204 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 



recover. Some curers wash their hands in 

 alcohol when treating saramjnon to prevent 

 catching the infection. 



Whooping cough, perensjuk {tosferina) , is 

 a very common disease, with a high mortality 

 rate among children. Burro's milk, turpentine, 

 copal, and yerba buena are used in treatment. 



Syphilis, gonorrhea, diphtheria, and tuber- 

 culosis are either unknown or their existence in 

 Cheran is denied. Most of the previously de- 

 scribed diseases are recognized as infections 

 by some curers ; other diseases are not so 

 considered. 



Toothache seems always to be treated by 

 patent medicines bought in drug stores at 

 Uruapan or Purepero. One man said he had 

 heard that letting of blood from the gums was 

 done in the past, but the practice has been 

 abandoned. 



Goiter, ku^'^ekua, is fairly common in Cheran, 

 especially among females. It is regarded as a 

 disease. Patients are bathed up to the knees 

 with hot water to make the "heat" come down. 

 Alcohol is then applied to the bottoms of the 

 feet to make the "heat" stay down. 



An extremely common disease, especially for 

 children in the dry season, is dysentery, 

 posicion, usually accompained by high fever. 

 Lard is washed with clean water. When the 

 water is evaporated, a half centavo of sodium 

 bicarbonate is mixed with the lard and the 

 stomach is rubbed with the mixture. 



Fevers are said to be very common, but there 

 are few standard treatments. A well-known, 

 herb, romero, is much used. A blue-flowered 

 plant called sadadroii is also employed. Pneu- 

 monia and rheumatism are recognized, but, 

 again, there are no standard treatments. 

 Typhus in mild form has occurred in epidemics, 

 but no treatment could be learned. 



Pains are regarded as a class of illness. 

 When children have pains, dolores, the mother 

 anoints the seat of the pain with saliva mixed 

 with ashes. The water in which maize has 

 been cooked, 'ncjallote, is also given in small 

 quantities. This water is also used as a remedy 

 whenever anything "fresh" {fresco) is needed. 

 Women after birth are especially subject to 

 pains of the breast, k'uaningiota. The pains 

 may be in the breast, about the stomach region, 

 or anywhere about the ribs. Sometimes 



swellings occur in the breast, ribs, or back. 

 A curer specializing in this ailment discovers 

 the seat of the pain by feeling with her fingers. 

 She then anoints the area with unguents pur- 

 chased in the stores. If the first ones do not 

 work, she then tries others. 



The blood of animals is generally regarded 

 as bad and dangerous. The black blood from 

 a butchered animal will cause ulcers if it falls 

 on the skin. The cure is to cauterize the ulcers 

 with a hot iron. The danger from animal 

 blood is said to be the reason many people will 

 not use meat until several days after butchering. 



There are a number of treatments of illness 

 which are quite generalized, that is, they may 

 be used on a variety of occasions. For example, 

 umargo, is taken in the morning before eating 

 to cure rheumatism, bilis, and "fright." 

 Amargo is aguardiente in which cinnamon bark, 

 sugar, lemon juice, and lemon rind have been 

 steeped for 2 or 3 days. Roses of castile, made 

 into infusions, may be used for any sort of 

 pain or sickness. Persons on the verge of 

 death may sometimes be brought back by put- 

 ting an onion under their nose or blowing- 

 tobacco smoke in their face. A mild diet is 

 frequently used regardless of the illness. Milk 

 and oatmeal gruel are the two most preferred 

 items. Nurite, a common herb used in cook- 

 ing, is also widely used for stomach disorders 

 and colics. Romero, qiiien sabe, and yerba 

 buena are also widely used herbs. Additional 

 herbal remedies have been collected, but the 

 plants have not yet been identified. 



Of considerable interest is a class of diseases 

 and ailments which seem to be of supernatural 

 causation. Witchcraft, which has already 

 been discussed (p. 156), is an important cause 

 of illness and death. Others are c'erpiri or 

 jandaku iri ("fright," espanto), tariata pakata 

 ("wind," aire or viento) , and eskukata (evil 

 eye or mal de ojo). 



Some informants believed that "fright" was 

 something attacking only drunkards and per- 

 sons who went about at night, and considered 

 it mei'ely seeing ghosts or similar imaginary 

 supernatural things. A curer, however, de- 

 scribed to Rendon an elaborate treatment for 

 the disease. The curer puts a bit of cotton over 

 the end of the index finger of her right hand. 

 Over this she puts a green tomato, preferably 



