Mazatec agricultural calendar, milpa and peasant dietary strategy in the territory of Huautepec, Oaxaca

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to document the knowledge and use of the Mazatec agricultural calendar, and to contribute to characterize the functioning of the agri-food system in Agua Colorada and Agua Evangelista, in the municipality of Huautepec, Oaxaca, a Mazatec ethno-linguistic region. In the methodology, a mixed approach was used, analyzing qualitative and quantitative data. A simple random sample allowed selecting 34 peasants/indigenous people, to apply questionnaires. Results indicate that the knowledge and use of the Chan Mazatec agricultural calendar is still valid in the communities of study, directed basically at signaling the periods for dates for sowing, agricultural tasks and harvesting of species that make up the milpa and backyard systems. The milpa constitutes the fundamental economic agricultural activity; it is a means for the recreation of their traditional knowledge and the social production of various food products for self-consumption, basic in the local gastronomy. The Mazatec family economic systems (MFES) are based on the understanding of their natural environment, decisive for biodiversity management in the milpa and the consequent stability and resilience of the system; as indicators of their territorial strategies that allow their operation, adaptability and permanence as socioeconomic production and consumption organizations.