Perspectivas actuales de los curanderos sobre las prácticas de la Medicina Ancestral Andina. Cuenca, Ecuador

Abstract

Background. In Latin America, the practice of traditional medicine is widely spread by the series of socio-cultural and economic relationships that allow its validity. In this context, the ancestral knowledge transmitted from generation to generation among the members of the indigenous communities of the Andean region of Ecuador have contributed characteristic elements to their culture while they have established a particular way of diagnosing and treating various pathologies conceived from their perspective worldview.

Aim. To describe the current practice of Andean ancestral medicine from the perspective of the healers of Cuenca, Ecuador.

Methodology. This is a qualitative research methodological phenomenological design in which a group of nine healers participated, which provides the services of Ancestral Medicine in the canton of Cuenca, with a minimum of 5 years of experience. The non-participatory observation, the semi-structured interview and the focus group were the techniques used to collect information. The content analysis will be developed in correspondence with the previously established categories. The coding process will be executed with the assistance of Atlas.ti software.

Results. This study will allow to know the current perspective of a group of healers on the practice of ancestral medicine in this region. Your results will be disseminated through this research project and other scientific products derived from it.

Conclusions. The healers of our region require a better place to carry out their activities and provide a better service to the users, avoiding the cross-linking of energies. The users come to be attended generally on Tuesdays and Fridays in the different squares and markets of the city, respecting this tradition since making several generations. The healers are trained to cure both natural and especially supernatural diseases