Disease concepts and treatment by tribal healers of an Amazonian forest culture

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The extensive medicinal plant knowledge of Amazonian tribal peoples is widely recognized in the scientific literature and celebrated in popular lore. Despite this broad interest, the ethnomedical systems and knowledge of disease which guide indigenous utilization of botanical diversity for healing remain poorly characterized and understood. No study, to our knowledge, has attempted to directly examine patterns of actual disease recognition and treatment by healers of an Amazonian indigenous culture.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The establishment of traditional medicine clinics, operated and directed by elder tribal shamans in two remote Trio villages of the Suriname rainforest, presented a unique investigational opportunity. Quantitative analysis of clinic records from both villages permitted examination of diseases treated over a continuous period of four years. Cross-cultural comparative translations were articulated of recorded disease conditions through ethnographic interviews of elder Trio shamans and a comprehensive atlas of indigenous anatomical nomenclature was developed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>20,337 patient visits within the period 2000 to 2004 were analyzed. 75 disease conditions and 127 anatomical terms are presented. Trio concepts of disease and medical practices are broadly examined within the present and historical state of their culture.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings of this investigation support the presence of a comprehensive and highly formalized ethnomedical institution within Trio culture with attendant health policy and conservation implications.</p

Historical stages of the várzea settlements in the Amazon

This article refutes the thesis that agricultural vocation of the várzea of central Amazônia has continued harmoniously since pre-Columbian times. In a historical approach, which includes everything from the earliest contacts to the present, the different stages of the settlement of this great region are examined. We address the evolution of the environmental exploration patterns from the pre-conquest period, which is characterized by continuous settlement along the river's banks, through the inexorable decline of the native populations and their cultures during colonial period, when the government attempted to gather the Amerindians together and failed. We end with contemporary evolution. This article emphasizing the Careiro Island's region, near Manaus, shows that the aboriginal patterns were disregarded when the contemporary agricultural patterns were totally rebuilt after the rubber crisis

Usage de l’espace et enjeux territoriaux en forêt tropicale

Rapport final thématique APFT, pp 489-512info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe