Psilocybin mushrooms as biocultural heritage and their potential for local development in the Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca

Despite the fundamental role played by psilocybin mushrooms in traditional indigenous medicine in Mexico since time immemorial, their institutional neglect and their illegal status make it impossible to deploy conservation, research and exploitation schemes for this endogenous biocultural resource....

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Autores:
Tipo de recurso:
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6526
Fecha de publicación:
2021
Institución:
Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia
Repositorio:
RiUPTC: Repositorio Institucional UPTC
Idioma:
spa
OAI Identifier:
oai:repositorio.uptc.edu.co:001/13194
Acceso en línea:
https://revistas.uptc.edu.co/index.php/perspectiva/article/view/12400
https://repositorio.uptc.edu.co/handle/001/13194
Palabra clave:
Local development
Psilocybin mushrooms
Mazatecas
Biocultural heritage
Desarrollo local
Hongos psilocibios
Mazatecos
Patrimonio biocultural
Desenvolvimento local
Cogumelos psilocibinos
Mazateca
Patrimônio biocultural
Rights
License
Derechos de autor 2021 Diego Hannon Ovies
Description
Summary:Despite the fundamental role played by psilocybin mushrooms in traditional indigenous medicine in Mexico since time immemorial, their institutional neglect and their illegal status make it impossible to deploy conservation, research and exploitation schemes for this endogenous biocultural resource. Starting from the conceptual paradigm of bioculturality and from the socio-territorial approach of local development, this article presents a discussion on the potential of psilocybin mushrooms to become a biocultural heritage in Mexico and to favor local development in the Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca. The article is methodologically based on a documentary and ethnographic research to highlight the biocultural value and therapeutic potential of psilocybin mushrooms in order to propose their institutional and scientific recognition at the national level. The results indicate that the Mazateca community recognizes the endogenous potential of psilocybin mushrooms and favors their tourist use. However, the absence of community capacities for cohesive cooperation inhibits the articulation of regional conservation and development strategies. The final reflection proposes that the dynamization of visionary plants through biocultural conservation schemes and responsible tourism use can contribute to poverty alleviation in indigenous regions.