ISSN: 2347-7474 International Journal Advances in Social Science and Humanities Available online at: www.ijassh.com

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Prehispanic Healing Practices in Indigenous Communities of the Zongolica Sierra in ,

Sevilla-González MDLL1*, Alvarez-Licona NE1, Alvarez-Sevilla R2

1Sección de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigación de la Escuela Superior de Medicina del Instituto Politécnico Nacional. 2Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia.

Abstract

Background: Traditional medicine in Mexico has a long history and It is part of a pattern of medical care that has been maintained for centuries by traditional doctors or midwives and by people who recognize them as key players in the community. Methods: We worked in the Nahua community of Zongolica Veracruz through several interventions in health, some education and prevention campaigns, productive workshops that have allowed closer ties among researchers and community members, and especially between the group of doctors and midwives. We have done over one hundred semi-directed interviews to report the prehispanic healing practices in indigenous communities of the Zongolica Sierra in Veracruz. Results: Midwives attend regular monthly visits to women who are pregnant, calculating with them the day of childbirth, and the midwives include a follow-up of 40 days after childbirth. Conclusion: This research process showed that traditional medicine is not opposed to institutional medicine, as long as kept a respectful attitude toward both models. Even, both medicine types in practice are complementary each other in a community setting.

Keywords: Midwives, Traditional medicine, Health, Knee, Childbirth. Introduction Traditional medicine in Mexico has a long patient relationship or pregnant-midwife history and It is part of a pattern of medical goes beyond care during childbirth. A care that has been maintained for centuries midwife attends a woman during pregnancy by traditional doctors or midwives and by and after childbirth. That kind of support is people who recognize them as key players in not realized by the doctor or nurse from an the community "[1]. Traditional doctors and institutionalized health care unit. The midwives cover a function that does not disease is understood as a complex cultural meet the professionals assigned to phenomenon; pathological indicators are institutionalized health services, also known transformed and have social significance, to as the hegemonic axis of Medicine. the extent they relate to various aspects of social life. In this way the disease is not an The history of research on indigenous empty term of content, it is a process migration to seek shelter responds to the through which it is given a social meaning to need to preserve their traditions and the signs of biological disorder, making culture. "The non-Indian political, economic symptoms and socially significant facts, and demographic pressures, forcing which leads us to consider the pathology indigenous communities to shelter in within specific cultural contexts, that is to tropical jungles, deserts or high say that the disease is not an individual mountains”[2]. episode, but a real social fact. It represents the disease as a complex phenomenon, from The pregnancy, childbirth and post-partum three indicators that amalgamated each processes, in the rural and indigenous other: a) pathological indicators; b) signs of settings, are attended mainly by community social meaning; c) Polysemic relations midwives who understand that the doctor- through symbols, allowing us to understand different therapeutic contexts [3].

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It is in the dimension of polysemic symbols health program and expanding coverage was relationships through which leads us to implemented [6]. recognize the validity of prehispanic healing practice in the Nahua community from the In 1989 the Ministry of Health created "The Zongolica Sierra in Veracruz. house of Birth" in remote indigenous communities, a place with better hygienic Midwives conditions, instruments and equipment required The practice of midwifery in prehispanic for midwives to perform his trade in the best Mexico was understood as a very prestigious possible conditions; the place was run by job, Fray Bernardino de Sahagun in his midwives or community . book, General History of the Things of New Spain, provides evidence of this practice, Nowadays is exercised freely the midwifery in which shows the dignity features they were Mexico, sometimes there are intercultural characterized: "honest and decent person partners, within the structure of health services veneration" [4]. who understand that in the country, these women are serving most births in the communities most The importance of midwives was also isolated. recognized in New Spain and in an attempt to address the health problems that existed, Methods It was created "an outline of specialists in We worked in the Nahua community of Zongolica medicine, which appears in first level the Veracruz for more than 15 years; there have been doctor, in second level the surgeon, in the several interventions in health, some education third level the barber, in the fourth level the and prevention campaigns, productive workshops apothecary, and finally in the fifth level the that have allowed closer ties among researchers midwife”[5]. Monitoring and supervision of and community members, and especially between these professions was undertaken by the the group of doctors and midwives. Court of Protomedicato, which provides the right to exercise such trades. Although We have done over one hundred semi-directed midwives are contemplated within the interviews and we have over 500 images of the specialists who should be recorded and community, its members and their daily evaluated in the protomedicato, this practice activities. The main results of the interviews was not controlled but exercised with full presented are from midwives who have great free, both in Spain and New Spain. This recognition within the community; unfortunately, court operated until 1831. The importance of in recent years many of them have died. And the midwives was also recognized in New Spain number of 50 people who formed the group for 5- once the conquest (S-XVI), taking the church year periods: masehual ixtlamachilistli is now commissioned to save the soul of the fetus in reduced to half. However they are interested in danger of death, however birth-care was forming a new generation of young midwives to done as had been done with midwives in help them meet the needs in the community. communities. Scientific medicine did not remove from the hands of midwives Medicinal plants reported in the interviews are childbirth, because there was no presented in Table 1; which resume over 40 infrastructure that could support this booklets that the community shared with us, in change. Many women in Mexico had no those notes they take control of medicinal plants alternative other than to empirical used during pregnancy and childbirth. midwives, a condition that still remains in some indigenous communities. Results Midwives of Zongolica sierra In Mexico, the training program for Zongolica is a municipality that is located in the midwives began in 1937 in the city of middle mountainous area (sierra) of the state of Torreon, and this pilot program was Veracruz Mexico, bordering the states of Oaxaca, extended to all county’s Medical Services of and Tlaxcala in Mexico. North borders are the Ministry of Health and Welfare (now the municipalities of and Magdalena, Health Ministry), created in 1934. From south borders are the municipalities of de 1978 until 1982 a program of training that Altamirano and ; east borders are the incorporating the midwives into the rural

Sevilla-González MDLL et. al. |Aug. 2016 | Vol.4 | Issue 08 | 07-12 8 Available online at: www.ijassh.com municipality of Omealca and west borders are illiterate, and the percentage among the the municipalities of Texhuacan, population over 15 years reaches 38%; and Los Reyes as show in figure 1. However increasing 60% in mountain areas [7,15]. the whole region is known as "Zongolica sierra". This sierra has one of the most rugged In this population motherhood has always topography or Mexico, with height over 2 000 been attended by midwives, who enjoy great m. above sea level. In these geographic prestige inside and outside the indigenous conditions people live in extreme poverty. community. This recognition farm in the Mainly the indigenous population: Nahua. follow-up of pregnancy; attention to the woman during childbirth, the human The village of Zongolica is a place located in attention that the midwives provide to the the center of the sierra. It is located 38 km family, pregnant woman and the child; from the city of , however the winding including a follow-up of 40 days after roads make difficult to access in and out of the childbirth. Thus we see that the service of village, leading to a trip of 1:30 hours away by midwives is not restricted to care at the time car; yet to reach many of the communities of childbirth, is all previous and subsequent takes 1, 2 or 3 hours by dirt roads badly work which helps us to understand reasons damaged and in some cases only by walking. why the midwives remain in high demand.

In Zongolica 60% of the population has no Midwives attend regular monthly visits to electricity services, piped water or drainage; women who are pregnant, calculating with this percentage rising to 95 % in highland them the day of childbirth. Monitoring is communities. The most important occupation accompanied by a review in which they have is agriculture for self - consumption; however - to give a light massage on the belly of the a very sinuous , with acidic and nutrient-poor pregnant with special oils, massage is very clay place constitutes the land. A third of the smooth and is made from the waist to the population between 6 to 14 years old is pubis, which will stimulate the child and make it accommodate itself for the childbirth.

Figure 1: Geographical localization of Zongolica. Upper Square shows a map of Mexico highlighting Veracruz. Middle square shows a map of Veracruz highlighting Zongolica localization in Veracruz. Lower square shows a map of the geographical localization of Zongolica.

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Alicia Pérez (AP) is a recognized midwife of They wrap the child with clothing from its Zongolica, since for 7 years she was dad, usually with a shirt or part of this “in president of 40 traditional doctors and order to the child be respectful, since the midwives collectively called "Masehual child feels paternal protection otherwise, how ixtlamachilistli". AP states: could a child be respectful since it lack of the dad protection” as AP said. "Well we say ourselves that massage is for uterus accommodates its child" Then the placenta is buried in the "For us it is necessary to give the massage, foundation of the house by the dad thus he although doctors tell us to abstain doing so. will continue supporting the family. “And the It also set flexible, non- cracking, the skin placenta should be wrapped with clothing since is very difficult for a country woman from the dad along with palma-bendita her skin cracks, and it is what the skin plant” AP concluded. needs. You may not fix anything inside, but the skin above” Jerónima (Jer.) another important midwife from Zongolica, states that "Before birth, a The day of childbirth, the woman kneels on chicken soup for mother and family is occasions helped by her husband, if he cooked, usually already you have the chicken cannot help women uses a rope fixed on the chosen for the occasion” . roof of the house. The woman will give birth, while the midwife receives the child, cuts the umbilical cord and crosses the child. Later, the midwife gives the child to someone else in order to assist the second birth: help again to the woman to throw the placenta.

Figure 4: Jeronima. Another midwife of Zongolica who in the picture is thanking for the reasech work realized in her community.

The commitment of the midwife ends after 40 days passed the childbirth, when she goes to see Figure 2: Alicia Pérez. A midwife of Zongolica. the mother to give her a bath of herbs and a Hug, however if there is any problem before the 40 days, the midwife must attend woman and child. At 40 days, the same day of the bath and hug , the midwife performs a "Xochitlalli" ( xochitl - Flower / tlalli - earth) that is a fertility ritual, in order to thank through prayers, in front of a cross covered with flowers and providing an offering of drinks: brandy, pulque , coffee and cachtila (fermented cane syrup).Midwifery then become a godmother: “We are godmothers and grandmothers. a relationship is established with the birth (Jer.)“

Regarding to the salary, this is not set; the midwife can receive a kilo of sugar, twenty Figure 3: Prehispanic sculpture of a knee-childbirth. Mexican pesos equivalent to one US dollar, a

Sevilla-González MDLL et. al. |Aug. 2016 | Vol.4 | Issue 08 | 07-12 10 Available online at: www.ijassh.com chicken or even nothing. However, compensation or solidarity distinctions in community recognition is very clear to these case of emergencies, illness or frequent women. This work is free, they do not expect natural disaster in the community, such as any payment or enrichment, is understood floods, landslides or accidents. Thus physical as an exercise of the gifts received. or material assistance reciprocity is part of what the midwife receives for its services. The work of midwifery is also explained by the lack of resources to enable them to get In the case of women who have no economic the basic necessities for subsistence. No necessity, practicing midwifery can be alternative employment in these explained because this activity gives them communities make us -researchers- to think the opportunity to learn new things, to leave that even a little payment is better than their community and to have a more active nothing. We must also recognize the social life. Many of these women are updated precarious income received for their services by health ministry and other institutions as traditional doctors. It is striking that the such as the Ministry of Labor and the payment (money, objects or animals) they National Commission for the Development of receive as compensation by the woman's Indigenous People [7]. In Mexico there are partner or family, is greater when the child small economic supports to keep them there is a male than a female. This significance of to participate in courses, lectures or the value that is given to the man or the meetings. When so, they sometimes are woman in the family as a symbolic provided with money for transportation or a conception is expressed in the Nahua meal, and they share a part of what they get culture.For a midwife, prestige and with their family. recognition in the community, translates to

Table 1: Medicinal plants used during pregnancy and childbirth Scientific Name Common Spanish Name Medicinal Use Preparation Name Caulophyllum Squaw root, Cohosh azu, It accelerates Tea thalictroides Papoose root Raiz de paposo uterine contractions and induces childbirth Petroselinum Parsley, Perejil It favors dilatation Chewing parsley crispum Garden, during the childbirth during contractions Parsley accelerate uterine contractions during childbirth Ocimum basilicum Basil, Albahaca, Tea: 2-3 dried leaf spoons It has parasitic activity and helps Great basil, Alabega, Alfabega to recovery after childbirth Saint-Joseph's-

wort Capsella bursa- Shepherd's- Bolsa de pastor, Tea: 1 dried leaf spoon pastoris purse Carapulla It stimulates uterine contractions

Ginger Jengibre, It helps against dizziness during Tea: 1 plant-powder spoon Zingiber officinale Jengibre- pregnancy

jamaiquino Frambueza, Bayas It helps against dizziness during Tea: 1 plant- powder spoon Rubus idaeus Raspberry, rojas pregnancy

Red-raspberry,

European –

raspberry

Brugmansia Angel's Floripondio Aplication of flower macerate It lessens pain during childbirth trumpets Schinus molle Peruvian Pirul Sitz bath pepper, It has anti inflamatory activity American pepper

Rosmarinus Rosemary Romero Sitz bath It has anti inflamatory activity officinalis

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Institutionalized medicine has conducted Conclusions research and training to midwives who Health professionals usually come to recognize the different fields of action for indigenous communities with socio- different types of medicine [12-14]. And educational materials (previously designed) through working together midwife can tell to to validate and standardize it by group institutional doctor about any problems of techniques. It is true that there are pregnancy. They are also midwives who may experiences in which materials designed be replicating information about sexually without the opinion of the community have transmitted infections (STI); since good results [8-11]; However, the information is the central point for the fight ethnocentric attitude of healthcare, imposed against STI’s such as HIV, and that structures that do not give the expected information should become the turning point result because it does not take into account for a change in risky practices [13]. This is the cultural particularities of each social the reason because this intervention group might truncate the expected results. considered convenient to work with affective elements, with the commitment of the This research process showed that community, which in many occasions traditional medicine is not opposed to becomes the true engine of change. institutional medicine, as long as kept a respectful attitude toward both models. In conclusion we affirm as did Guillermo Even, both medicine types in practice are Bonfil Batalla [16] indigenous policy is not complementary each other in a community necessarily grounds on the indigenous needs setting; thus, anthropologists and [17], the indigenous action has roads that sociologists are who make difference or are marked in accordance with the real separations between both models of needs of a population. While there is need medicine. for health care in remote mountains and isolated communities will continue to exist: midwives and traditional doctors. References 1. Dávalos Marcela (1996) El caso de las parteras; México: 10. Baruch Maldonado Rodolfo (1993) La Antropología Social de Cuicuilco, Revista de la Escuela Nacional de Antropología Apoyo: El caso de los carteles para las campañas de vacunación e Historia, 2(6):196. en el náhuatl de Zongolica. , Veracruz México: Facultad de Antropología de la Universidad Veracruzana, Tesis de 2. Aguirre Beltrán, Gonzalo (1973) Regiones de Refugio. Licenciatura. México: Instituto Nacional Indigenista. 11. Pérez Palacios (coord.) (1999) La salud reproductiva en 3. García García, José Luis (1998) In Martínez, Comelles y comunidades indígenas. Una propuesta institucional. México: Miranda (comp.). Trabajo Social y Salud. 29:15-25. Secretaría de Salud, Dirección General de Salud Reproductiva. 4. Sahagún, Bernardino de (1999) Historia General de las 12. Sevilla-González María Luz (2010) Discriminación discurso y Cosas de la Nueva España; México: Editorial Porrúa, SIDA. Revista Cuicuilco. Vol 17No 49, México. Décima Edición. 13. Sevilla-González María L, Álvarez Licona N (2000) Introducción 5. Quezada Nohemí (1989) Enfermedad y Maleficio. El de material de prevención en lengua Nahuatl In La respuesta curandero en el México colonial. México: UNAM, Instituto mexicana al SIDA: Mejores Prácticas. Editorial Ángulos del de Investigaciones Antropológicas. SIDA. 6. Senties Yolanda (1991) Higiene materno-infantil. 14. Ángulos del SIDA (2004) El trabajo de las parteras sobre Adiestramiento de parteras empíricas. México: Secretaría VIH/SIDA y otras infecciones de transmisión sexual. Ángulos de Salud, Circulo de Estudios Sobre Salud y Enfermedad del SIDA. México. en el Medio Rural de México. 15. INEGI (1995) Resultados Definitivos. Tabuladores Básicos, 2 7. Información básica de la CDI. Comisión Nacional para el tomos. Veracruz, México. desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas. URL: http://www.gob.mx/cdi/documentos/informacion-basica-de- 16. Bonfil Batalla Guillermo (1995) Obras Escogidas, 4 tomos. la-cdi Last accessed July 26th, 2016 México: INI, INAH, Dirección General de Culturas Populares, CONACULTA, Fondo Nacional de Fomento Ejidal, CIESAS. 8. Vargas Tentori, Fortunato (1958) Prueba de un material visual y evaluación de una experiencia en programas de 17. Bonfil Batalla Guillermo (1994) México profundo, una educación para la salud. Patzcuaro, Michoacán México: civilización negada. México: Editorial Grijalvo. Centro Regional de Educación Fundamental para la América Latina (CREFAL). 9. Fassin, Didier (1992) Antropología y Salud en Comunidades Indígenas. Manual de capacitación para promotores campesinos de salud. Quito, Ecuador: Instituto Francés de Estudios Andinos, Ediciones Abya Yala.

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