Opinion: The traditional knowledge contained in Irish Traveller stories may help us to reconnect with the natural world
By Anne Marie Kavanagh and Caitriona Ní Cassaithe, DCU
Irish Traveller (Mincéir) stories have much to teach us about the natural or other-than-human world. Many of these stories connect us to our ancestors and a pre-modern time, when humans were intimately connected to nature and knowledge was transmitted by word of mouth. The oral tradition is just one of a range of cultural attributes that make Mincéirs an ethnic group, distinct from the majority settled (non-Mincéir) population.
This rich tradition of storytelling has preserved stories from a time when humans had a strong sense of connection to and understanding of the natural world. As we grapple with a climate crisis that threatens our very existence, these stories and the knowledge they impart offer rich opportunities for us to reflect on and reconsider our relationship with the other-than-human world.
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Mincéirs have been described as "a people apart…living on the fringes of our society". They, along with the Roma Community, are the most discriminated against ethnic group in Ireland, experiencing racism in a range of areas including education, health and employment.
Nomadism, particularly seasonal nomadism, a cultural practice central to Mincéir identity has all but disappeared due to the criminalisation of land trespass. The keeping of horses, a key feature of the economic, social, and cultural lives of Mincéirs, has been made increasingly difficult due to regulation and the zoning of previously marginal land for housing development. This has negatively impacted Mincéir material and psychological well-being, and increased their marginalisation.
This marginalisation is also evident in the exclusion of Mincéir ways of being and knowing from education curricula and public discourse more broadly. This is slowly changing, largely due to the scholarship and political activism of individual Travellers and Traveller organisations: writer Oein DeBhardúin published a collection of Mincéir stories, Why the Moon Travels, in 2021. This is an important addition to the limited written accounts of Mincéir history, culture, and knowledge and the stories that we discuss here are drawn from this volume.
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The interconnectedness of all living things
The Hedgehog and Its Coat explores an initial respectful and reciprocal relationship between the Mincéirs and the natural world. The Mincéirs care for the hedgehog and the hedgehog noticing their hunger brings them food, earning their gratitude. However, as the story unfolds, the hedgehog faces increasing demands from a growing number of people. The nature of the relationship deteriorates to one that is unbalanced and exploitative. By the end, the hedgehog's "sturdy legs" have been reduced to "short stumps."
This story highlights the interconnectedness of all living things and encourages us to think about the kind of relationship humans need to cultivate with the natural world. That is whether we should continue to see the natural world as ours to exploit and commodify or whether we need to reevaluate our priorities and reconsider our cultural obsession with status-laden products and social media post-worthy experiences. This "keeping up with the Joneses" phenomenon largely driven by corporations is destroying our planet.
Medicinal knowledge
Living in close proximity to nature through a nomadic lifestyle has allowed Mincéirs to develop a deep understanding of the plants, herbs and flowers native to Ireland and their medicinal and curative properties. Mincéir expertise in herbal remedies is part of a larger tradition of folk medicine in Ireland where plants such as nettles, dandelions and elderflowers have been used for centuries for their healing properties.
From National Museum, an introduction to the Mincéirí Archives
This knowledge is still used today and includes cures for warts, ringworm, nappy rash, wasp stings, kidney infections, thrush, diarrhoea and general skin, ear and eye infections. The knowledge of these cures, built up over generations through trial-and-error, underscores Mincéirs' deep understanding of these sustainable resources, and their continued use preserves a broader tradition of herbal medicine that was once deeply embedded in Irish culture.
In Why the Moon Travels, this medical knowledge is attributed to Airmid, a skilled healer and herbalist from Irish mythology. After her brother Miach's death, caused by their father Dian Cecht's jealousy, Airmid discovers his grave, on which grew 365 healing herbs. She carefully studies these plants and arranges them according to their functions, intending to share this knowledge with the world. However, Dian Cecht, overwhelmed by jealousy, scatters the herbs, mixing them up so that their specific uses would become a mystery to mankind.
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Airmid's tale underlines the significance of traditional medical knowledge, encouraging us to appreciate the value of biodiversity and the importance of preserving traditional wisdom that can contribute to more sustainable living practices today. This not only broadens our understanding of sustainability and traditional medicine but can foster a new respect for the rich cultural heritage of the Mincéirs.
Despite the enormous challenges we face, there is still hope for a more balanced relationship between the human and other-than-human world. The traditional knowledge and view of the natural world contained in Mincéir and other indigenous peoples' stories serve to remind us that we are inextricably linked and that we must strive to coexist in equilibrium. We neglect this imperative at our peril.
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Dr Anne Marie Kavanagh is Assistant Professor in Ethical and Intercultural Education in the School of Human Development at the Institute of Education at DCU. Dr Caitriona Ní Cassaithe is an Assistant Professor in History Education in the School of STEM Education, Innovation & Global Studies at the Institute of Education at DCU.
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