Eco-Material Culture Study of Fish Traps in the Mekong Basin of Lao PDR＜Special Theme : Material Cultural Studies on Boats and Fishing Tools Based on the Museum Collections and Fieldwork＞

In Lao PDR, fishing is conducted by farmers in paddy fields and in rivers to obtain the necessary animal (mainly fish) protein to support everyday life. Fish traps are the most common fishing gear used among the farmers. The kind of fish trap that is used depends on the type of fish and the ecological environment. This study was undertaken to investigate the characteristics of fish traps found in the Mekong Basin in southern Laos and to describe the investigation of the related fish trap collections of the National Museum of Ethnology, Japan (Minpaku) from a viewpoint of eco-material culture. The research is based on ecological anthropological methods used in southern Laos, where a total of 12 fish traps were accounted for as of 2008–2009. These 12 fish traps are classifiable into two types based on their structure and function: open-weave upright basket traps and horizontal cylinder traps made of bamboo. As of 2020, there were no fewer than 24 fish traps in the Laos fish traps collections of the Minpaku. These fish traps were produced during the 1980s to the 1990s, mostly in southern Laos. Half of them were made of rattan. Comparative analysis of both samples revealed several similarities beyond time and space in terms of (1) the ecological environment, (2) seasonality, (3) materiality, (4) ecological knowledge, and (5) peasant fishing. Along with such results, this paper presents a discussion of the characteristics of the fish traps used by the Laotian farmers and how the fish traps are adaptive to their given ecological environment