“Conservar nuestras raíces”: saberes tradicionales en torno al proceso de producción de dulces de amaranto en el sur de la Ciudad de México

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to understand the relationship between traditional knowledge and the production of amaranth sweets in the region of Tulyehualco and its surroundings (Mexico City). From an ethno-archaeological perspective, we observe the relationship between this knowledge and the material culture of each stage of the operational chain. To this end, we conducted semi-structured interviews and audio-visual recording at amaranth´s fields producers in Tulyehualco (Xochimilco) and amaranth´s candy manufacturers in San Sebastián (Tláhuac) in the south of Mexico City. We found that the forms of producing and manipulating amaranth in this region are transmitted, transformed and preserved from generation to generation, resignifying its ancestral value.

Key words: Seeding, artisanal production, tradition, Ethnoarchaeology