Challenging Our Understanding of Health: Indigenous Perspectives from the Highlands of Chiapas, Mexico

Abstract

In the context of development, considerable attention is paid to population health, usually interpreted according to mortality rates or burden of disease estimates. However, health is more complex than such physical indices can convey. This is particularly evident among many contemporary indigenous communities whose concepts of well-being extend well beyond conventional biomedical measures. Such misalignment of perspectives can have implications for how the health effects of development are determined. To gauge the relevance of alternative perspectives, indigenous notions of health among Highland communities in Chiapas, Mexico are examined. This paper begins with a historical account of health and healing rituals in the region, then describes current beliefs and practices among a set of Highland communities.

Notes

¹ For the census, the indigenous population is measured as the population who speak an indigenous language. While this classification is controversial, it will suffice for the purposes of this investigation.

² Of mixed Spanish and indigenous descent.

³ Sociological literature on health narratives illustrates the moral element in individuals' interpretation of disease but does not suggest any aetiological relationship between morality and health outcomes.

⁴ Referring to myself and my research team who were locals, fluent in Tzotzil/Tzeltal and Spanish.

⁵ In some cases, a quote is used to illustrate the exception rather than the norm.

⁶ The community health workers were trained by various international NGOs to recognize common illnesses and convey public health messages. They were largely voluntary and did not receive any formal remuneration for their services.

⁷ The community health workers in Chenalho had considerable exposure to international organizations and biomedicine, while those in San Cristobal had relatively little exposure in this respect, and the Tenejapa group had an intermediate level of interaction and experience.

⁸ Specifically, those with more assets are more likely to use SSA clinics, private doctors and traditional healers, and less likely to use pharmacies.