George Edward Luber
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THE BIOCULTURAL EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ‘SECOND-HAIR’ ILLNESS IN TWO MESOAMERICAN SOCIETIES by GEORGE EDWARD LUBER (Under the Direction of Elois Ann Berlin) This dissertation discusses two Mesoamerican folk illnesses, the Tzeltal Maya cha’lam tsots and the Mixe mäjts baajy, which represent variations of ‘second-hair’ illness found in several Mesoamerican cultures. The Tzeltal Maya cha’lam tsots, or ‘second hair’, is identified by the presence of spiny, discolored hairs on the head. It is a potentially fatal condition thought to be caused by trauma to the head of individuals, mostly children. Hair loss, diarrhea, fever, edema, and general debility are common symptoms. Heinrich (1994) and Lipp (1991) report a similar illness among the Mixe of Oaxaca. Mäjts baajy or ‘two head hairs’, is a potentially fatal illness, primarily afflicting infants, marked by hair-loss, diarrhea, anemia, edema, moon-face, and fine, spiny hairs on the head. Tenzel (1970) describes another similar illness among the Cakchiquel Maya. In all cases, the core ethnomedical description, their sufferers, prognosis, and modes of treatment are nearly identical. I present data demonstrating that these ‘second-hair’ illnesses carry a biomedical diagnosis of protein-energy malnutrition, and suggest that their similar cultural construction, in unrelated linguistic groups, is the result of a shared Mesoamerican “medical epistemology”. This comparative, biocultural research, employing ethnographic, clinical, epidemiological, and nutritional anthropometric methods, addresses a gap in the biocultural study of ethnomedical systems by clarifying the role that biology and culture each play in the cultural construction of illness while developing insights into the empirical basis of Mesoamerican ethnomedical concepts. Additionally, this research synthesizes current emic and etic approaches towards the development of an integrated biocultural medical anthropology. INDEX WORDS: Medical anthropology, Biocultural epidemiology, Tzeltal, Mixe, Protein-energy malnutrition, Second-hair illness THE BIOCULTURAL EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ‘SECOND-HAIR’ ILLNESS IN TWO MESOAMERICAN SOCIETIES by GEORGE EDWARD LUBER B.A., The University of Florida, 1993 M.A., Northern Arizona University, 1997 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2002 2002 George Edward Luber All Rights Reserved THE BIOCULTURAL EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ‘SECOND-HAIR’ ILLNESS IN TWO MESOAMERICAN SOCIETIES by GEORGE EDWARD LUBER Approved: Major Professor: Elois Ann Berlin Committee: Brent Berlin Alexandra Brewis Theodore Gragson Carolyn Ehardt Electronic Version Approved: Gordhan L. Patel Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2002 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe a significant debt of gratitude to several individuals for their support of this project. First and foremost, I owe the success of this dissertation to my wife, Holly. I would never have survived graduate school without her by my side. The personal sacrifices she made in order to be with me during my fieldwork and her support and patience during the write-up phase will never be forgotten. Credit for the formulation of this project belongs to my major professor, friend, and mentor, Elois Ann Berlin. This dissertation (and my graduate education in general) bears the mark of her intellectual guidance, creative energy, and concern for the well- being of those we study. I owe thanks to Brent Berlin for his support and encouragement during all phases of this research and for his ability to illuminate the theoretical “essence” of what we are trying to accomplish as anthropologists and scholars. Thank you both for insisting (against my initial protests) that I make the study of ‘second-hair’ illness the topic of my dissertation. I will forevermore defer to your sound judgement. In addition to Elois Ann and Brent, I would like to thank my committee members, Alex Brewis, Carolyn Ehardt, and Ted Gragson, all of whom provided input and guidance that have significantly improved the quality and scope of my dissertation. I also owe a special thanks to my friends and colleagues, Aaron Lampman and Dave Casagrande for being such great people to be in the field with. I was fortunate to have developed friendships with several outstanding individuals during the course of my research. I give sincere thanks to José Guzman Gomez, of Tenejapa, for his collaboration and assistance with the Tenejapa phase of this research. iv Thanks also to Dr. Gerardo Lanuza for his wit, wine, skill on the chess board, and his uncanny ability to locate the best epi data in Chiapas. The Oaxacan phase of this research benefited from the help and guidance of friend, historian, and collaborator, Areli Bernal Alcántara. His instruction on the finer points of Mixe life added greatly to this research. Areli is truly an inspiration for all those who know him. I would also like to gratefully acknowledge several funding organizations for helping to make this research possible. Funding for preliminary research into the Tzeltal Maya cha’lam tsots was provided by an Ethnographic Research Training Grant from the National Science Foundation and a travel grant from the University of Georgia’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Funding for my dissertation research was generously provided by a National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Grant, a Wenner-Gren Individual Grant for Dissertation Research, a Jacob’s Research Grant from the Whatcom Museum, and a fieldwork grant from the NIH/NSF-funded Maya International Collaborative Biodiversity Group (ICBG). v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................1 1.1 The Research Problem..................................................................................1 1.2 ‘Second-Hair’ Illness in Mesoamerica.........................................................3 1.3 Objectives and Hypotheses ..........................................................................5 1.4 Interpretive and Ecological Approaches in Medical Anthropology.............7 1.5 Towards a Biocultural Synthesis..................................................................8 1.6 Significance................................................................................................12 1.7 Outline of the dissertation ..........................................................................13 2 THE RESEARCH SETTING .....................................................................................15 2.1 The States of Oaxaca and Chiapas .............................................................15 2.2 The Tzeltal Municipio of Tenejapa ............................................................17 2.3 The Highland Mixe of Oaxaca ...................................................................27 3 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ......................................................37 3.1 Procedure 1: The Emic Perspective...........................................................38 3.2 Procedure 2: The Etic Perspective, biological and clinical data ...............42 3.3 Procedure 3: Identifying areas of convergence and divergence between the emic and etic construction of the illnesses...........................................52 3.4 Field Stays ..................................................................................................54 vi 4 THE EMIC, ETHNOMEDICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE TZELTAL MAYAN CHA’LAM TSOTS.......................................................................................................56 4.1 Sample........................................................................................................57 4.2 Prevalence and Seasonality ........................................................................58 4.3 Primary Sufferers .......................................................................................59 4.4 Distribution.................................................................................................60 4.5 Attributed Etiology.....................................................................................61 4.6 Onset, Preliminary Symptomology, and Diagnosis ...................................64 4.7 Course of the Illness...................................................................................67 4.8 Prognosis, or Predicted Outcome ...............................................................70 4.9 Healing Strategies.......................................................................................70 5 THE EMIC, ETHNOMEDICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE MIXE MÄJTS BAAJY..75 5.1 Sample........................................................................................................77 5.2 Prevalence ..................................................................................................77 5.3 Primary Sufferers and Seasonality .............................................................79 5.4 Distribution.................................................................................................80 5.5 Attributed etiology .....................................................................................80 5.6 Onset, Preliminary Symptomology, and Diagnosis ...................................83 5.7 Course of the Illness...................................................................................85