Academics and Aboriginals Promote Ancestral Medicine School

Mexico- The University of Totonac and indigenous educators are promoting the transmission of their knowledge about healthcare to new generations through the Totonaka School of Traditional Medicine project, according to the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

In a statement, UNAM noted that the project is being led by the educational institution’s Undergraduate Program for Cultural and Intercultural Diversity Studies (PUIC), as well as individuals from the Totonaka ethnic group.

“Indigenous settlements abound without health centers or infrastructure to care for sick or difficult pregnancies,” said program researcher Carolina Sanchez Garcia.

He stressed the importance of having traditional doctors who can also treat serious cases in the face of “complications” in the communities due to the lack of communication methods, transportation or resources to reach a hospital or care center on time.

According to the World Health Organization, traditional medicine is “the set of knowledge, skills, and practices based on indigenous theories, beliefs and experiences, whether or not explainable, and used to maintain health.”

Since 2019, UNAM has obtained a Diploma in Ancestral Medicine with 13 young people who graduated from enhancing their knowledge of their language, worldview and culture, as well as receiving education in different healing arts.

The school or Pukgaltawakga Likuchu (in the Totonak language) is under development, while the consortium works with the Aboriginal Arts Center and academics from other institutions.

Alumni are “Healthy Dialogues,” a term chosen by traditional physicians and indigenous spiritual guides.

The program was born four years ago, after a group of indigenous ancestors and about 70 traditional doctors reached out to the union researchers with a joint proposal to create a space and study plan that would allow seniors to pass on their knowledge, with which they made the plan. From the Totonaka School of Traditional Medicine.

Xinhua