Caracterización de los conocimientos etnoherpetológicos acerca de las serpientes de la comunidad rural de Humadea, Meta

Abstract

Ethnoherpetology is the study of communities' knowledge and uses of the herpetofauna present in their territory. Snakes in particular are one of the animal groups that, throughout human history, have had a close relationship that, from a general perspective, can be classified as conflictive. The objective of this study is to characterize the ethnoherpetological knowledge about snakes in the rural community of Humadea, Meta, Colombia. Through 32 semi-structured questionnaires, information was recorded on the ethnoherpetological knowledge of the research participants about snakes and their relationship within the conflict-coexistence continuum. The analysis of the results used collective subject discourse, content analysis, and descriptive statistical analysis. It was found that the community has extensive knowledge about snakes in relation to their experiences in the territory, their uses, traditional treatments for snake bites, and the ethno-taxonomic characteristics of 14 ethno-species present in the territory. Finally, it was identified that the relationship between the community and the snakes in the territory moves within the Conflict-Coexistence continuum, with a tendency towards passive tolerance. This type of research allows for the development of future strategies that seek the well-being of both snakes and communities, based on the recognition of Traditional Local Knowledge.