Indigenous concepts of health and healing in Andean populations : understanding the relevance of traditional medicine in a changing world / Elizabeth Currie and John Schofield.

Author
Currie, Elizabeth J. [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
  • Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2025.
  • ©2025
Description
xvii, 294 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Details

Subject(s)
Author
Summary note
"This book uses archaeology and ethnohistory to explore the evidence for the survival of ancestral beliefs and practices related to health and healing in Indigenous Andean communities. The authors argue that through determining the nature of the survival of beliefs around health and healing important insights are gained into how people develop adaptive strategies for survival, not just existing, but in a way that allows a continuity of identity and integrity. The book works through various stages of research to arrive at its conclusions. Firstly, through archaeology and ethnohistory it establishes a 'baseline' of key ancestral (pre-European) Indigenous Andean beliefs related to health, illness and healing. It then proceeds to review the evidence for the survival of these ancestral beliefs and practices related to Indigenous pre-European Andean epistemologies and ontologies. Analysing the results of the first two sections the final part reflects on the narratives around ancestral beliefs and practices and how they influence lived experience in the contemporary world. In essence, this book deals with the question "How do people manage change?" a universal question relevant to humanity at any time and stresses the need to recognise the significance of cultural diversity, intangible heritage and plurality. This interdisciplinary study is for researchers in ethnohistory, anthropology, medical anthropology, archaeology, history, heritage and Indigenous studies"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliographic references
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents
  • Background, Aims, Approaches and Methodology
  • The Study Area. Demographics and Health Indicators
  • Healing Cosmology and Traditions in the Northern Andes
  • Survey Results
  • Indigenous Identity and Historical Consciousness
  • The Evolution of Indigenous Identity and 'Empowerment' in Ecuador
  • Building the Bridge. A Discussion of the Evidence
  • Modelling Health Beliefs in Traditional Populations. Culturally Integrative Models of Care Provision : The Study Region
  • The Tale of Juana Icha : A Trial by Three Models. The Psychological Impact of Evangelisation
  • From Bridge to Policy and Practice Guidance
  • Some Final Thoughts on Heritage Discourses.
Other title(s)
Understanding the relevance of traditional medicine in a changing world
ISBN
  • 9781032526362 (hardcover)
  • 103252636X (hardcover)
  • 9781032526379 (paperback)
  • 1032526378 (paperback)
LCCN
2024021701
OCLC
1434115006
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