Traditional Memory in Totonicapán

Background

The Quiché Maya of Totonicapán have maintained cultural integrity for centuries despite a series of outside threats. The Quiché Maya view the forest as the life source of their community and culture, and their traditional forest stewardship has been instrumental to the preservation of the Community Forest of San Miguel.

However, globalization and modernization threaten the survival of traditional environmental stewardship and create disconnect between young and old. The youth are increasingly attracted to and migrate towards urban centers and modern ways, they are taught through formal schooling to separate natural processes and human society, and they are less involved in traditional governance structures. With these changes, there has been a continual loss of traditional knowledge and the systems it sustains. The elders, on the other hand, rely on their Quiché heritage and the comsovision that connects human beings and nature. The elders' way of life is rooted in a strong reverence for Mother Earth and has been passed down via oral tradition, expressed daily in how they live in harmony with nature.

As Totonicapán's Quiché elders continue to age, they are deeply concerned that their values and customs will be slowly lost despite their best efforts to preserve them. They feel estranged from the younger generation, which they perceive as indifferent to age-old wisdom and the importance of natural resources. The elders' fear grows as they age because they have no documented "insurance" against collective memory loss-there is no systematized, agreed-upon version of how and why to manage the forest in a state of ecological and spiritual equilibrium, nor is the rich tapestry of stories that underlie it collected and recorded.

The long-term goal of this effort is to preserve the values and traditions of the Totonicapán Quiché Maya by inspiring the next generation of leaders to learn, understand, and continue their customary system of forest management. This in turn will result in the long-term protection of the communal forest and centuries-old traditional forest management practices, as well as bridging the older and younger generations. In the near term, we seek to initiate a long-term process of ensuring that young leaders become the principal actors for cultural preservation in Totonicapán.

Project Description

The project includes two primary components:

Documentation of the Totonicapán Quiché Maya Cosmovision and Forest Management System

Interviews of elders, shamans, and current leaders to write down and systematize the oral traditions that guide forest stewardship.
Conduct focus groups with youth and the general community, informed by community elders, to determine the level of knowledge and interest in traditional forest management.
Engage at least two youth from each of 40 participating communities in a series of participatory workshops with elders, shamans, and leaders of the communities to document and map out the traditional knowledge system.
Publish, share, and gather feedback on the documented information in bi-weekly meetings.

Youth Engagement and Outreach

Disseminate documents on traditional forest management to teachers in the region who can use them to educate children in school.
Support community leaders and water committees as they strive to involve and inform youth about traditional management practices.
Strengthen youth groups and organizations that serve youth to reduce the number of young people who emigrate from the area.

Progress

The following key accomplishments have been achieved by EcoLogic with its local implementing partners:

Produced an initial guide to and video of traditional forest management practices based on the knowledge of indigenous community elders.
Presented the traditional memory documents to the communities and other stakeholders in the region.

Partners and Funders

The Association of the 48 Cantons of Totonicapán is comprised of some 784 community leaders dedicated to protect the Community Forest of San Miguel de los Altos. The Guatemalan government has declared Totonicapán a national protected area, but it is the Association, and around 110 administrative water and forest committees, that are responsible for its care through traditional forest and water management.

This project was made possible by the support of Genographic Legacy Fund.