How long will the ethnoknowledge on the stingless bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponinae) be transmitted to new generations of Guarani M’byá Indians of the Morro da Saudade Village in the city of São Paulo, SP, Brazil?

Abstract

Since 1542, Guarani Indians were ethnographed as experts of insects, including several alimentary behaviors, local medicine, and religious practices. This research deals with ethnobiological knowledge that the Guarani-m’byá have about stingless bees. The area under study was the Guarani da Barragem indigenous reservation in Morro da Saudade Village, located in the periphery of the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It was carried out between 2002 and 2004. Data were recorded by means of observing the community’s behavior and ethnography, followed by free and semi-structured interviews with several individuals, identifying key informers. A pre-established itinerary was used in order to guarantee homogeneity in the approach. Descriptive aspects of stingless bees were identified: distribution, nesting, seasonality, dispersion, habitat, ecology, reproduction, morphology and ethology. Their handling and manipulation practices for extraction of products, as well as their packaging and semidomestication were also recorded. Knowledge was transmitted orally between generations, mainly from father to son, through observation and imitation, trial and error. Indigenous knowledge distinguishes bees from wasps. The first is subdivided into stingless bees with 13 ethnoespecies, and stinging bees with seven ethnoespecies. Wasps are divided into five ethnoespecies. Knowledge on stingless bees is shared among virtually all members of the community, being the specialists those individuals with deeper knowledge on the subject.