Communal Work, Ceremonial Becomings, and Rights to Knowledge

Elías García Méndez was the morning keynote for the 2025 conference, “Psychedelic Intersections: Betwixt & Between Plant Medicine, Chaplaincy, & Aesthetics.” García Méndez is a Mazatec educator and founder of the Casa Adobe Galería, an art gallery and cultural space in Huautla de Jiménez, Mexico. Casa Adobe showcases the resilience and cultural heritage of the Mazatec community in the state of Oaxaca, preserving their language, artistic expression, and traditions. García Méndez sat down with Andrea Sánchez-Castañeda, CSWR Postdoctoral Fellow of Indigenous Plant Medicine Traditions of the Americas, to reflect on xábasen and the work of Casa Adobe.
The interview was edited for clarity and readabality.

SÁNCHEZ CASTAÑEDA: Your keynote at the “Psychedelic Intersections” conference focused on the concept of xábasen. Could you explain why you chose to speak about this topic and tell us more about what xábasen means?

GARCÍA MÉNDEZ: I chose this topic because xábasen, a form of community work, fundamentally represents what we do as a family. Work is never purely individual, though there are times when it appears to be the work of one person. As an individual, I work for the community by investing my effort, time, and resources. But xábasen as a family practice occurs less frequently, especially today. The elders—people over 40 or 50—still practice xábasen, but their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren do not. The practice has diminished significantly.

I also decided to address this topic because it represents what we’re doing at the gallery. For example, we charge no entrance fee; our goal is for people to visit and feel comfortable. We welcome them and remain present with them. It’s a continuous responsibility—we’ve received visitors as late as 9 pm, and we respond. This is our work—our xábasen is to serve them. We are fortunate that the gallery operates within our home, allowing us to dedicate that space and time to it.

The concept of xábasen, which means prioritizing the work, relegates us as individuals to secondary importance. The work itself takes precedence. However, accepting this secondary role has generated internal tensions within the family and among our team members, because it represents a significant burden. The gallery’s work essentially involves sustaining Mazatec culture—a tremendous responsibility requiring considerable energy and constant presence. Increasingly, people and institutions recognize our gallery as a cultural center, and through this recognition, xábasen extends into additional areas.

SÁNCHEZ CASTAÑEDA: How does this concept relate to the broader community work in Mazatec culture?

GARCÍA MÉNDEZ: At our core are the painters who helped create Casa Adobe. Whenever someone asks about our origins, I consistently answer that we began through artistic xábasen reflecting the work conducted by and within the community. Painters, including Asunción, René Alvarado, Sergio Nieto, Miasma, José Luis Jacinto, and all of us participating in this project, are engaged in community work. When you participate in xábasen as a community, no one provides monetary compensation. The work is not transactional; it’s entirely voluntary, we expect nothing in return. Our gallery offers exhibitions and talks following this principle. For example, we recently hosted a conference on the Mazatec huipil (a traditional garment worn by Indigenous women) without charging attendance fees. We do not seek profit—we exist to make a meaningful contribution. Consequently, people offer: “I want to help with this,” or “I brought bread,” or “I brought various items.” This exemplifies true xábasen: mutual assistance.

Few people currently practice xábasen. Young Mazatec people leave for urban areas to study or work, and rarely return to participate in community life. This exodus threatens our culture. Their children will not learn these customs, or develop affection for neighbors, or awareness of community needs, and within a few years, this will vanish. Therefore, we want to demonstrate that xábasen can be practiced in diverse ways. For example, researchers arrive from around the world. They complete master’s degrees, theses, and pharmaceutical research, obtaining what they sought, but they do not share that knowledge with the community. They extract information, and we have no knowledge of its application. They’re no longer practicing xábasen. As a gallery, we invite researchers who have developed products or knowledge to return and declare: “This represents our work and discoveries. We want to share it with you.”

For example, Henry Munn, a Harvard student, came to conduct research on Mazatec archaeology. He wrote his book, published it, and even married a Mazatec woman. His work exists, and some of us know about it, but most people here don’t. However, the fact that the book exists is valuable—we can access it. That’s also a form of xábasen: giving something back and sharing it. Like him, other researchers have contributed parts of their work to the community.

SÁNCHEZ CASTAÑEDA: Could you describe the role of the nahuales in Mazatec culture?

GARCÍA MÉNDEZ: The concept of nahuales exists in nearly all Mesoamerican cultures. Among the Mazatec people, this tradition has become somewhat distant because it represents a synthesis of several cultures: the Olmec, the Mexica, and the Toltec—resulting from migrations from those cultures—that introduced the concept of nahuales.

From my perspective, everyone possesses a nahual. I believe mine, a crocodile, was revealed during a ceremonial journey. I can explain this connection. On several occasions, we considered closing the gallery because conflicts arose among collaborators. By maintaining composure and steady resolve, as tensions escalated, we managed to revitalize this project. One must maintain composure and calmness—qualities that a nahual provides. A crocodile embodies that steady presence and deliberate movement.

In my brother’s case, his nahual is an eagle. This revelation occurs through ceremony—I want to emphasize this. He embodies an eagle because he desires travel, freedom, and exploration of the mountains. However, that transformation happens during the mystical experience or ceremony—the moment when one becomes a nahual, when nahuales acquire the power to communicate with us, or when healers become nahuales to facilitate communication and work with those who need assistance.
This is crucial because each nahual contributes its natural gifts: power, form, spirit, and temperament—all of which contribute to healing work.

SÁNCHEZ CASTAÑEDA: How might researchers contribute to you, the gallery, and the community? Are there research topics you consider relevant that could benefit your work?

GARCÍA MÉNDEZ: If Harvard could return some of the information it holds about the Mazatec people, such as the Mazatec codex and related documentation known as the Lienzo de Huautla, and Mazatec dictionaries dating to the 1600s, if they could share some of that material—or the archives of Henry Munn and the Wassons, which I have personally examined—this would be incredible. The community would be able to reconnect with itself. You may not realize that there are people who deeply desire that reconnection.

SÁNCHEZ CASTAÑEDA: Absolutely—it’s about reaffirming the entire tradition. There has been loss and rupture.

GARCÍA MÉNDEZ: This would represent a turning point for my community and everyone. Such a project could benefit all young people. It would be profoundly meaningful. I don’t believe we would be asking for much, but I understand that such an undertaking would require significant logistics. Nevertheless, many people here would gladly support it appropriately.