Traditional knowledge complexity and climate change resilience: a case study of natural rainfall indicators of the Lacandon Maya

ABSTRACT

Many traditional societies forecast weather using observations of phenological changes. In Lacanja Chansayab, Chiapas, Mexico, Indigenous farmers use animal behavior, plant flowering, and solar and lunar halos, to predict rainfall. These indicators were observed and weather patterns were measured in Lacanja Chansayab. Interviews with Lacandon Maya revealed a diverse system of indicators that overlapped with systems used by other cultures. Due to indicator diversity, it is possible that this traditional system will remain useful as climate change alters local weather; cultural knowledge is nonetheless threatened by societal and economic changes.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Agroecology
• indigenous knowledge
• phenology
• agroforestry
• bioindicator

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2024.2341248

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Randolph G. Pack Environmental Institute