Edible Fungi Consumed by the Lamba and Bemba People of Haut-Katanga (DR Congo)

The objective of this work is to establish a list of species of edible fungi consumed by the Lamba and Bemba people of Haut-Katanga (DR Congo).
This study contributes to the valorization of edible fungi gathered in the
miombo woodlands of Haut-Katanga. A survey was conducted among
Lamba and Bemba people of the peri-urban area of Lubumbashi. The first
author conducted structured and semi-structured surveys among 331
people, mostly women aged 30-50.
The results show the existence of thirty-eight edible species belonging to 9
genera and 8 families. The majority is ectomycorrhizal (66%) followed by
Termitomyces (21%), while only a few are saprotrophic (13%). Lamba and
Bemba people consume all taxa. Twenty-three local names have been
recorded in their respective languages, i.e., Kilamba and Kibemba, two
closely related Bantu languages belonging to the family’s Eastern clade. The
Lamba and Bemba do not consume species of the genera Russula
(Russulaceae) and Boletus (Boletaceae). We succeeded in reconstructing the
conceptualization underlying the creation of several Kibemba and Kilamba
mushroom names. Popular and scientific taxonomies rarely overlap: one and
the same species may have different names in Kilamba and Kibemba, while
one and the same name in Kilamba and/or Kibemba is often used for several
congeneric species. Species considered toxic and not consumed do not have
a Kilamba or Kibemba name of their own. Instead, they are collectively
referred to by a term fyana fya bene, literally meaning “big (dangerous)
children of them” and signalling that local consumers reject those species

Publication year:2021

Accessibility:Open