Abstract:
The 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo caused significant damage to its adjoining areas. The effects ravaged the land, imperiled biodiversity and threatened entire communities including the Aeta who have considered the mountain their home since time immemorial. The resulting displacement exposed the Aeta to potential sources of acculturation that puts to risk their wealth of ethnobotanical knowledge. This study was conducted to look into the possibility of a loss in the traditional botanical knowledge and changes in the Aeta outlook of the environment after the effects of a catastrophe by documenting existing knowledge and comparing it with literature prepared prior to 1991. The research centered on the Mag-indi Aeta in Barangay Camias, Porac, Pampanga. Open-ended interviews with informants who were born before 1991 yielded 141 plants belonging to 41 families. Of these, 133 were reported to have uses. Only 28 plants were noted for multiple applications while 105 were reported for singular applications. The majority of reported use was for medicine at 76. This is followed by plants for food and cash crops at 40, plants involved in material culture and industry at 28, and 19 plants with distinct special applications. Notably, Musa x paradisiaca was the most frequently mentioned plant followed by dietary cash crops and the much-used bamboo. There was a considerable degree of reservation for sharing information among the elder Aeta, which they draw from previous experiences they consider as exploitation. Nonetheless, they still demonstrated remarkable understanding of nature, natural resources and the interrelationships between living organisms and with their environment. For the Aeta of today, nature is still largely their lives rather than just a part of it. They have managed to adapt to the transformed conditions and thrived amidst growing receptiveness to change. However, the effects of external influences are becoming more prominent as the younger generations of Aeta are drawn to mainstream Filipino culture. The researchers believe that the fate of Aeta ethnobotany is now largely in the hands of its youth and how well they assimilate global trends to their cultural paradigms.
