The Ethnoscience of Bajo Seafaring Knowledge and Fishing amid Climate Change
Abstract
The seafaring strategies of the Bajo communities are closely linked to natural conditions. Bajo fishers adjust their strategies based on observed natural phenomena, and their knowledge is reflected in lexicons that document their experiences. A linguistic anthropological approach was employed in this study.
I conducted the ethnography over two years (2022 and 2023) in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia., though the knowledge of the context was somewhat grounded in my previous ethnographies, such as those of other Bajo communities between 2007 and 2021. I then analysed the lexical and discourse sets using an ethnoscience approach, where Bajo fishers continue to rely on nature-related lexicons to determine their seafaring strategies.
This knowledge serves as a crucial guide in decision-making processes of the Bajo communities, who commonly rely on favourable tides, waves, and currents to ensure safe and effective fishing in each of their respective fishing grounds.
Keywords: Discourse; knowledge; Indonesian, linguistic anthropology, experiences, fishing, lexicons, strategies