Amphibians occupy a complex place in cultures around the world. Throughout history, these vibrant, shape-shifting creatures of land and water have been met with both wonder and hostility.
In the final part of this series Amphibians and Culture, Senior Programme Officer Pria Ghosh discusses how strong feelings about amphibians—both positive and negative—shape amphibian conservation in South Africa and India. In these two countries, both scarred by European colonialism, our partners work to dispel myths, but also to protect and revive more positive cultural narratives about amphibians.
An increasingly divided view of amphibians is developing throughout the world. As we discussed in our previous blog, while many Indigenous Peoples of South and Central America revere amphibians, urban populations increasingly view them with fear and suspicion.
South Africa: how Indigenous cultures and colonialism shape feelings about frogs
A similar dynamic is also playing out in other regions, including South Africa. Here, Dr Fortunate Phaka, an ‘ethnoherpetologist’—someone who studies the relationship between amphibian biology and culture—records (and works to revive) Indigenous names and stories about native amphibians and reptiles. Through his research, he hopes to show that traditional cultural practices can benefit species conservation.
Fortunate has observed an almost universal perception in South Africa that frogs are poisonous – and also that touching one will give you warts. As a result, frogs are persecuted and often killed on sight.