Latent and manifest empiricism in Q'eqchi' Maya healing: a case study of HIV/AIDS
Waldram, J.B.; Hatala, A.R.
Social Science and Medicine 126: 9-16
2015
ISSN/ISBN: 0277-9536 PMID: 25497726 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.12.003Document Number: 640170
This paper presents a case study of the traditional treatment of a Q'eqchi' Maya man in southern Belize in 2011 who is suffering from AIDS-related sickness. The purpose is to detail the empirical nature of Q'eqchi' Maya medicine, distinguishing between manifest and latent empiricism, as evidenced in the healers evolving attempts to treat the patient in the absence of knowledge of his biomedical diagnosis. The paper argues for a more complete understanding of the empirical nature of much Indigenous healing, which parallels aspects of scientific medicine, and for better collaboration among traditional healers and biomedical practitioners in strongly Indigenous areas.
Document emailed within 0-6 h
