The Ethnophysiologocial Janus: Changing Perceptions of Illness and Curing in the Guatemalan Mayan Highlands

Authors

Steven Shem Rode, Brigham Young University
Dr. John P. Hawkins, Brigham Young University

Keywords

Nahualenos, illness, Guatemalan Mayan highlands, traditional medicine, mortality rates

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Anthropology

Abstract

Ethnomedical literature rarely addresses the problem of how illness is recognized and understood among Nahualenos in southwest Guatemala. In that area of the world, mother/infant mortality rates remain high, and local perceptions of illness continue to bewilder western biomedical caregivers. This study investigates data collected from doctor-patient communication, linguistics, and traditional medicine to explain how ethnophysiological understandings of illness exemplify effective and ineffective teaching methods about bacteriology and prevention within the liminal Nahualeno society.

Recommended Citation

Rode, Steven Shem and Hawkins, Dr. John P. (2013) "The Ethnophysiologocial Janus: Changing Perceptions of Illness and Curing in the Guatemalan Mayan Highlands," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013: Iss. 1, Article 142.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/142