The cultural context of biodiversity conservation - Oapen

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The cultural context of biodiversity conservation
in former times there was someone who was exceptionally knowledgeable about medicinal
plants. Nowadays, these plants are still to be found in the nearby forest, but the
knowledge of how to use them had disappeared. In her view, this happened once the
people came to believe the pharmaceuticals to have more prestige and power. In Xucaneb,
a woman who had been working for years as a guardian de salud (health promoter)
replied to my questions on the use of medicinal plants in her community: »La gente no
cree. Cree en la medicina química. Yo conozco 14 plantas. Yo sé, porque yo aprendí de nuevo de mi
abuela, pero la gente no quiere. Usted mentira dice la gente. Algunas ancianas sí quieren. Mis
abuelas usaban [plantas medicinales]. No explicaron a sus hijos. Se perdió el conocimiento.« Here
she explained that the people in the village did not believe in the healing effects of
medicinal plants, instead they believed in chemical products. As she had been taught
by her grandmother, she knew about the use of 14 medicinal plants. With the exception
of some elderly women, the people were not interested in their use. Some of
them even said that she was lying. According to her explanation, knowledge is diminishing
as older generations pass away and younger generations set aside their traditional
ways and adapt to new lifestyles: »The young people are no longer interested in or do not
have the opportunity for learning customary knowledge« (field notes, 2001). This is a notion we
became repeatedly confronted with in the course of conversations about the transforming
character of knowledge. 71
However, despite the influx of foreign medicines, it seemed that a new interest in
traditional medicine is currently emerging. 72 A midwife whom I met in Mestelá reported
that she provided women with medicinal plants during pregnancy, post-natal
care and in general cases of illness. She learned these procedures in the local centro de
salud (health post) and was often asked to apply them during her treatments. Another
case of revitalising traditional knowledge came across our way in Roq-há. By chance,
we talked to the owner of the village shop about activities related to the milpa cycle.
He mentioned that he had by chance found a copy of the ancient Mayan calendar in a
library in Cobán, which has widely disappeared from the Q'eqchi' area. As it was written
in Quiché, he wanted to find someone to translate it into Q'eqchi' so that the villagers
could readapt their agricultural activities to the Agenda Maya.
With a view to general patterns of cultural change in Mayan communities, Nigh
(2002) asserts that many of the beliefs and customs that can be seen as functioning to
reinforce rules and values for managing common resources are increasingly questioned
by the younger generation. Commonly, younger men seemed to be less acquainted
with customary practices. In particular, this observation applies to the field
of rituals and perceptions related to the principles of the indigenous cosmovision. As
has been mentioned previously, accumulated experience in this domain is most often
71 This finding is confirmed by an ethnobotanical record provided by Chaves Herrera (2001), who
undertook to explore the use of medicinal plants among several communities in the surroundings of
the Laguna Lachuá Park.
72 For a brief introduction to Mayan ›ethnomedicine‹, see Berlin & Berlin (2000). Consider also the
study Indian Medicine in Highland Guatemala by Orellana (1987).