How Plants Can Help Us Remember Who We Are | Jonn Gale | TEDxLagosSalon

Key Concepts

• Generational Metaphors: Rope vs. Layers
• Traditional Plant Knowledge: Embodied, kinship-based, oral histories, lived practices.
• Conventional Plant Knowledge (Botany): Written records, material archives, detached, abstract mapping.
• Herbarium: A metaphor for the morgue of traditional plant knowledge.
• Living Botanical Archive: Dynamic, intergenerational, intercultural exchange, adaptation, representation.
• Ecotone: A metaphor for a transitional space of adaptability, collaboration, and resilience.
• Spiral Boundary: Symbol of interconnectedness and continuous flow.
• Holistic and Connected Relating to Plants: Moving beyond binary thinking.

Reimagining Generational Connections: The Rope Metaphor

The video begins by challenging the conventional view of tradition as solely belonging to the past. Anthropologist Tim Ingold, in a 2023 lecture, proposes a new metaphor for understanding generational connections: instead of viewing generations as stacked layers (like geological sediments or archaeological deposits), he suggests imagining them as the intertwining strands of a rope. This "rope" metaphor emphasizes an unbroken link where new strands are continuously fed in as old ones give out, allowing the rope to wind indefinitely. This signifies how knowledge and traditions are passed down, sustaining life through a continuous connection.

The Ice Cream Queue Metaphor

Ingold further illustrates this concept with another metaphor: queuing for ice cream. In this scenario, ancestors are positioned ahead in the queue, representing where we are heading, while descendants are behind, following the footsteps left by those ahead. This perspective, described as "mind-blowing," reframes our understanding of ancestry and lineage.

Traditional vs. Conventional Plant Knowledge

The transcript then delves into two distinct systems of plant knowledge:

Traditional Plant Knowledge

• Definition: Ancestral knowledge passed down through generations, shaped by direct interaction with ecosystems.
• Roots: Deeply embedded in kinship and belief systems.
• Transmission: Primarily through embodied or lived practices, including oral histories, religion, apprenticeship schemes, and hands-on learning.
• Vulnerability: The focus on embodied knowledge, rather than written records, makes it susceptible to disappearance and exportation.

Conventional Plant Knowledge (Botany)

• Definition: The scientific study of plants, relying heavily on written records and material archives.
• Origins: Systematized collections of preserved plant specimens and catalog data, originating in the Renaissance.
• Purpose: Constructs an abstract mapping of the plant kingdom, aiding in understanding plant evolution, relationships, chemistry, and the history of botany.
• Critique:
  • Reveals a detached and distant view of nature and learning.
  • History of marginalizing other forms of knowledge, especially embodied knowledge.
  • Contributed to the exploitation of indigenous peoples, leading to issues of biopiracy, intellectual property disputes, and overextraction.
  • Shifted reliance from kinship structures to commercial ones, impacting ecosystems and livelihoods.

The Herbarium: A Morgue for Traditional Knowledge

The herbarium is presented as a stark example of the limitations of conventional archives. Flowers are pressed, mounted, and stored in cabinets, preserving their physical form but losing almost all original context and histories. These archives are seen as reminders of lost histories because they fail to acknowledge the knowledge and expertise contributed by indigenous actors.

A Paradigm Shift in Archival Practices

A paradigm shift is occurring in the archival world, driven by interdisciplinary research. Hidden voices and actors within archives are emerging, challenging the established histories of botany and prompting reflection on the purpose and methods of knowledge preservation. The speaker advocates for viewing archives not as static collections but as "living, dynamic spaces" for intergenerational and intercultural exchange, where traditional knowledge can be adapted and diverse forms of knowledge are represented horizontally, accessibly, and fairly.

The Living Botanical Archive in Rural Oregon

The speaker is actively creating a "living botanical archive" in rural Oregon. This archive is being assembled through conversations with diverse community members (school children, herbalists, artists, chefs) and by recording their stories and memories about medicinal plants. These narratives are then linked to a physical space: a garden.

The Garden as a Transitional Space

This garden is designed as a transitional space, situated between an artist residency house and a commercial vegetable farm, and connected by a road linking nearby villages.

Inspiration from Ecotones

The garden's design is inspired by the concept of an ecotone, a zone between two distinct ecosystems. Ecotones, though not always clearly defined, are observable phenomena (e.g., savannas, mangroves, estuaries). They are characterized by increased species adaptability, collaboration, and resilience, making them a fitting metaphor for the dynamic and interconnected archive being created.

Features of the Living Archive

• Growth and Expansion: The archive is intended to grow and expand relationally through conversations, workshops, and cultivation sessions, rather than being frozen in time.
• Plant Labels: Will include both Indigenous (Yoruba) and scientific names, along with QR codes linking to a digital catalog.
• Digital Catalog: Will contain data typically absent from botanical collections, such as personal familial stories and sensorial experiences, to represent embodied knowledge.
• Spiral Boundary: A symbol of interconnectedness, continuous flow of life cycles, growth, and transformations. This boundary is not permanent and can dissolve as the garden expands.

Moving Beyond Binary Thinking

The transcript argues that while both traditional and conventional knowledge systems are vital, traditional knowledge places greater emphasis on sustainability and kinship. The current disconnect between these systems reveals a power imbalance, where conventional science remains the authoritative source despite the ecological consequences of losing traditional knowledge (climate change, biodiversity loss).

The living archive aims to address these issues by moving beyond binary thinking and fostering a more holistic and connected relationship with plants and our role as caretakers of plant communities, which is deemed vital for shared survival and the future.