Traditional Knowledge, Agave Inaequidens (Koch) Conservation, and the Charro Lariat Artisans of San Miguel Cuyutlán, Mexico

Abstract

The Mexican sport of charrería, or Mexican rodeo, developed in post-conquest Mexico as a way of preserving and celebrating traditional cowboy riding and livestock handling skills. Today, charrería is considered the national sport of Mexico and the charro (cowboy) is also a celebrated icon of Mexicanness. Special handcrafted ropes used in charrería, known as sogas finas, or charro lariats, are made from the fibers of the Agave inaequidens. The manufacture of charro ropes is an artisinal practice that requires both cultural and botanical knowlege. In the last ten years, there has been a significant decline in the A. inaequidens population in the Cerro Viejo mountain range of the central-western Mexican state of Jalisco, putting the financial wellbeing of local lariat artisans at risk. Drawing on fieldwork and laboratory analysis conducted from 2002 through 2010, we discuss the socio-cultural significance of charro lariats, detail the harvesting of A. inaequidens in relation to lariat craftsmanship, document the physical characteristics of the A. inaequidens from this region, and describe the relationship between traditional knowledge and the local economy. The goal of this research is two-fold: 1) to stimulate feedback between producers and consumers in an attempt to leverage the existing business cluster based on traditional knowledge and 2) to initiate dialogue concerning conservation, domestication, and sustainable management of the wild A. inadequidens population.

Morphological variation, management and domestication of ‘maguey alto’ (Agave inaequidens) and ‘maguey manso’ (A. hookeri) in Michoacán, México

“…A. inaequidens has the common name of ‘maguey alto’ or ‘maguey bruto’, terms that refer to its size and the caustic condition of its tissue, respectively, because of the presence of saponins and other secondary metabolites causing dermatitis [28]. Moreover, its fiber has been used in the region of San Miguel Cuyutlán, Jalisco, for the manufacture of ropes or cords used in horsemanship [27]. In the state of Michoacán (Figure  1), it is possible to see this species in a gradient of management intensity with populations in wild habitats as part of natural forests, but also under silvicultural or ‘ in situ ’ management, through which people let some individuals standing when the forest is cleared, and deliberately propagate agaves in the cleared areas in order to increase their population density.…”

“…A. inaequidens is also used for extracting fibre [27], and according to historical sources, this agave is used for producing mescal from approximately 400 years ago. Our research group has observed in the field different types of management of wild, silvicultural and cultivated populations, which constitute a gradient of management intensity.…”

TEK, local perceptions of risk, and diversity of management practices of Agave inaequidens in Michoacán, Mexico

“…Agave inaequidens represents a plant resource highly valued by the rural communities of Michoacán, and nowadays represents a multiple source of benefits and potential uses that are falling into disuse. This is for instance the making of ropes that are currently used in the neighboring state of Jalisco [ 26 ]. The decay of use of agave fibers has been documented for several species that were relevant since pre-Columbian times but that since the second half of 20th Century sharply declined because of the development and introduction of synthetic fibers.…”

Genetic structure of coexisting wild and managed agave populations: implications for the evolution of plants under domestication

“…It is still necessary to evaluate the population genetic patterns of A. inaequidens in other regions of Mexico. Particularly interesting would be those areas where the species is used mainly for the production of fibre, which apparently is an activity that has decimated the agave populations, and where no reforestation or cultivation planning has occurred ( Valenzuela-Zapata et al . 2011 ).…”

“…Its sap was extracted for drinking fresh or fermented ( Gentry 1982 ). Nowadays, those uses are rather rare, and its main use is mescal production and, in some areas, the extraction of its fibres for manufacturing cords ( Valenzuela-Zapata et al . 2011 ).…”