Anthropology Department, 611 Flanner Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2012 Aug 22;8:33. doi: 10.1186/1746-4269-8-33.
This article describes the local concepts indigenous Nahua women hold regarding their reproduction. Specifically it provides a description of two indigenous illnesses--isihuayo and necaxantle, it discusses their etiology, symptoms, and treatments, and it analyzes them within the local ethnomedical framework and sociopolitical context. A perception of female vulnerability is shown to be an underlying shaper of women's experiences of these illnesses.
This research took place in a small Nahua village in Mexico. Qualitative data on local perceptions of these illnesses were collected by a combination of participant observation and interviews. Ethnobotanical data was obtained through interviews, and medicinal plants were collected in home gardens, fields, stream banks, and forested areas. The total study population consisted of traditional birth attendants (N = 5), clinicians (N = 8), and laywomen (N = 48).
Results showed that 20% of the village women had suffered from one or both of these illnesses. The article includes a detailed description of the etiology, symptoms, and treatments of these illnesses. Data shows that they were caused by mechanical, physical, and social factors related to a woman's weakness and/or lack of support. Traditional birth attendants often treated women's illnesses. Five medicinal plants were salient in the treatment of these illnesses: Ocimum basilicum L., Mentzelia aspera L., Pedilanthus tithymaloides (L.) Poit., and Piper umbellatum L. were used for isihuayo, while Solanum wendlandii Hook f. was used for necaxantle.
The research on these two ethnomedical conditions is a useful case study to understanding how indigenous women experience reproductive health. Reproductive health is not simply about clinically-based medicine but is also about how biomedicine intersects with the local bodily concepts. By describing and analyzing indigenous women's ill health, one can focus upon the combination of causes--which extend beyond the physical body and into the larger structure that the women exist in.
本文描述了当地纳瓦族女性对生殖的本土观念。具体来说，它描述了两种本土疾病——isihuayo 和 necaxantle，讨论了它们的病因、症状和治疗方法，并在当地民族医学框架和社会政治背景下对其进行了分析。女性的脆弱感被认为是女性对这些疾病的体验的一个潜在塑造因素。
这项研究在墨西哥的一个小型纳瓦族村庄进行。通过参与式观察和访谈相结合的方式，收集了当地对这些疾病的看法的定性数据。通过访谈获得了民族植物学数据，并在家庭花园、田野、河岸和森林地区采集了药用植物。总研究人群包括传统助产士（N=5）、临床医生（N=8）和非专业妇女（N=48）。
结果表明，20%的村庄妇女患有这两种疾病之一或两者。本文详细描述了这些疾病的病因、症状和治疗方法。数据表明，它们是由与女性虚弱和/或缺乏支持有关的机械、物理和社会因素引起的。传统助产士经常治疗妇女的疾病。五种药用植物在治疗这些疾病方面很突出：罗勒（Ocimum basilicum L.）、粗茎牛膝菊（Mentzelia aspera L.）、颠茄叶喜林草（Pedilanthus tithymaloides (L.) Poit.）和胡椒（Piper umbellatum L.）用于治疗 isihuayo，而茄科植物 Solanum wendlandii Hook f. 用于治疗 necaxantle。
对这两种民族医学状况的研究是了解土著妇女如何体验生殖健康的一个有用案例研究。生殖健康不仅仅是基于临床的医学，还涉及到生物医学如何与当地的身体概念相交织。通过描述和分析土著妇女的不良健康状况，可以关注导致这些问题的原因——这些原因不仅超出了身体本身，还延伸到了妇女所处的更大结构中。
