The cultural context of biodiversity conservation - Oapen

Local expressions of indigenous knowledge
A constitutive element of the spatial concept is the orientation towards the four cardinal
points defined by the course of the sun, reflecting the aforementioned principle of
holism. Referring to this notion of directionality, Carrasco (1990) mentions the idea of
›axiality‹ that is reflected in the major orientation of ceremonial centres and buildings.
The four-quartered world is animated through the continual process of ›sowing and
dawning‹, that is, planting and harvesting, burial and rebirth, sunset and sunrise. According
to Villa Rojas (1988), the concept of the quartered image of the universe exists
throughout Mesoamerica as a surviving element of the ancient Mayan heritage. He
draws on varied ethnographic studies undertaken among contemporary Mayan groups
and concludes that the peculiar manner of conceiving time and the spatial structure of
the universe »constitutes one of the most elaborate creations of the human mind in its
eternal desire to penetrate the secrets of existence« (1988: 113). 39
A third constituent part of the cosmovision is the concept of equilibrium. This
principle that entails a constant process of preservation and restoration of balance is
present in all spheres of life and equally widespread in indigenous cultures throughout
the world. Among the Q'eqchi', it finds equivalence in the concept of complementarity,
which involves adherence to a matrix of binary structures. Just as the sky and the earth
are paired as the source of life and generators of the seed of creation, man and
woman, day and night, humans and nature, work and leisure form part of this dichotomous
principle, which is also expressed in pairs of metaphorical qualities such as
the aforementioned ascription of classificatory properties such as ›hot‹ and ›cold‹ to
food, health and medicines. 40 These recurrent elements require constant human endeavours
to maintain harmony. A disturbance of the ideal harmony may lead to human
illness or crop failure. The basic ethical criterion is to live integration and harmony
at all levels of reality. This principle of restoring balance within all spheres of
life implies the notion, that »whatever you do to other living beings, or nature, can return
to affect you. Everything is interconnected, and the imbalance of one part puts
the rest in danger« (Montejo 2001: 191). Other authors like Nigh (2002) consider the
principle of »metaphysical balance« a key concept of all Mayan cultures. Similarly,
Fischer (1999) writes:
towards ideologies of development that imagine growth as development and past as discontinuous
with the present. Unlike this rectilinear idea of progress, the sense of time inherent to many indigenous
cultures leads to a perception that limitless growth involves disruption rather than development.
39 According to the ancient belief, the cosmos was conceived as a series of 13 celestial and 9 underworld
layers, each inhabited by gods and supernatural beings and forces. These powers entered the
earthly level through a series of openings and avenues of communication, including the four cosmic
trees at the edges of the world, mountains, caves, the rays of the sun, the motion of the wind, etc.
(Carrasco 1990: 67). It is beyond the scope of the chapter to thoroughly explore the historical antecedents
of the outlined concepts as studied through codices, hieroglyphics, stelae, panels or colonial
texts. For this, see León Portilla (1988), Milbrath (1999), Carrasco (1991), Garza (2005).
40 Wilson (1995) documents the opposed sets of rules and practices in the context of illness and
health among the Q'eqchi'. Conceptions of health, disease and curing among Maya communities are
also discussed by Nigh (2002).
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