Indigenous Knowledge in Honey Collection among the Aeta in the Province of Quezon

Honey from wild bees is collected by the mountain peoples, particularly the Aeta of Quezon Province, as part of their daily subsistence. Occasionally however, mountain households engage in honey collection for its medicinal value and nutritional supplement. The Aeta have an indigenous knowledge of collecting honey and of staking claim on native beehives that have been handed down from one generation to another. They have to be documented for future generations because local traditions no longer resonate with the young Aeta who evince little interest in learning about the “old ways,” distracted as they are by influences of the lowlands and of the “unat” (lowlanders). Ensuring that bees continue to survive as an important component of the subsistence of the Aeta is very important. The interdependence not only between the Aeta and his environment but of the unique link between the entire humankind and these winged insects cannot be underestimated. This research wants to testify to and document for future generations this segment of human history involving domestication between humans and a social insect. The Aeta of Quezon Province is located in the foothills of Mt. Banahaw, particularly inTayabas, Quezon, in Mount Bacong in Alabat, Quezon, and in Barangay Pisipis in Lopez, Quezon (Aldovino, de Castro, & Villenas, 2010). The purpose of this research is (1) to identify the native bees used by the Aeta for food, trade and medicine; (2) to examine the practices involving collecting and harvesting of native bees; and (3) to discern the perception of the natives in developing a sustainable apiculture program for them. The research is descriptive in approach and used qualitative methods in gathering data. It primarily used interviews and group discussions among the natives to get the needed information to satisfy the objectives of the study. Field visits were done in different schedules in each location for data collection. Forage expeditions were also done to have first-hand observation of honey hunting practices. The practices were captured in video and photos to retain objectivity and details. Ethnography is used to describe the traditional knowledge concerning the honey hunting and collection, and the methods of processing, packaging and selling honey among the natives of the two communities. Study shows that both groups of indigenous people of the two communities in Alabat-Lopez and in Tayabas recognize and use three species of native honey bees for subsistence. However, they have no basic bee biology understanding and they are also not familiar to the foraging behavior of bees. Honey is seen by the Aeta as the most productive by-product of the bees. Hunting for honey is not a special activity for both groups. They engage in such activity whenever they are foraging the forest for other purposes. Honey hunting and collection practices among the Aeta are rudimentary. They use very simple and limited technology in gathering honey combs and extracting honey from the combs. They also have very simple or even no protective and safety gears in gathering honeycombs and honey. Both groups have no knowledge or experience in beekeeping but both responded positively to learning technologies relating to apiculture. They both see beekeeping as a great economic opportunity based on its potentials.