Etnobotânica e extrativismo do miriti (Mauritia fJexuosa L. f.) utilizado no artesanato popular em comunidades ribeirinhas do estuário amazônico.

Abstract

The Mauritia flexuosa L. f. palm is highly utilized among riverine communities of the Amazon, from its high dietary consumption to the making of handicraft. In this regard this study aimed to examine this palnfs economic and cultural importance in the county of Abaetetuba, Pará state, Brazil, as well as surveying the harvesting of palm fironds in local crafts. The five communities studied in this country were selected in a local participatory mapping workshop conducted by the Miriti Project and executed by CIFOR. Informants were chosen through snowball sampling in local hamlets. Data collection was conducted by semi-structured interviews, free listing, elicitation techniques and participant observation. Data analysis was performed by using value Índices based on informant diversity (IDs) and the Sorensen index to analyze similarities in use among communities. A total of 26 utensils were crafted from palm fronds of which 15 were cited as being popular artisanal products, among these paneiro, rasa, tipiti, abano, matapi, and peneira, culturally, the most salient The IDs between informants in the four communities for the quantity of important products showed a high uniformity. The largest Índices of similarity between communities were encountered in Sirituba and Acaraqui and the least degree was encountered between Arapapuzinho and Acaraqui. Paneiros and toys were considered the most economically important crafted products. Fronds were extracted from juvenile palms ranging from 3 to 8 meters. In weaving basketry the frond part most commonly used was the petiole, locally known as braça. Various management strategies are employed by the people harvesting these fronds. The network for commercializing fronds is relatively simple engaging different classes of social actors. When harvesting is primarily conducted for subsistence purposes the impact on Mauritia is small. Conversely, when harvesting is linked to a marketing chain it is intensified, compromising its ecological sustainability.