A question conservationists always ask is
“why do you hunt” and normally follow up that injury with the insult “if you
wanted meat why not buy chicken!”
If only life was as black and white as that
we may have known the answer to have given them long ago.
Truth be told, hunting in Trinidad and
Tobago would vary from hunting in any other country and the factors that
motivate us would surely differ from what motivates them. For us, the impulse that
causes us to feel no hesitation in identifying as a hunter has its roots buried
deep in the history of this land.
About a decade ago a paper was published in
a Dutch university describing the complexities and understanding of bush
medicines in Trinidad and Tobago; its practice, its history, its effectiveness
and a complete scientific breakdown of the phyto chemicals found in each plant
used in this field which in almost all cases connected the plant to the remedy
that was sought.
Another thesis that was produced alongside
this was one detailing the plants used by hunters as concoctions for dogs or
for human use.
The authors of that document did extensive
research on the topic citing almost one hundred and forty other books, articles
and journals written in years past that showed positive confirmation of these
practices and its history not only in Trinidad and Tobago but in the wider
Caribbean and Amazonian region.
What was consistent throughout the thesis
was a link between our current practice of herbal and other bush medicinal
techniques and that of the tribal practices of existing and departed native
peoples of the region and wider hemisphere. What was concluded from their
observations is that much of our hunting rituals that incorporate bush medicine
was indeed handed down to us from our ancestral interactions with Amerindian
peoples.
In a world of corruption, capitalism,
consumerism and Bambi Brigadism, one has to ask “how have we managed to retain
such correct and relevant knowledge of herbal or bush medicines in spite of the
raging modernisation around us and the centuries gone since our ancestors would
have been actively interacting with the native peoples of this land?”
The answer to that is simple – that deep
bond to the land. It is therefore understandable that that bond would also run
deep in the veins of the Hunters – those who are the ones that have carried and
transmitted the oral knowledge from generation to generation maintaining the
connection between the Bush and ourselves!
The dilemma we face though is that the
conservationist HAVE NO CARE WHATSOEVER for our point of views, our life
styles, our contributions and our connections to the land. They, form groups
like El Sucko (El Soccoro) Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre and Papa Bois
Conservation and relentlessly troll and attack us, playing on the soft emotions
of this TV generation well-groomed by Disneyland to weep for the plight of
Bambi!
They have shown in the past that they would
rather tear hunting from the fabric of our society than to feel empathy to the
thousands of seniors whose only recreation is hunting and being in the bush.
They have shown their readiness to demolish the centuries of traditions built
by hunters and their families and the communities formed from such in order to
satiate their egos. It is a far gone understanding that the topics mentioned earlier
are of little or no concern to them.
But there is hope for us hunters!
We have always acknowledged conservation
and regulations as necessary for our traditions to continue. That is non
disputable. We also acknowledge that there are ignoramuses among us.
However, as human diseases and medical
complications begin to spawn rapidly as world population expands exponentially,
the need for new, cheap, effective and available medication is also increasing.
Research on traditional herbal medicines and its usage and applications have
begun to rise. As science once again turns its eyes to herbal cures, we the men
of the bush would be that link needed to such pathways: as the Amerindians
handed it down to our ancestors, we must now pass it along to the future. We
cannot simply be cut off from the land.
It is therefore incumbent upon us to step
up to the table. Maybe it is time we put our factions aside and in unison fight
the bombardment of the bambi brigade, protect our traditions and heritage, save
or forests, swamps, savannas, marshes and bush lands and protect our interests.
Let us the hunters unite and show our strength and improve ourselves and our
country. Let the next generation not ask “why do you hunt?” but rather lets
elevate our status that they would turn to us and say “THANK YOU FOR BEING A
HUNTER!”
Article by: Abby Karim
For: Caiere Chase
