What is in a Plant Name? A Semantic Analysis of Indigenous Plant Names among the Yao of Southern Tanzania

This study investigates the meanings conveyed by indigenous plant names among the Yao of Masasi, southern Tanzania, whose native language is Chiyao (Bantu, P21). The study specifically explores what plant names communicate beyond functioning as tools for labelling and identifying. The data for the study were collected through semi-structured interviews and jungle-walk-and-identify methods and they were analysed using the framework of onomastics, particularly the area of phytonyms. The sample of the study consisted of nine native speakers of Chiyao from three villages in the Masasi District in Tanzania, namely Chiwata, Kanyimbi and Mkululu. The findings show that indigenous plant names among the Yao have a rich semantic content. As such, they convey various information about the plants they refer to and the relationship between the plants and the environment. The information contained in Chiyao plant names encompasses various themes, including the physical appearance of the plants, their functions, the sounds and smells they emit, the impact they have on human beings, and the characteristics of the environment in which they thrive. Generally, the findings suggest that indigenous plant names serve referential and identification purposes, conveying a wide range of messages based on their characteristics and relationships with nature.