Abstract

BAUTISTA AGUILAR, Natalia. Saberes y prácticas en torno al proceso salud/enfermedad/atención entre habitantes del Mezquital, Hidalgo. Cuicuilco [online]. 2014, vol.21, n.59, pp.121-144. ISSN 0185-1659.

The objective of this study is to describe the beliefs and meanings which the residents of El Decá and Cieneguilla, two rural communities in the state of Hidalgo, attribute to various illnesses. Health in the region under study is defined as the equilibrium among the properties of the body and the environment, the absence of physical pain, functioning in the community and the meeting of basic needs. Sickness refers to the rupture of this internal and external equilibrium and also indicates a close relationship with the conditions of life and the socio-cultural prescriptions of the populations studied. The experience of illness, the specificity of the specialist consulted and the treatment to be followed depend on the attributed causality. Both systems, the traditional and the institutional, persist in the practices of these populations as complementary systems. The residents of El Decá and Cieneguilla identify, classify and explain illness based on local knowledge, a fact which must be acknowledged and integrated into the health care system, which has been set up in the region, starting with an understanding of and respect for their knowledge, practices and context.

Keywords : Anthropology; health/sickness/care; indigenous people; hñähñü; Valley of the Mezquital.

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