Through the Lens: Ethnobotanical Insights on the Spread and Cultivation of Small Lentils (Lens Culinaris medik. Microsperma) From the Small Circum-Sicilian Islands

The paper represents a contribution to the understanding of crop displacement and biocultural identity during the processes of island colonization and the movement of people from one island to another. We present here the results of the interviews made during the investigations conducted between 2019 and 2020 on some of the small volcanic islands (each less than 70 km2) around Sicily. These islands are characterized by the cultivation of small landraces of lentils (Lens culinaris medik. microsperma). The interviews were focused on the potential connections between the islands, due to frequent phenomena of human displacement from one island to another, particularly during the 18th and 19th centuries CE. To gather Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) on these contexts, we conducted 32 individual and paired interviews with male and female farmers of different ages from five islands (Lipari, Salina, Ustica, Pantelleria, and Linosa). The general aim was to understand if and how crops maintain their original processing sequence and vocabulary as an identity marker of the islanders when moving. The specific goals were to understand the knowledge regarding the original provenance of landraces and to collect information about all phases of the farming process, starting with the conservation and exchange of seeds, and continuing through planting, farmland care, potential diseases, favorable conditions, harvesting, myths, and farmers’ identity. We then compared similarities and differences both within the same island and between islands to examine how practices and language around lentil cultivation have remained consistent or changed over time. We believe this research represents a unique documentation of lentil cultivation practices—considered “the most difficult to cultivate”—during an era of climatic and deep cultural change, at a time when some of the interviewed farmers have already passed away, and only a few young farmers continue their lòegacy.