ETUDES ET DOSSIERS
THE CONTENT OF CATEGORIES AND EXPERIENCE; THE CASE FOR SOME NUAULU REPTILES
By Roy F. ELLEN *, Andrew F. STIMSON **, James MENZIES ***
This is the second paper in a series of systematic descriptive accounts of Nuaulu ethnozoology. In the first (Ellen, Stimson and Menzies 1976) we presented data on Nuaulu categories for amphibians, as well as providing information on location, ecology and ethnography, and on basic techniques employed in field investigations. The present report encompasses the identification, utilization and general knowledge of reptiles (excluding snakes) of the Nuaulu people of south central Seram, eastern Indonesia (1). We note the main details of the non-serpentine reptile fauna of the region and discuss Nuaulu categories applied to turtles, crocodiles and lizards, their classificatory arrangement and social uses. Throughout, particular emphasis has been placed on cognitive and lexical variation between informants, something neglected in earlier studies. This is dealt with in some detail.
* University of Kent at Canterbury (Grande-Bretagne).
** British Museum (Natural History), London (Grande-Bretagne)
*** University of Papua New Guinea, Port Moresby (Nouvelle-Guinée).
(1) Fieldwork was undertaken by Ellen from 1969 to 1971 and in 1973 and 1975, supported by research grants from the British Social Science Research Council, the Central Research Fund of the University of London, the London-Cornell Scheme for East and Southeast Asia and the Hayter Travel Awards Fund. This paper is a direct outcome of an S.S.R.C. award for research on 'Nuaulu ethnobiology and ecology' covering the period 1975-77, conducted under the auspices of Lembaga Ilmu Penge- tahuan Indonesia (the Indonesian Institute of Sciences) and the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense. We would like to thank Ralph Bulmer for general comments and advice and Brian Durrans, of the Museum of Mankind in London, for some specific assistance. Among those Nuaulu who should be particularly singled out for their helpful interest are Naupati and Sanyau Matoke, Saite and Komisi Somori, Hotena Naipane and Unsa Sonawe ; all of Ruhuwa village.
JOURNAL D'AGRIC. TRADITIONNELLE ET DE BOTANIQUE APPLIQUÉE, T. XXIV, N° 1, JANVIER-MARS 1977
