Maguey Journey: Discovering Textiles in Guatemala

6.Maguey

The succulent maguey plant grows in many geographical and climatic conditions and is endemic to a region from the southern United States into South America, as well as the Caribbean. The word maguey is an American Indian name (Gentry 1982, 660) used to describe all large-leaf forms of the Agave, and Furcraea species (Dewey 1965, 3; Camposeco Mateo 1994, 19), in Mexico, Central America, and the Antilles, which is where the name traces back to (Gentry 1982, 23). Both are in the Agavaceae family, of which there are approximately three hundred recognized species, with twentythree found in Guatemala; of these, seventeen are primarily used (GarcíaMendoza 2006, 175). Agave is the largest genus, with the word originating from the Greek word agavos, meaning “noble” or “illustrious.” other words commonly heard when talking about maguey, especially in the Yucatán, are “sisal” and “henequén,” referring to the fiber species of Agave sisalana and Agave fourcroydes (Camposeco Mateo 1994, 19). Sisal is named for an old shipping port on the peninsula where much of it was exported (Schery 1972, 195). The word pita comes from the Caribbean and is spun maguey fibers from Mexico to Brazil (Camposeco Mateo 1994, 19). Pita floja is defined as the soft, silky fiber of the Bromelia or wild pineapple plant (Aechmea magdalenae) (Dewey 1965, 4) and Bromelia sylvestris (Squier 1861, 15), or untwisted agave fiber (osborne 1965, 248). The term cabuya or cabulla is heard from Costa Rica to Ecuador for some species of Furcraea (Camposeco Mateo 1994, 19). The Mayan word for maguey is sajchi’ (see appendix 4 for spelling variations), which translates to “white” (sak), “sun,” or “great heat” or “fire” (quij), and was related to pre-colonial liquor making (Berger de White and Ivic de Monterroso 2008, 138). The higher-elevation Furcraea quicheensis Trel. is called che’ch or chech (Camposeco Mateo 1994, 20) and chijute or chiyute. In Concepción Tutuapa, San Marcos, the word mecate is heard for Beschorneria albiflora Matuda, possibly from the Nahuatl word, metl. 6 Maguey The Material 46 THE MAGUEY To TEXTILE TRANSFoRMATIoN Another Nahuatl word, ichtli or ixtle, is unspun maguey fiber, a common term in Mexico and San Andrés Huista, Huehuetenango. Pita fina stands for fibers from Furcraea gigantean Vent. Agave americana, Agave fourcroydes, and Agave sisalana, superior fiber-producing species, all were imported from Mexico into Guatemala by the Spaniards (García-Mendoza 2006, 182). Wild or noncultivated maguey also has many names, including monte (San Juan Sacatepéquez), espalda (Santa Lucía la Reforma), cimarrón (Comapa), and de sope (Jocotán). Another common reference to maguey is jarcia, which Greek and Arab sailors used to describe a cord on the mast of sailing ships. The Spaniards adopted the term and brought it to Central America, where it signifies the process of working with maguey (Camposeco Mateo 1994, 31–34). Maguey earned the name “century plant” when it was transplanted as an ornamental to the cool climate of northern Europe and the flowering stage took much longer than in its warmer, native region (Standley and Steyermark 1952, 105). Early inhabitants in the maguey region discovered a multitude of uses for the plant, and some, such as the otomi of central Mexico, relied entirely on maguey to survive (Granberg 1970, 12). Maguey was potentially responsible for the foundation of agriculture in the region (Gentry 1982, 4). Some of its products include food and drink in many forms. The roasted white “meat” in the lower stem and base of the leaves can be eaten, as well as the boiled flowers (Gentry 1982 6–7; Camposeco Mateo 1994, 26; GarcíaMendoza 2006, 183). Honey or syrup drunk fresh in a drink called aguamiel (honey water) is processed from the “heart” of the plant and was one of the few sources of sugar in pre-colonial times (McBryde 1945, 142). Fermented sap becomes pulque and is distilled for mescal and tequila (Gentry 1982, 8; Valenzuela-Zapata and Nabhan 2003). The alcoholic effects from pulque were incorporated into religious and mystical ceremonies, which, to the Aztec, were so important that several gods were associated with the rituals. The most famous was Mayahuel, the goddess of pulque (Gentry 1982, 8–9). Some Maya women made a tea with maguey roots, quina bark, rosemary leaves, and nutmeg to aid in expelling the placenta during childbirth (Wisdom 1940, 288). The sap from sisal contains hecogenin, a source material for the synthesis of cortisone (Schery 1972, 195). Vinegar, syrup...