orchids and orchidology in central america. 500 ... - lankesteriana.org

Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco (Gómez-Pompa, 1993: 29)
and dedicated the rest of his life to the observation
and study of the customs, language and history of its
ancient people. Since 1540 he dedicated himself with
intelligence, method and perseverance to the great work
of his life: the study of the things of Mexico before the
arrival of Cortés. Between 1547 and 1577 he wrote the
History of the things of New Spain (Sahagún, 1988).
“With the permanent help of old men, of his trilingual
students (Nahuatl, Spanish and Latin) and of scribes, he
compiled and described everything about the life of the
ancient Mexicans.... ” (Ballán, 1991: 260). “Schemes of
friars of his same order moved King Philip II to collect
all versions and copies of Sahagún’s work, fearing that
the Indians would remain attached to their beliefs if
they were preserved in their native tongue. Following
this order, Sahagún handed over to his superior, friar
Rodrigo de Sequera, a copy in Spanish and Mexican.
This version was taken by father Sequera to Europe in
1580 and is today known as the Manuscript or Copy of
Sequera, identified as the Florentine Codex” (Tudela,
1952: 1092). It is beautifully illustrated and owes its
name to the Medicea Laurenziana Library of Florence,
where it is conserved (Fig. 5A). The work of Sahagún
has an extraordinary value because it describes the
customs and uses of the Aztecs based on witnesses who
had lived in the century before the Spanish conquest.
It is in volume XI (Animals, plants and minerals of the
Indian geography), where we find most information
about the knowledge and use of orchids by the ancient
Aztecs (Dibble & Anderson, 1963). All authors who
have subsequently studied this period have used
Sahagún as a primary source of reference.
Orchids in the cultures of Mayans and Aztecs. Called
by the Mayans sisbic and by the Aztecs tlilxóchitl
or mecaxóchitl, interest in vanilla (Vanilla planifolia
Andrews) began in the indigenous prehispanic world
and continues to our days. Therefore, we will only
mention vanilla here as a fundamental species in the
prehispanic orchidology of Central America. We will
refer to it later in a more extensive form (see next
chapter, “The history of Vanilla”) (Fig. 5B).
Besides vanilla, the inhabitants of prehispanic
Central America used other orchids as medicinal
plants. Catasetum maculatum, was used among the
Mayans in Yucatan to heal sores and tumors (Appel
ossenbaCh — Orchids and orchidology in Central America
Kunow, 2003: 115). Balick et al. (2000) mention also
the medicinal use given by the Mayans in Belize to
Lockhartia pittieri Schltr., Oncidium cebolleta and
Sobralia fragans Lindl. (Balick et al., 2000: 163,
170). Among the Aztecs, Arpophyllum spicatum and
Encyclia pastoris, were used against dysentery, as
was years later documented by Francisco Hernández
(Hágsater et al., 2006: 41). The bulbs of Euchile
citrina were applied on infected wounds, and infusions
of Laelia autumnalis were a remedy against cough.
Also important was the use of several species that
contain mucilaginous substances to prepare agglutinating
or adhesive products. “... preferred for its mucilaginous
characteristics is Encyclia pastoris” (García Peña &
Peña, 1981: 62), known in Nahuatl as tzacutli. Sahagún
describes it as follows: “The branches are slender. It
has stems. Its root is sticky; this is named tzacutli. It is
an adhesive. I glue it.” (Fig. 5C). “To prepare it, they
cut the pseudobulbs in slices and dried them in the sun;
then they stored them and, when the time was right,
they soaked them in water to dissolve the mucilage and
give it different uses. This process was in the hands of
apprentices” (García Peña & Peña, 1981: 62). Tzacutli
was used as a glue to prepare feather ornaments for
the robes of the priests and as a mordent for pigments.
Other species of orchids used with the same purpose
were: Bletia campanulata (Fig. 5D):“Its foliage is like
that of the tzacutli. It is tall. [Its blossoms] are chili red,
rose, dark blue. It is tender, very tender...” (Dibble &
Anderson, 1963: 211), B. coccinea La Llave & Lex.,
Cranichis speciosa La Llave & Lex., C. tubularis La
Llave & Lex., Govenia liliacea, G. superba and Laelia
autumnalis. “Laelia autumnalis and Laelia speciosa,
were and are still used in the fabrication of candies during
the festivities of the Day of all Souls; it is probable that
this practice was not customary in prehispanic times
but only after the arrival of the Spaniards” (García
Peña & Peña, 1981: 63). Among the Mayans, the
pseudobulbs of Myrmecophila tibicinis were used as help
during childbirth and employed as trumpets and flutes
(Arditti, 1992: 637). Bateman, in 1838, called this plant
Epidendrum tibicinis, referring to the Latin word tibicen,
or trumpeter (Miller, 1959: 353) (Fig. 6A).
But not everything in life is utilitarian. Richard Evans
Schultes wrote in 1992: “The role that horticulture has
played in the ethnobotanical employment of plants is
not often recognized. It is quite generally presumed that
LANKESTERIANA 9(1—2), August 2009. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2009.
15