Papers by Juan Castillo Cocom
Elementa, 2024
The monoculture of a handful of energy-dense crops that dominates contemporary agriculture has re... more The monoculture of a handful of energy-dense crops that dominates contemporary agriculture has resulted in an erosion of agrobiodiversity, environmental issues, agroecosystem dependency on off-farm inputs, and diets with poor diversity in nutrients and flavors. However, diversified agriculture persists in communities characterized by subsistence farming, many of them Indigenous. Although movements across Latin America aim to rescue agrobiodiversity, they are widely limited to cropping system diversification, including practices such as crop rotations, intercropping, and cover crops. The agrobiodiversity of plants associated with crops, often labeled as weeds, is commonly not considered in this context. Yet edible weeds are the essential components of traditional food systems where they increase the functional diversity of agroecosystems and contribute to human nutrition. In Mexico, the term "quelite" describes noncultivated but edible plants growing on a crop field. Across the American continent, there are nutritious quelites that are commonly perceived as "weeds." In this article, we discuss the concept of quelites, their origin in traditional Mexican agriculture, their significance for agroecosystem diversification, and their potential for the future. We demonstrate, with 12 examples, that quelites have always been part of agroecosystems across the Americas. We aim to spread the concept of quelites beyond traditional farming in Mexico to promote the use of these promising plants. We conclude the article with suggestions for strategies to achieve this goal.
Journal of Latin American Anthropology, May 7, 2008
universidad pedagóg ica nacional. unidad mér ida. mér ida, yucatán, méxico A generally accepted a... more universidad pedagóg ica nacional. unidad mér ida. mér ida, yucatán, méxico A generally accepted argument that operates as a self-fulfilling prophecy holds that the people who inhabited the territory, which today we refer to as the Yucatan Peninsula, shared a common "Maya" sense of ethnic identity, both prior to the Spanish Conquest and throughout the colonial period. This myth, discussed by the four authors in this special issue in nuanced and provocative ways, might distress more than one Mayanist whether or not she or he is "Maya."While dealing with this question, other issues and themes are visited, including the topics of Indigenous education and attitudes toward the State. These modest commentaries begin with a rhetorical question: how does one get lost in a territory possessing a map and a tour? On the one hand, according to Liisa Malkki (2001) territories are constructed into quotidian languages and frequently into academic tours that become obvious as they become expressed in scholarly and non-academic languages. She further points out that ".. . their obviousness makes them elusive as objects of study" (Malkki 2001:55). Paradoxically, in my opinion, the irony of the term "obvious" resides in its own obviousness: it is accepted without any discussion precisely because the obviousness is unquestionable. Territories are subtle traps. On the other hand, maps and tours are two forms of narrative that contribute to the theoretical/philosophical recreation of the interrelations and interconnectivity between practice, event, and structure (de Certeau 1984). Maps define space and spatial descriptions as if they were frames of reference of daily life, a critical and an "objective" representation of the known (i.e. places and ethnographies). Tours function as both subjective and intersubjective knowledge based on experience, action and interaction (i.e. temporal utilization of space within a period of time). As Quetzil Castañeda (1996) expresses the idea: tours are based on maps, but maps are built Commentaries 179
Critique of Anthropology, Jun 1, 2005
Ⅲ This essay builds on a critique of anthropological knowledge production of 'the Maya' in order ... more Ⅲ This essay builds on a critique of anthropological knowledge production of 'the Maya' in order to ethnographically analyze the party politics of Maya identity in Yucatán, Mexico. The central question that links these two parts of the article is a questioning of the politics and possibilities of respect of and for indigenous/subaltern peoples such as the Maya who continue to live under (neo-)colonialist conditions that create a wholesale lack of respect for colonized and subaltern peoples. The article is written in a schizophrenic voice of a doubly Maya-Non-Maya, anthropologist-postcolonialist who narrates a divinatory story of ethnographic realities as a post-Maya Chilam Balam (roughly, 'priest'). Exploring the trendiness of and fashion for 'being Maya', this ethnographic foray might seem to be an 'experimental ethnography' or even an 'autoethnography', but is instead just as much a critique of this new academic pretension as it is of the Mexican political system that manipulates 'Maya' identity. Keywords Ⅲ cultural beliefs Ⅲ identity politics Ⅲ Mexico Ⅲ new social movements Ⅲ state politics Elizabeth II's visit. .. propitiated in Uxmal the encounter of two dynasties: the Windsor, which dates back, as the reigning house of England, to the beginning of the 18th century, and the Xiu, whose origins can be found in the night of time. (Menéndez Navarrete, 1975: 2) 1 [During the dinner in Uxmal, Carlos Loret de Mola, former governor of Yucatán recalled that]. .. sitting with us at the main table were the wise [Eric] Thompson; the humble mayor of Santa Elena, the municipality to which Uxmal belongs, and his wife; and Gaspar Antonio Xiu, the last descendant of Tutul Xiu, the builder and King of Uxmal. .. When the host. .. explains in English the presence of Gaspar Antonio Xiu as descendant of the Xiu dynasty, whose genealogical tree is in one of the works of Sylvanus G. Morley. .. the queen asks me, through a translator: 'How interesting. Is this strange and extraordinary Maya dynasty really authentic?' I look at the translator and I say to her, to her amazement:
Sustainable Development and Biodiversity
Chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius ssp. aconitifolius Breckon) is a fast-growing, semi-perennial, a... more Chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius ssp. aconitifolius Breckon) is a fast-growing, semi-perennial, and semi-woody Mesoamerican euphorbiaceous. It is used as a leafy green vegetable and prevailingly cropped in tropical savanna climate. However, cropping of chaya is possible in both dryer and more humid climates. Although the crop has its origin in the Maya region of Southeast Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, chaya is popular throughout Mesoamerica. Due to its high nutritional value, cooked chaya leaves are an essential ingredient of the diet of Maya communities, especially in Southeast Mexico. Chaya is also used as an ornamental plant, for forage, and in traditional Maya medicine, where it is used to cure a wide range of diseases such as diabetes, kidney problems, arteriosclerosis, gallstones, and high cholesterol. Chaya can be called a semi-domesticated plant: Apart from wild chaya, there are four chaya varieties, whose grade of domestication varies from cropped almost wild phenotypes to entirely domesticated: ‘Chayamansa,’ ‘Redonda,’ ‘Estrella,’ and ‘Picuda.’
This essay builds on a critique of anthropological knowledge production of ‘the Maya ’ in order t... more This essay builds on a critique of anthropological knowledge production of ‘the Maya ’ in order to ethnographically analyze the party politics of Maya identity in Yucatán, Mexico. The central question that links these two parts of the article is a questioning of the politics and possibilities of respect of and for indigenous/subaltern peoples such as the Maya who continue to live under (neo-)colonialist conditions that create a wholesale lack of respect for colonized and subaltern peoples. The article is written in a schizophrenic voice of a doubly Maya-Non-Maya, anthropologist-postcolonialist who narrates a divinatory story of ethnographic realities as a post-Maya Chilam Balam (roughly, ‘priest’). Exploring the trendiness of and fashion for ‘being Maya’, this ethno-graphic foray might seem to be an ‘experimental ethnography ’ or even an ‘auto-ethnography’, but is instead just as much a critique of this new academic pretension as it is of the Mexican political system that manipulate...
Journal of Latin American Anthropology, 2021
"The Only True People": Linking Maya Identities Past and Present, 2017
X-Pichil is a representative community of the rural
central region of the Yucatan Peninsula. In c... more X-Pichil is a representative community of the rural
central region of the Yucatan Peninsula. In contrast to other
Mexican regions, farming in central Yucatan Peninsula still has
not completely converted to conventional production. Currently,
the Maya-speaking campesinos (small-scaled farmers in
subsistence production) of this region are being exposed to a
transformation process from traditional to conventional farming.
The consequence is migration and loss of knowledge. Production
in X-Pichil is characterized by traditional subsistence farming.
The aim of this investigation was to diagnose the state of farming,
discovering (1) the main crops and their production cycle and (2)
socio-economic aspects of agriculture with the aim of mapping
out opportunities for agroecology and farming in general. The
general objective of this study was to develop a reference and
point of contact for further research and rural development policy.
Between 2009 and 2011, a case study among all 129 public-landusing-
farmers (ejidatarios) of X-Pichil was done. The study
involved (1) a survey including demographical information, the
biography of the farmers and their families, information
concerning their fields (agrobiodiversity, farming cycle and crop
management), as well as data related to the commercialization of
their products; and (2) Tsikbal (dialogue among interlocutors)
with selected members of the community differing in terms of
gender, age and education. The most relevant data was related to
demographics. The survey showed a notable aging of the active
agricultural population in this community: 94 % of the ejidatarios
is older than 40 years. Only one of every 30 ejidatarios’ children
plants to continue working in the primary sector; consequently
64% of all fields are not being cropped. Interviews showed that
there are three main reasons for this tendency: (1) agriculture is
seen to be too labor-intense; (2) there is a lack of food security
and (3) agriculture suffers from a poor reputation within society.
Ethnohistory, 2007
"Citation Castillo Cocom, Juan A. and Quetzil E. Castañeda, Editors. 2004. Estrategias Ident... more "Citation Castillo Cocom, Juan A. and Quetzil E. Castañeda, Editors. 2004. Estrategias Identitarias: Educación y la antropología historica en Yucatán. Mérida, México: Universidad Pedagógica Nacional-Mérida, The Open School of Ethnography and Anthropology, and the Secretaría de Educación-Yucatán. 296 pages. ISBN 968-5480-38-9 Table of Contents Front Matter A Celebrar Vienticinco Años de la UPN en Merida – Juan R. Manzanilla Dorantes Proemio – Jorge A. Ortiz Mejía Agradecimientos – Juan A. Castillo Cocom y Quetzil E. Castañeda Parte I: La Identidad Maya de Yucatán: Re-Pensando la Etnicidad, Historia, y Antropología 1 “No Somos Indígenas!”: Gubernamentalidad y la Identidad Maya de Yucatán – Quetzil E. Castañeda 2 Etnogénesis Maya – Matthew Restall 3 De Amigos y Enemigos: La Guerra de Casta y Etnicidad en Yucatán – Wolfgang Gabbert 4 Repensando la Resistencia Maya: Cambios de las relaciones entre Maestros Federales y Comunidades Mayas en el Oriente, 1929-1935 – Ben Fallaw 5 Perdido en “Mayaland” – Juan A. Castillo Cocom 6 Repensando la Etnicidad Maya, 1500-1940 – Ueli Hostettler Parte II: Gubernamentalidad y Ciudadanía: Estrategias de las Esferas Públicas—Educación, Ejido, Estado, Migración 7 Estrategias Identitarias en la Esfera Pública: Gubernamentalidad y Ciudadanía – Quetzil E. Castañeda 8 Identidad y Resistencia: La Educación para los Mayas de Yucatán – Juan R. Manzanilla Dorantes 9 Resistencia y Acomodo: Mayas y Ejidos en el Centro de Quintana Roo – Ueli Hostettler 10 Nuevos y Viejos Movimientos Sociales: Pisté desde la Boca del Pozo hasta el Municipio Libre de Chichén Itzá – Quetzil E. Castañeda 11 Transnational Hetzmek’: Entre Oxkutzcab y San Pancho – Patricia Fortuny Loret de Mola 12 El Quincunx y el Encuentro de dos Dinastías en la Noche de los Tiempos: Dilemas de la Política Yucateca – Juan A. Castillo Cocom End Matter Apéndice A, El Indio Yucateco (Juan José Hernández) Apéndice B, Costumbres de las Indias de Yucatán (Juan José Hernández) Autores y Colaboradores, resúmenes biográficos On the significance of this book A Celebrar Vienticinco Años de la UPN en Mérida La evolución de las relaciones interétnicas en la península de Yucatán hacen parecer que las identidades, principalmente de los grupos indígenas tienden a desaparecer por el agotamiento de las estrategias que les sirven para refuncionalizarlas y fortalecerlas, y también por la imposibilidad de asimilar y apropiar a sus entornos los elementos ajenos a sus culturas. El avance de la educación, la ciencia y la tecnología redimensionan la imaginación social al mirar; a los espacios como superficies más pequeñas de lo que realmente son, a las mismas distancias como más cortas y al tiempo como sí se moviera más rápido y de forma vertiginosa. En esta vorágine, las relaciones humanas se intensifican, se estrechan y por tanto van adquiriendo nuevas connotaciones, lo que lleva a transformaciones dinámicas en la vida diaria. Estas modificaciones requieren ser explicadas y para ello, el pasado debe de ser reconstruido como momentos de un proceso social de innovación que nos posibilite conocer qué es lo que cambia, cómo y hacia dónde nos lleva. En el caso que nos ocupa, nos referimos a las estrategias para la construcción, reconstrucción o desaparición de las identidades. “Estrategias Identitarias” se publica en el marco de la conmemoración del XXV aniversario de la fundación de la Unidad 31-A de la Universidad Pedagógica Nacional en el estado de Yucatán. Es un libro cuya reflexión tiene como sujeto social a la etnia maya de Yucatán y como perspectiva teórica de análisis, la identidad en el contexto de la educación y de la antropología histórica. De aquí su pertinencia y su actualidad para enriquecer y vigorizar los conocimientos, los saberes y la reflexión regional sobre los mayas. La publicación de esta obra es producto del esfuerzo colectivo en la que participaron las Universidades de la Unidad 31-A de la Universidad Pedagógica Nacional. Asimismo, expreso mi reconocimiento al apoyo, para hacer posible esta publicación, a la Secretaría de Educación del Estado de Yucatán, a través de su titular Psicóloga Carmen Zita Solís Robleda y del Psicólogo Raúl Burgos Fajardo, Director de Educación Media Superior y Superior. De igual manera, se ponderan los esfuerzos de los Doctores Juan Castillo Cocom y Quetzil Castañeda, por el compromiso con la investigación; a su iniciativa para concretar la publicación del libro, a su creatividad y dinamismo intelectual; además, de sus escritos que integran el texto, por su aportación en la realización de la labor editorial para que este ejemplar alcance el nivel de excelencia que aquí presentamos. Juan R. Manzanilla Dorantes Director, Universidad Pedagógico Nacional, Mérida Mérida, Yucatan, México Purchase the Book This book may be purchased for $22.50 (includes USA shipping & handling). Order 5 books for $95.00 (a discount of 15%). Contact us for international shipping & handling rates to other locations. ...
Papers. Kroeber Anthropological Society
Abstract In numerous anthropological works there have been preoccupations about the relationships... more Abstract In numerous anthropological works there have been preoccupations about the relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Whatever social researchers have concluded, one thing is consistent: the tendency to interpret ...
X-Pichil is a representative community of the rural central region of the Yucatan Peninsula. In c... more X-Pichil is a representative community of the rural central region of the Yucatan Peninsula. In contrast to other Mexican regions, farming in central Yucatan Peninsula still has not completely converted to conventional production. Currently, the Maya-speaking campesinos (small-scaled farmers in subsistence production) of this region are being exposed to a transformation process from traditional to conventional farming. The consequence is migration and loss of knowledge. Production in X-Pichil is characterized by traditional subsistence farming. The aim of this investigation was to diagnose the state of farming, discovering (1) the main crops and their production cycle and socio-economic aspects of agriculture with the aim of mapping out opportunities for agroecology and farming in general. The general objective of this study was to develop a reference and point of contact for further research and rural development policy. Between 2009 and 2011, a case study among all 129 public-landusing-farmers (ejidatarios) of X-Pichil was done. The study involved (1) a survey including demographical information, the biography of the farmers and their families, information concerning their fields (agrobiodiversity, farming cycle and crop management), as well as data related to the commercialization of their products; and (2) Tsikbal (dialogue among interlocutors) with selected members of the community differing in terms of gender, age and education. The most relevant data was related to demographics. The survey showed a notable aging of the active agricultural population in this community: 94 % of the ejidatarios is older than 40 years. Only one of every 30 ejidatarios' children plants to continue working in the primary sector; consequently 64% of all fields are not being cropped. Interviews showed that there are three main reasons for this tendency: (1) agriculture is seen to be too labor-intense; (2) there is a lack of food security and (3) agriculture suffers from a poor reputation within society.
This essay builds on a critique of anthropological knowledge production of 'the Maya' in ... more This essay builds on a critique of anthropological knowledge production of 'the Maya' in order to ethnographically analyze the party politics of Maya identity in Yucatán, Mexico. The central question that links these two parts of the article is a questioning of the politics and possibilities of respect of and for indigenous/subaltern peoples such as the Maya who continue to
Journal of Latin American Anthropology, 2004
Critique of Anthropology, 2005
Ⅲ This essay builds on a critique of anthropological knowledge production of 'the Maya' in order ... more Ⅲ This essay builds on a critique of anthropological knowledge production of 'the Maya' in order to ethnographically analyze the party politics of Maya identity in Yucatán, Mexico. The central question that links these two parts of the article is a questioning of the politics and possibilities of respect of and for indigenous/subaltern peoples such as the Maya who continue to live under (neo-)colonialist conditions that create a wholesale lack of respect for colonized and subaltern peoples. The article is written in a schizophrenic voice of a doubly Maya-Non-Maya, anthropologist-postcolonialist who narrates a divinatory story of ethnographic realities as a post-Maya Chilam Balam (roughly,
Uploads
Papers by Juan Castillo Cocom
central region of the Yucatan Peninsula. In contrast to other
Mexican regions, farming in central Yucatan Peninsula still has
not completely converted to conventional production. Currently,
the Maya-speaking campesinos (small-scaled farmers in
subsistence production) of this region are being exposed to a
transformation process from traditional to conventional farming.
The consequence is migration and loss of knowledge. Production
in X-Pichil is characterized by traditional subsistence farming.
The aim of this investigation was to diagnose the state of farming,
discovering (1) the main crops and their production cycle and (2)
socio-economic aspects of agriculture with the aim of mapping
out opportunities for agroecology and farming in general. The
general objective of this study was to develop a reference and
point of contact for further research and rural development policy.
Between 2009 and 2011, a case study among all 129 public-landusing-
farmers (ejidatarios) of X-Pichil was done. The study
involved (1) a survey including demographical information, the
biography of the farmers and their families, information
concerning their fields (agrobiodiversity, farming cycle and crop
management), as well as data related to the commercialization of
their products; and (2) Tsikbal (dialogue among interlocutors)
with selected members of the community differing in terms of
gender, age and education. The most relevant data was related to
demographics. The survey showed a notable aging of the active
agricultural population in this community: 94 % of the ejidatarios
is older than 40 years. Only one of every 30 ejidatarios’ children
plants to continue working in the primary sector; consequently
64% of all fields are not being cropped. Interviews showed that
there are three main reasons for this tendency: (1) agriculture is
seen to be too labor-intense; (2) there is a lack of food security
and (3) agriculture suffers from a poor reputation within society.
central region of the Yucatan Peninsula. In contrast to other
Mexican regions, farming in central Yucatan Peninsula still has
not completely converted to conventional production. Currently,
the Maya-speaking campesinos (small-scaled farmers in
subsistence production) of this region are being exposed to a
transformation process from traditional to conventional farming.
The consequence is migration and loss of knowledge. Production
in X-Pichil is characterized by traditional subsistence farming.
The aim of this investigation was to diagnose the state of farming,
discovering (1) the main crops and their production cycle and (2)
socio-economic aspects of agriculture with the aim of mapping
out opportunities for agroecology and farming in general. The
general objective of this study was to develop a reference and
point of contact for further research and rural development policy.
Between 2009 and 2011, a case study among all 129 public-landusing-
farmers (ejidatarios) of X-Pichil was done. The study
involved (1) a survey including demographical information, the
biography of the farmers and their families, information
concerning their fields (agrobiodiversity, farming cycle and crop
management), as well as data related to the commercialization of
their products; and (2) Tsikbal (dialogue among interlocutors)
with selected members of the community differing in terms of
gender, age and education. The most relevant data was related to
demographics. The survey showed a notable aging of the active
agricultural population in this community: 94 % of the ejidatarios
is older than 40 years. Only one of every 30 ejidatarios’ children
plants to continue working in the primary sector; consequently
64% of all fields are not being cropped. Interviews showed that
there are three main reasons for this tendency: (1) agriculture is
seen to be too labor-intense; (2) there is a lack of food security
and (3) agriculture suffers from a poor reputation within society.