Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32804984›Full record

ArticlePloS one2020

Stories told by plants on graveyards in Northern Angola.

Thea Lautenschläger, José Lau Mandombe, Monizi Mawunu, Christoph Neinhuis

Abstract read
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Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Thea LautenschlägerInstitute of Botany, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-4013-9456
José Lau MandombeUniversity of Kimpa Vita, Province of Uíge, Uíge City, Angola.
Monizi MawunuUniversity of Kimpa Vita, Province of Uíge, Uíge City, Angola.
Christoph NeinhuisInstitute of Botany, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWorldwide, different traditions of symbolic statements in graveyards can be found. However, studies on sub-Saharan Africa are rare. For BaKongo cemeteries, it is only known that they traditionally do not exhibit plants for decoration purposes. Our study wanted to inspect the influence of Portuguese culture due to the long shared colonial past.

methodsDuring 2015 and 2019, plant use in 87 graveyards in 13 municipalities of the province Uíge was documented. Five expert interviews with the village eldest in five municipalities completed the data collection.

resultsWhile 24% of the graveyards didn´t have any planting, 27 plant species were found in the remaining ones, including a high percentage of alien species (59%), mainly from the Americas. The most abundant plant species are Euphorbia tirucalli (23%) and Agave sisalana (22%). With increasing distance from the city Uíge (especially towards the Democratic Republic of the Congo), the utilization of living plants in cemeteries is decreasing except along the road. In most of the cases, just one plant species per gravesite was found.

conclusionsThis unexpected high number of plants might be interpreted as a strong evidence of outside influence. Cultural symbols of the BaKongo cosmology and Christianism appear to coexist or coalesce. Furthermore, plants are used as a marker for graveyards. Modern influences like the use of concrete in proximity to urban areas indicate a certain wealth.

Indexed as

CemeteriesEthnobotanyAngolaAsparagaceaeCross-Cultural ComparisonCultural CharacteristicsEuphorbiaceaeFuneral RitesHumansInterviews as TopicIntroduced SpeciesPortugal

Identifiers

PMID32804984
PMCPMC7430708

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