Tarahumara Medicine. Ethnobotany and Healing Among the Rarámuri of Mexico

417 Pages·2016·15.661 MB·English

by  Irigoyen-Rascón, Fructuoso, Paredes, Alfonso

Tarahumara Medicine

Tarahumara Medicine
Ethnobotany and Healing
among the Rarámuri of Mexico
Fructuoso Irigoyen- Rascón
with Alfonso Paredes
University of Oklahoma Press : Norman
This book is published as part of the Recovering Languages and Literacies
of the Americas initiative. Recovering Languages and Literacies is
generously supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Also by Fructuoso Irigoyen- Rascón
Cerocahuí: Una Comunidad en la Tarahumara (Mexico City, 1974)
(and Jesús Manuel Palma Batista) Rarajípari: La Carrera de Bola Tarahumara
(Chihuahua, Mexico, 1994)
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Irigoyen Rascón, Fructuoso.
Tarahumara medicine : ethnobotany and healing among the Rarámuri
of Mexico / Fructuoso Irigoyen-Rascón with Alfonso Paredes.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8061-4828-1 (hardcover : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-0-8061-4362-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Tarahumara Indians—Medicine. 2. Tarahumara Indians—Ethnobotany.
3. Tarahumara Indians—Rites and ceremonies. 4. Traditional medicine—
Mexico—Tarahumara Mountains. I. Paredes, Alfonso. II. Title. III. Title:
Ethnobotany and healing among the Rarámuri of Mexico.
F1221.T25I76 2015
972.16004′974546—dc23
2015015807
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee
on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources, Inc. ♾
Copyright © 2015 by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing Division of the
University. Manufactured in the U.S.A.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise—except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the United States Copyright Act—
without the prior written permission of the University of Oklahoma Press. To request permission
to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, University of Oklahoma Press,
2800 Venture Drive, Norman OK 73069, or email [email protected].
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
To my wife, Josefina,
my daughter, Josefina,
and my sons, Tocho and Saul

Contents
List of Illustrations • ix
List of Tables • xi
Acknowledgments • xiii
Introduction • 3
1. The Tarahumara Ecological Habitat • 15
2. A Historical Review of the Tarahumara People • 36
3. Rarámuri, the People and Their Culture • 58
4. Affiliative Social Activities of the Tarahumara People • 88
5. Great Life Occasions and Ceremonies: Birth and Death among
the Tarahumaras • 94
6. Major Festivities of the Tarahumaras • 102
7. Loss- of- Health Conceptual Schemes of the Tarahumaras • 113
8. Rarámuri Healers • 135
9. The Jíkuri Ceremonial Complex • 140
10. Compendium of Tarahumara Herbal Remedies and Healing
Practices • 155
11. The Tarahumaras: A Conventional Medical Perspective • 267
Notes • 285
Bibliography • 357
Index • 383
• vii

Illustrations
All photographs are by the author.
Figures
Urique Canyon • 21
Mixed pine- oak forest in Tarahumara Country • 28
Tarahumara man smiling for the camera • 60
Tarahumara men listening to a nawésari • 61
Blond Tarahumara children from Kwechi • 62
Tarahumara girls playing • 62
Tarahumara women sunbathing • 63
Tarahumara girl’s face • 63
Young Tarahumara woman holding her child • 64
Nawésari ceremony • 80
Group of pintos • 104
Group of pariseo (pharisee) dancers • 105
Tenanches with the saints of the pueblo • 107
Matachín dancers • 112
Jíkuri (peyote) ceremony • 146
Jíkuri ceremony—peyote is placed in a hole • 147
Jíkuri ceremony—the sipáame speaks to the peyote • 148
Blooming field of Stevia serrata (ronínowa) in Tarahumara Country • 241
Tarahumara girl suffering from kwashiorkor- type malnutrition • 273
Same Tarahumara girl after treatment • 273
• ix