Investigating the Plant Folk Taxonomy in the Bena Language of Tanzania

This paper surveys plant identification and categorisation among the Bena. Each society’s cultural uniqueness and peculiarity in categorising the local biodiversity informed the study. The researcher conducted the study in Lupembe Ward, Njombe District Council, where Bena is the predominant language. Five elderly speakers of Bena, knowledgeable about plants, were selected through purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Jungle-walk-and-identify and focus group interviews were the key methods for data collection. Using the Perceptual-Taxonomic Theory as a guide, I analysed the data thematically. The study found that the Bena cannot identify the unique beginner “plant” (the all-inclusive word for the notion plant). They identify six life forms structurally labelled by primary lexemes, but are broadly polytypic because they incorporate the taxa of lesser rank. These life forms include the words for ‘tree’, ‘grass’, ‘bush/shrub’, ‘climber/creeper’, ‘herb’, and unaffiliated taxa. The paper also reveals that different factors determined plant categorisation and naming in Bena. Among others, they included plants’ products, practical (utility) values, plant morphology, plant habit, character and property, habitat, and animal reference. In conclusion, this study shows that plant categorisation within the Bena society highlights the relationship between plants, language, and cultural identity. This study’s examination of how the Bena name, classify, and use plants emphasises how cultural knowledge is deeply embedded in language and how ecological understanding shapes and is shaped by cultural practices.