Abstract
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Breath and smoke |
| Subtitle of host publication | tobacco use among the Maya |
| Editors | Jennifer A. Loughmiller-Cardinal, Keith Eppich |
| Place of Publication | Albuquerque, NM |
| Publisher | University of New Mexico Press |
| Chapter | 4 |
| Pages | 54-92 |
| Number of pages | 39 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780826360939 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780826360922 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2019 |
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Keywords
- Nicotiana
- tobacco
- Maya
- ethnobotany
- ethnobiology
- cosmology
- ethnography
- anthropology
- shamanism
- Medical anthropology
Cite this
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"Elder Brother Tobacco" : traditional Nicotiana snuff use among the contemporary Tzeltal and Tzotzil Maya of Highland Chiapas, Mexico. / Groark, Kevin P.
Breath and smoke: tobacco use among the Maya. ed. / Jennifer A. Loughmiller-Cardinal; Keith Eppich. Albuquerque, NM : University of New Mexico Press, 2019. p. 54-92.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Research › peer-review
TY - CHAP
T1 - "Elder Brother Tobacco"
T2 - traditional Nicotiana snuff use among the contemporary Tzeltal and Tzotzil Maya of Highland Chiapas, Mexico
AU - Groark, Kevin P.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Among the ancient Maya, Nicotiana was viewed as a sacred plant, closely associated with deities of earth and sky, and used for both visionary and therapeutic ends. The contemporary Tzeltal and Tzotzil Maya of Highland Chiapas are heirs to this ancient ethnobotanical tradition of tobacco use and folklore. In Maya communities throughout the highlands, the tobacco plant is viewed as a primordial medicine and a powerful botanical “helper” or “protector” with uses both mundane and divine. Whole leaves are boiled, wilted, mashed, and bruised to prepare medicinal plasters and teas. Fresh leaves are mixed with slaked limestone and pounded into a green mash, yielding a potent oral snuff that serves as a medicine, a stimulant, an intoxicant, and a protective agent. This tobacco-lime snuff preparation—referred to in Tzotzil as “angel” (anjel), “elder brother” (bankilal), “great old man” (muk’ta mol), or simply “to- bacco” (moy)—forms the prototypical referent for highland Maya thinking about tobacco. Stored and carried in small, highly polished gourds, this tobacco snuff is part of an unbroken tradition of Maya tobacco use spanning thousands of years. In the pages that follow, I present a comprehensive ethno- graphic overview of contemporary highland Maya tobacco culture, exploring the therapeutic, protective, and ritual uses of Nicotiana tabacum in both Tzeltal and Tzotzil Maya communities.
AB - Among the ancient Maya, Nicotiana was viewed as a sacred plant, closely associated with deities of earth and sky, and used for both visionary and therapeutic ends. The contemporary Tzeltal and Tzotzil Maya of Highland Chiapas are heirs to this ancient ethnobotanical tradition of tobacco use and folklore. In Maya communities throughout the highlands, the tobacco plant is viewed as a primordial medicine and a powerful botanical “helper” or “protector” with uses both mundane and divine. Whole leaves are boiled, wilted, mashed, and bruised to prepare medicinal plasters and teas. Fresh leaves are mixed with slaked limestone and pounded into a green mash, yielding a potent oral snuff that serves as a medicine, a stimulant, an intoxicant, and a protective agent. This tobacco-lime snuff preparation—referred to in Tzotzil as “angel” (anjel), “elder brother” (bankilal), “great old man” (muk’ta mol), or simply “to- bacco” (moy)—forms the prototypical referent for highland Maya thinking about tobacco. Stored and carried in small, highly polished gourds, this tobacco snuff is part of an unbroken tradition of Maya tobacco use spanning thousands of years. In the pages that follow, I present a comprehensive ethno- graphic overview of contemporary highland Maya tobacco culture, exploring the therapeutic, protective, and ritual uses of Nicotiana tabacum in both Tzeltal and Tzotzil Maya communities.
KW - Nicotiana
KW - tobacco
KW - Maya
KW - ethnobotany
KW - ethnobiology
KW - cosmology
KW - ethnography
KW - anthropology
KW - shamanism
KW - Medical anthropology
UR - https://unmpress.com/books/breath-and-smoke/9780826360922
U2 - 10.17605/OSF.IO/4YZF9
DO - 10.17605/OSF.IO/4YZF9
M3 - Chapter
SN - 9780826360922
SP - 54
EP - 92
BT - Breath and smoke
A2 - Loughmiller-Cardinal, Jennifer A.
A2 - Eppich, Keith
PB - University of New Mexico Press
CY - Albuquerque, NM
ER -