Fallen Fighters, Finding Folklore, and Phallic Fungi
Try to say that five times fast
Phallus indusiatus, a common stinkhorn in Indonesia
Photo taken by Vinayaraj
Stinkhorns undeniably bear a striking resemblance to penises, a widely acknowledged observation that transcends cultural boundaries. However, for the Dayak people of Indonesia, this perception holds a particularly significant cultural resonance. BUT, before delving into this intriguing cultural connection, I would like to share the journey I embarked upon in pursuit of a primary source—an odyssey that proved to be an invaluable learning experience and a mere glimpse into the complexities of information retrieval.
The Journey
The journey unfolds with one of my favorite papers, "The Folklore of ‘Gasteromycetes’," authored by Brian Spooner and Thomas Læssøe (Spooner & Læssøe, 1994). This captivating compilation shares small stories from across the globe, delving into the fascinating realm of gasteromycetes—a classification for fungi that produce spores within their fruiting bodies rather than externally. Among the enchanting members of this group are the puffball, bird nest fungi, earth star, and of course, the lovable stinkhorn. Despite my admiration for this article, it primarily offers a collection of stories rather than firsthand accounts. So before I use any information from it, I want to track down the story’s primary source to ensure information was not lost through a long academic game of Telephone. Though, as this was one of my first tests at tracking down an ethnographic primary source, I didn’t realize it would send me on a trip around the world.
Vagn J. Brøndegaard
My first stop on this global research adventure led me to Stockholm, where the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry had compiled a book about the incredible ethnobotanist Vagn J. Brøndegaard (Tunon & Brøndegaard, 2015). Although, he never went to university, Vagn was a danish naturalist, dedicating his life to understanding the cultural uses of various plants. After passing away in 2014, his work was compiled into a 2 volume series named the fol “Etnobotanik. Planter i skik og brug, i historien og folkmedicinen. Vagn J Brøndegaards biografi, bibliografi og artikler i udvalg på dansk” (Ethnobotany. Plants in customs, history and folk medicine. Vagn J Brøndegaard’s biography, bibliography and selected articles in Danish). In this book, there was a chapter titled "Stinksvampen ikke For sarte næser og øjne" ("The Stink Mushroom Not for Sensitive Noses and Eyes"), which provided a wealth of information. However, since the book was in Danish, I faced the challenge of translating it without the financial means to hire a translator (knowing Swedish would have been helpful too). Using the power of technology, I employed an online OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software to extract the text¹, which I then fed into Google Translate, yielding a reasonably coherent translation. Like the first article, this piece offered incredible information and folklore about the stinkhorn; however, also like the original article, it was only a compilation of stories gathered from various sources. Undeterred, I found the story I was chasing and its associated citation.
Next, my journey led me to the 22nd volume of a Dutch naturalist series titled "De Tropische Natuur" ("The Tropical Nature"). Starting in 1912, this series aimed to showcase the beauty of nature in lands beyond Europe, focusing on animals and plants. Despite consistent searches, I struggled to locate the 22nd volume. Hopes were momentarily raised by a promising find on HathiTrust, a website seemingly housing every volume ever published. Unfortunately, it only featured volumes up to 20. Although my hopes were dashed for finding the complete text, I was able to run a limited search on volume 22 and confirm that the information I was looking for was in the book and that it matched with the page number from the previous citation.
About ready to give up after nearly another hour of searching, I finally discovered my next and what would be my last lead through the National Library of Australia. Through the library, I was able to submit a request for a scan of the relevant pages in “De Tropische Natuur”, provided I gave as much info as possible such as the article name, writer, specific page number, estimated article length in pages, and volume. Hopefully, the request would return positive within the next week; otherwise, I would have wasted $20 dollars on another dead end.
Rafflesia arnoldii
Photo taken by LukeTriton
Five anxious days later, I received a response while out running errands! Using OCR software and Google Translate sitting in the Home Depot parking lot, I found a general comment hidden at the end of an article discussing interviews with the Dayak people about the carrion-smelling parasitic plant Rafflesia arnoldii², also known as the corpse flower (Ruiter, 1933). Finally, after traveling to Sweden, the Netherlands, Australia, and finally Indonesia, I had it, the original ethnographic study containing the information I needed.
Originally I was only able to find a scan of the chapter, but later found the entire 2 series online!
This is the same plant that inspired the Pokémon Vileplume
The Hero’s Horn
Bagak Sahwa subdistrict in Borneo, indonesia
Original image from Encyclopedia Britannica
In the 1933 edition of the Dutch naturalist series “De Tropische Natuur,” L. Coomans de Ruiter explores the intriguing relationship between the Dayak people of Borneo, Indonesia, and the corpse flower (Rafflesia arnoldii). In the subdistrict of Bagak Sahwa, nestled on the southeast side of the island, locals referred to the flower as "boetoe pai-a-i," a name frequently followed by chuckling from bystanders. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that this was not actually a name for the corpse flower but rather the local designation for the remarkable Phallus stinkhorn. Even more fascinating was the belief among the Dayak people that it symbolized the genitalia of fallen warriors emerging from the earth. This cultural insight shed light on the reverence and fear associated with the mushroom, resulting in the reluctance of locals to guide L. Coomans de Ruiter to the fungi, especially after nightfall. (Ruiter, 1933)
References
Ruiter, L. C. (1933). De Tropische Natuur — Dutch.pdf. De Tropische Natuur, 22. National Library of Australia. [Request Link]
Volumes 1 - 20 (not 22 ☹)
Spooner, B & Læssøe, T (1994). The folklore of ‘gasteromycetes’. Mycologist, 8(3), 119-123. [link]
Tunon, H., & J. Brøndegaard, V. (2015). Etnobotanik. Planter i skik og brug, i historien og folkmedicinen. Vagn J Brøndegaards biografi, bibliografi og artikler i udvalg på dansk. Volym 2 (Vol. 2). Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry. [Link]
Volume 1 - Just in case you want it
