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Hmong Medicinal Plant Knowledge Transmission and Retention in Social Modernity

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Abstract

We studied Hmong medicinal plant knowledge in Thailand, focusing on knowledge transmission and retention. Sixteen herbalist specialists and 210 non-herbalist-specialist informants were interviewed. Hmong medicinal plant knowledge is increasingly being threatened. The non-specialist informants used only a fraction of the medicinal plants that they knew were useful. Many species had not been used for a long time and some had disappeared from the study areas. This is particularly true for younger generations who had higher levels of formal education, literacy skill, and who used more internet and social media. The useful passing of traditional knowledge from the older generations to the next may soon be lost. We suggest that the cross-generational learning of traditional knowledge should be integrated into educational strategies to reduce the risk of knowledge erosion and improve knowledge retention.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the key informants in Hmong villages in northern Thailand who always cheerfully and kindly shared their knowledge and the villagers who supported us in the field surveys. This research was partially supported by Chiang Mai University.

Funding

This research was funded by Science Achievement Scholarship of Thailand.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand

    Varangrat Nguanchoo, Prasit Wangpakapattanawong & Angkhana Inta

  2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Phetchaburi Rajabhat University, Phetchaburi, 76000, Thailand

    Varangrat Nguanchoo

  3. Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, 8000, Aarhus, Denmark

    Henrik Balslev

  4. Research Center in Bioresources for Agriculture, Industry and Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50200, Thailand

    Angkhana Inta

Authors
  1. Varangrat Nguanchoo
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  2. Prasit Wangpakapattanawong
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  4. Angkhana Inta
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Contributions

Conceptualization: Varangrat Nguanchoo; Methodology: Varangrat Nguanchoo; Formal analysis and investigation: Varangrat Nguanchoo; Writing—original draft preparation: Varangrat Nguanchoo; Writing—review and editing: Henrik Balslev; Validation: Henrik Balslev, Angkhana Inta, Prasit Wangpakapattanawong; Supervision: Henrik Balslev, Angkhana Inta, Prasit Wangpakapattanawong.

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Correspondence to Angkhana Inta.

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Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from members of Thai Hmong communities. The research protocol was approved by Chiang Mai University Research Ethics Committee with the certificate of approval number COA No. 020/61.

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Nguanchoo, V., Wangpakapattanawong, P., Balslev, H. et al. Hmong Medicinal Plant Knowledge Transmission and Retention in Social Modernity. Hum Ecol 50, 419–433 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-022-00326-4

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