Cultural Wealth! the Collection of Fungi in Chiapas; the Struggle to Maintain Tradition

PORTAVOZ

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The thin line between a nutritive mushroom and a lethal one is determined by the knowledge ARGENIS ESQUIPULAS/PORTAVOZ The humid land of Chiapas, dotted with oak and pine trees, keeps inside an ancestral treasure, wild mushrooms. For communities like Copoya, in the Metropolitan Zone of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, this millenary practice not only represents a cultural tradition but also an economic alternative in difficult times. However, in recent years, …

TV Azteca

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The cultural importance of fungi in Chiapas is immense, and in every rainy season in Mexico, the inhabitants of these communities go out to collect these fruits from the forest. Such is the case of the Ejido de Coaya, located in the Metropolitan Zone of the state, where Zoques beliefs maintain that when San Juan Day arrives in the first rains, “Moni”, a kind of fungus, will emerge from between the earth and dry leaves of the trees.