Indigenous knowledge and non-food uses of stingless bees honey: a comparative Study in Kenya

Abstract

Stingless bee (tribe Meliponini) are highly eusocial wild bee species found nowhere outside tropical and subtropical regions. Much like Apis mellifera, the Western honey bee, they produce honey whose properties are well known by local communities. Research on stingless bees has so far been mainly concentrated in South America. There is a general lack of documentation on the properties of African stingless bees honeys and on the indigenous knowledge on their uses in Africa. To contribute to filling in this knowledge gap, we conducted 68 semi-structured interviews, with the help of a questionnaire, in two Counties of Kenya: Taita Taveta and Kakamega. Our results indicate that interviewees keep stingless bees for food, medicine and income provision. The meanings of the local names given to the species provide information regarding the uses, the nesting habitats/substrates, as well as morphological traits of the bees. Hunting wild colonies is still commonly practiced despite the development of colony division as a means to avoid the recurrent exploitation of wild nests. This is the result of strong cultural habits, i.e. a path dependency. We also report that stingless bee honeys play a major role in people’s nutrition, health, and in local traditions in both study locations, although they appeared to have much stronger cultural importance in Kakamega. The general observation in Taita is that interviewees do not distinguish between the uses (18 identified) of honeys of different species (Hypotrigona sp. and Liotrigona sp., both called “mbuche” in the local language). By contrast, the Kakamega interviewees recognized different species (7 identified in the area), have more specific uses (26 identified) and distinguish the properties of the honeys of each species. In both locations, the main non-food uses are: as a preventive medicine, as a decongestant, to heal the skin, to treat colds/cough. In Taita, honeys are also commonly brewed to produce a local beverage. In Kakamega, deeper cultural roots revealed that the honeys are used in more specific ways: as an aphrodisiac (M. ferruginea), to treat all kind of stomach aches: deworming, period pain, diarrhoea (M. togoensis), and in circumcision ceremonies (M.lendliana). This also applies to the largest species, M. bocandei, whose honey is often a major source of the non-food uses described above. Our study documents for the first time the non-food uses of Afrotropical stingless bee honeys in different contexts, not only in terms of environmental conditions, but also in heritage of traditions. Meliponiculture has great potential to contribute to Kenya’s rural development, as well as food security, while conserving biodiversity. It is essential to protect and document indigenous knowledge regarding traditional uses of stingless bees honey.