Study Of Different Agents Of Traditional Medicine, Diagnosis, Treatment Of Diseases Under The Dialect Of Cañari Culture And The Use Of Medicinal Plants For Therapeutic Purposes In Cantons Of Cañar, El Tambo And Suscal

Abstract

The traditional medicine of native peoples remains from generation to generation being used in every moment of their lives. The research is developed with the objective of determining the different agents of traditional medicine, diagnosis, treatment of diseases under the dialect of the Cañari culture and the use of medicinal plants for therapeutic purposes in the cantons Cañar, El Tambo and Suscal in the period March - August 2019. The research was descriptive, documentary and field design, the population was 172 agents who practice ancestral medicine and 668 inhabitants of the three cantons to whom the interview and the survey were applied respectively, obtaining the following results: of the agents who practice traditional medicine, 34.3% represent midwives, 25.6% are sobadores (a kind of massager), 16.3% are herbalists, 9.3% yachaks, 8.1% healers, and 6.4% bonesetters, in the three cantons; within the three cantons. Among the most treated illnesses are arco, colerín, mal aire, espanto, caída de zhungo, bad energies, and rabo. For the diagnosis of these diseases, egg and candle cleansing, cleansing with mounts, observation of signs or symptoms in patients, palpation, among others, are used. For treatment, rituals, cleansings, baths, and drinking infusions of healing herbs are performed. This study provided an approach to the relevance of ancestral medicine, frequency of use, as well as diagnostic processes and treatments from a multicultural approach so that it is a contribution to the integration of traditional medicine with conventional medicine, leading to strengthen interculturality through the exchange of knowledge.