journal of Primatology 68: 1–12 .

43.

Zavaleta, E. (1999) “The Emergence of Waterfowl Conservation among Yup’ik Hunters in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska” , Human Ecology 27: 231–266 .