Herbalism, Home Gardens, and Hybridization: Wõthïhã Medicine and Cultural Change

Heckler, SL.

Abstract

Using the example of the Wo˜ thı¨ha˜ of the Manapiare River Valley, Amazonas State, Venezuela, I challenge the image of the indigenous Amazonian as an expert in herbalism. I argue that the observed absence of medicinal plant use in early Wo˜ thı¨ha˜ ethnography, rather than reflecting researcher oversight, reflects the centrality of shamanism. According to Wo˜ thı¨ha˜ shamanic cosmology, herbal medicines, while useful to relieve symptoms and treat minor injuries, fail to address the underlying cause of illness. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, I find that as the role and influence of shamanism have dramatically decreased, the Wo˜ thı¨ha˜ have turned elsewhere for medical treatment. Biomedical remedies have shown to be effective, thereby encouraging an acceptance of symptom-specific treatments. Biomedicine’s patchy availability, however, has encouraged the Wo˜ thı¨ha˜ to look beyond biomedicine. Several folk healing traditions are being incorporated by the Wo˜ thı¨ha˜ , each with its own herbal tradition.

Citation

Heckler, S. (2007). Herbalism, Home Gardens, and Hybridization: Wõthïhã Medicine and Cultural Change. Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 21(1), 41-63. https://doi.org/10.1525/maq.2007.21.1.41

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2007
• Deposit Date: Jun 24, 2008
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 24, 2008
• Journal: Medical Anthropology Quarterly
• Print ISSN: 0745-5194
• Electronic ISSN: 1548-1387
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 41-63
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/maq.2007.21.1.41
• Keywords: Wõthïhã, Herbal medicine, Home gardens, Traditional medicine, Piaroa, Herbal, Medicinal, Amazonian, Shamanism, Treatment, Biomedicine's, Reflects, Traditions.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1549347