Indigenous knowledge in using plants for alcohol yeast of the Tay ethnic group in Vietnam: A case study at Ham Yen district, Tuyen Quang provinc

Abstract

The traditional knowledge of making leaf yeast to produce alcohol has a history of thousands of years and is the culinary culture of many Vietnamese people. The Tay ethnic group in Ham Yen district, Tuyen Quang province is one of them but has not been studied. This study aim (1) identifies the composition of forest plants to make leaf yeast, (2) the knowledge of K'Ho people to make leaf yeast for alcohol production, and (3) Challenges in preserving alcohol production traditional. The method of ethno-botany studies by Gary J. Martin (2002) was used in this study. A total of 29 species, 25 genera belonging to 18 plant families were used as leaf yeast by the Tay people. Among them, 16 species are the main ingredients to make leaf yeast. Most of them are distributed in the forest, forest edge, and some planted in the garden. There were 4 life-forms including herbaceous (37.93%), vines (34.48%), shrubs (20.69%), timber (6.9%) were recorded. There were 6 parts used were used by Tay people to make leaf yeast, of which leaves is the most (42.11%), the lowest is fruits and roots (2.63%). The method of making leaf yeast, brewing of leaf yeast, and alcohol production were documented in this study. The challenges of preserving indigenous knowledge about the production of leaf yeast for alcohol production by the Tay people also were discussed.