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Maya K'iche' Food Groups and Implications for Guatemalan Food Guidelines
Miguel Cuj1,2, Mareike Sattler1,2, Sasha de Beausset3
1Vanderbilt University, TN, USA.
Food and Nutrition Bulletin
|March 27, 2020
Summary
Guatemalan Food Guidelines (GFG) do not align with K'iche' Mayan cultural understanding of food groups. Integrating indigenous knowledge is crucial for effective public health nutrition strategies.
Area of Science:
- Anthropology of linguistics
- Food and nutrition sciences
- Cultural anthropology
Background:
- Guatemalan Food Guidelines (GFG) are communicated to indigenous communities.
- Understanding food is culturally informed by language and cognitive structures.
- Food is central to human cultural identity, particularly for Mayan indigenous groups.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically analyze the Guatemalan Food Guidelines (GFG).
- To compare K'iche' Mayan understandings of food groups with the GFG.
- To explore cognitive structural similarities and differences in food categorization.
Main Methods:
- Field research involving semi-structured interviews and participant observation.
- Study conducted among K'iche' Mayan families in Nahualá, Western Guatemala.
- Comparison of K'iche' food group data with published GFG findings.
Main Results:
- K'iche' understanding of food groups differs significantly from the GFG's technical descriptions.
- Emphasis was placed on two key K'iche' food categories: 'wa' (corn-based) and 'ri'kil' (non-corn-based).
- Fieldwork confirmed findings, though subcategory nuances have evolved.
Conclusions:
- Indigenous knowledge and language-based food structures must be respected and integrated into public health nutrition.
- Current GFG do not adequately represent the cognitive and cultural understanding of food among K'iche' Mayan communities.
- Effective food and nutrition strategies require incorporating indigenous perspectives into official guidelines.
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