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15 Ajk′opot Gente The Unrecognized Keepers of Maya Plant Lore Johanna Kufer The great importance of plants in Ch′orti′ culture is reflected in the terms Ch′orti′ speakers use to refer to themselves. Ajk⬘opot gente (Sp. gente = people) or ajk⬘opot pak⬘ab⬘ means ‘people of the countryside or hamlet’ (aldea), as distinct from town-dwelling Ladinos (ajchinam pak⬘ab⬘), and k⬘opot also has various connotations in reference to plants. As a term for a plant life form, k⬘opot indicates an herb, as distinct from a tree (te⬘) or a vine (ch⬘a⬘n, t⬘et). K⬘opot may also refer to secondary growth of vegetation in anthropogenic habitats, similar to the Spanish words monte and maleza and the English weed. Unlike the connotation of uselessness implied by maleza or weed, however, the k⬘opot found sprouting among Ch′orti′ crops can be used as food, medicine, fodder, and so on, and its value often approximates that of the crops themselves, as shown by Vieyra-Odilon and Vibrans (2001) for indigenous communities in Mexico. Unfortunately, the Mesoamerican appreciation for the monte has not been recognized by national and international development projects, which have tried to eradicate them and have consequently contributed to the eradication of the culture and identity of the ajk⬘opot gente themselves. Due to factors such as cultural persecution, exploitation, and poverty, communities that selfidentify as Ch′orti′ are now culturally diverse. I conducted most of my research in the still highly distinctively Ch′orti′ communities of Jocot án, Camotán, and Olopa, Guatemala. Although Ch′orti′ is nowadays very rarely spoken in the rural communities of Camotán, I found that many plant-related cultural elements have disappeared to a far lesser degree than the language in this municipio—and in many cases, Ch′orti′ plant names are the last remnants of an otherwise extinct linguistic tradition. 198 Ajk′opot Gente: The Unrecognized Keepers of Maya Plant Lore · 199 In this chapter, I offer an ethnobotanical facet to the discussion of ethnicity by providing an insight into Ch′orti′ plant uses.1 Construction Traditional Ch′orti′ and Ladino hamlets can be easily distinguished by two characteristics: Ch′orti′ houses have thatched roofs and are dispersed over a wide area, whereas rural Ladino houses have tiled roofs and stand close together. Building a house is an important activity for Ch′orti′ men, nearly as important as work in the milpa. When a young man builds a house for himself and his wife, this also marks a transition to a new social role—the couple’s establishment of their own household, which usually precedes or coincides with a role as new parents. Until very recently, practically all Ch′orti′ houses were built using primarily plant materials, including tree trunks for the supporting structure; sabal palm leaves or grass (the latter especially at higher altitudes where the sabal palm does not grow) for thatching roofs; and wooden sticks, palm leaves, or bajareque (wattle-and-daub) for the walls (Figure 15.1). Only within the last one or two decades have some Ch′orti′ started to build modern houses with block walls and laminate roofs, especially in the hamlets with road access. Timber is a precious resource whose overexploitation in the area has had dire consequences for the local climate and agricultural productivity. Interestingly in this context, Ch′orti′ elders explain that they once reserved a certain amount of their land for natural reforestation to provide sons with enough trees for building their houses when they formed their own families. If owning enough woodland was generally considered a requirement for marriage and starting a family, this may have been a subtle and effective factor that contributed to avoiding overexploitation of the natural resources. Sólo Trastes de Monte Había: Crafts as Indices of Ch′orti′ Culture In contrast to the brightly colored weavings that mark Mayas in Guatemala ’s western and central highlands, undecorated and what to outside observers seem drab and prosaic utilitarian crafts like mats, brooms, and maguey nets, ropes, and bags are emblematic of Ch′orti′s in the east. While Ch′orti′s of Jocotán and Olopa have been adopting manufactured materials and abandoning their own handicrafts at a rapid pace since at least the 1930s, by which time even the “typical dresses” were made by Ladina seamstresses in the town of Jocotán (Wisdom 1940: 115), utilitarian crafts made from local plant materials continue to be indices of...

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