Evaluation of the degree of mycophilia-mycophobia among highland and lowland inhabitants from Chiapas, Mexico

Bibliographic Data

ID5296708
AuthorsFelipe Ruan-Soto (0000-0002-2476-027X), Javier Caballero (0000-0003-3285-8928), Carlos Martorell (0000-0002-0758-3953), Joaquín Cifuentes (0000-0003-2842-3278), Alma Rosa González-Esquinca, Alma Rosa González‐esquinca (0000-0002-1075-3466), Roberto Garibay-Orijel, Roberto Garibay‐orijel (0000-0002-6977-7550)
Year2013
Volume9
Issue1
Pages36-36
Publication date2013-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1746-4269 • E-ISSN: 1746-4269
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1186/1746-4269-9-36
PMID23706130
PMCIDPMC3735042
OpenAlexW2163692953
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited18

Background Mushrooms generate strong and contrasting feelings ranging from extreme aversion to intense liking. To categorize these attitudes, Wasson and Wasson coined the dichotomic terms "mycophilia" and "mycophobia" in 1957. In Mesoamerica these categories have been associated to ecological regions. Highland peoples are viewed as mycophiles, whereas lowland inhabitants are considered mycophobes. However, this division is based on little empirical evidence and few indicators. This study questioned whether mycophilia and mycophobia are indeed related to ecological regions through the evaluation of 19 indicators tested in the highlands and lowlands of Chiapas, Mexico. Methods The heterogeneity of attitudes toward mushrooms was explored in terms of ecological region and sociocultural variables. Information was obtained through structured interviews in 10 communities in Los Altos de Chiapas (highlands) and the Selva Lacandona (lowlands). We analyzed indicators separately through χ2 tests and multivariate techniques. The Mycophilia-Mycophobia Index was also used in the analysis. To assess which factors better explain the distribution of attitudes, we built 11 models using the Beta probability-density function and compared them with the Akaike Information Criterion. Results Most people had positive attitudes in both ecological regions. The classification and ordination analyses found two large groups comprising both highland and lowland towns. Contrary to expectation if mycophilia and mycophobia were mutually exclusive, all the fitted probability distributions were bell-shaped; indicating these attitudes behave as a continuous variable. The model best supported by data included occupation and ethnicity. Indigenous peasants had the highest degree of mycophilia. Discussion Results suggest the studied populations tend to be mycophilic and that their attitudes are not dichotomic, but rather a gradient. Most people occupied intermediate degrees of mycophilia. Despite the remarkable similarity in the degree of mycophilia between ecological regions, the Principle-Coordinates Analysis shows differences in the specific way in which people from either region establishes a cultural relationship with mushrooms. The comparison of models suggests that sociocultural variables explains the differences better than ecological regions do. The obtained results are evidence of mycophilia among lowlands inhabitants in the Mayan region and of the fact that the mycophilia-mycophobia phenomenon is not expressed as a bimodal frequency distribution

Biology · Ethnic group · Geography · Indigenous · Ordination · Sociology · Anthropology · Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions · Phytochemistry and Bioactivity Studies · Ecology

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