Resumen:
Ante la pandemia del COVID 19, muchas personas de los pueblos originarios Bribri y Cabécar, decidieron curarse exclusivamente con las medicinas y tratamiento de su medicina ancestral, lo que refleja un saber hacer y un saber actuar ante enfermedades contagiosas, incluido el COVID 19. Este artículo reflexiona sobre las practicas sociales y culturales de la medicina ancestral de estos pueblos, así como de las plantas medicinales, protocolos y tratamientos médicos que
utilizaron para enfrentar la pandemia. Para cumplir ese objetivo revisamos fuentes bibliográficas en antropología, lingüística, historia y medicina, pero sobre todo volvimos a revisar las entrevistas que le habíamos hecho a médicos indígenas a lo largo de varias décadas, para profundizar en los fundamentos filosóficos de su medicina. Luego entrevistamos, en sus propias comunidades a personas Bribri y Cabécares que enfermaron del COVID 19 y, se curaron exclusivamente con sus propios conocimientos médicos.
Palabras clave:
Medicina tradicional, pandemia, COVID-19, amerindios, identidad
cultural.
Abstract:
In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people from the Bribri and Cabécar Indigenous communities chose to treat themselves exclusively with their ancestral medicines and treatments, reflecting their expertise and knowledge of how to manage contagious diseases, including COVID-19. This article reflects on the social and cultural practices of the ancestral medicine of these communities, as well as the medicinal plants, protocols, and medical treatments they used to confront the pandemic.
To achieve this objective, we reviewed bibliographic sources in anthropology, linguistics, history, and medicine, but above all, we revisited interviews we had conducted with Indigenous healers over several decades to delve deeper into the philosophical foundations of their medicine. We then interviewed Bribri and Cabécar people in their own communities who had contracted COVID-19 and recovered exclusively using their own medical knowledge.
Keywords: Traditional medicine, pandemic, COVID-19, Native Americans, cultural identity.
