Like Grace, I also found the reading from this week to be the most interesting reading so far, due to its medical emphasis. Although Harris’s article included a lot of new information, the reoccurring theme highlighting the close relationship between Guatemalans and nature is evident. According to Mayan beliefs, all illnesses (both the yab’ilal and k’oqob’al) have natural roots. Harris states. “Ixtahuaquenses frequently told me that nature is the origin of most common illnesses. The natural causes of disease often symbolically echo the illnesses they produce” (p. 29). The fact that the Mayans define illnesses in terms of nature exhibits how much they value the earth. Not only does disease originate in nature, but its cure is derived in nature as well. As an older man explained, “every plant contains a cure.” Another instance that displays the importance of nature is the idea that failing to recognize a day’s importance may cause illness due to disrespect for that day. As we’ve seen in past readings, this respect for nature and land is a focal point of Mayan culture.
After reading “Someone is making you sick,” I felt like I had hypocritical thoughts, which inspired me to pose this question to the class: where do you draw the line between faith and naïveté? Trust and fate are qualities that characterize the Mayans and make them unique. Their trust in their ancestors’ remedies and trust that these remedies will work without a proven reason makes the Mayan people so special. At the same time, I find myself thinking, “how can they be so naïve?” Contagion is a concept in Western medicine that completely reformed the idea of health and medicine. Understanding contagion and making simple changes to prevent it can have a fundamental effect on a population. I know it is a biased question, but if Americans know we can improve the heath of these individuals, at what point can we intervene?
Along the lines of trust, I find it interesting that Americans rely so heavily on explanation, reasoning, and evidence regarding the cause of an illness, where as the Mayans simply trust nature, trust the Gods, and trust that the remedies passed down by their ancestors will work. Even the head of the health clinic in Santa Catarina simply answered, “se cura” (one gets better), when asked how a remedy worked. An answer like such would never be accepted in the U.S.
Furthermore, the social function of medicine in Guatemala is extremely interesting to me. Whether or not there is actually such a things as witchcraft or B’anom yab’ilal, the fear that it causes functions to create order society. People feel compelled to be nice to their neighbors, respect the property of others, and not become too greedy in order to prevent someone from instilling bad health upon them. In this sense, retaining these beliefs is important. I don’t think health mandates social order in society the same way in America as it does in Guatemala. This is one advantage that their medical beliefs have over Western medicine.
The other reading, “Your Destiny Is To Care For Pregnant Women,” reiterated many things we have heard from both Manuel’s wife, Isabella, as well as Danielle. One thing that I noticed was different was the ritual with the umbilical cord. I think Isabella said that it is customary to wrap the umbilical cord around the baby’s neck as a form of protection. I thought that Isabella and Manuel were from Nahualá as well, but if not, maybe this tradition varies amongst different regions. Also, Wilson mentions that when a woman is giving birth in the kneeling position, “generally her husband or another family member supports her.” I thought that the husband was generally absent from the birthing process, but maybe this displays the movement away from traditional birthing customs.
I found the relationship between the midwife system and the hospital system to be more civil than I expected. The fact that the midwives acknowledge and accept the resources and aid that hospitals can provide is a huge step towards increasing the safety of the birthing process. The different accounts of Laura’s hospital experience on pages 135 and 136 were particularly interesting to see how a husband and wife’s views differed. Marco’s primary concern was the health of his wife and his child. I was shocked that he even admitted, “as soon as there is the smallest problem or complication, the midwife not only does not know how to deal with it, but can increase the severity of the problem because she does not know what she is doing.” On the other hand, Laura explains that she too is thankful for her healthy child, but her experience at the hospital was rather uncomfortable. She didn’t feel culturally accepted and thus did not have the experience that she had hoped for. On a different note, I was also surprised to see that multiple people in the hospital suggested that the midwives come with the mother to the hospital. They know that the mothers often feel uncomfortable and scared, so why isn’t there change being made to correct this? Right now both parties understand and accept each other, but they are in a period of standstill. Someone needs to take the initiative and more successfully integrate these two systems in order to benefit the patient to the highest degree.
Although this contradicts some of what I had just said, I found these facts about hospital births to be shocking. (Hopefully this link works):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm77ZujkTbw
As Americans, we are quick to judge the Mayans as primitive and assume that our methods are better and safer. However, are hospital births actually safer?
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