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This paper is a reflection on the phenomenon of voluntary isolation in Amazonia, about anthropology’s implication in its formation as a concept, and what anthropologists might profitably say about it as a concrete phenomenon in the world. While knowledge based on ethnographic fieldwork might by minimal or even totally absent for people in voluntary isolation, anthropological research has produced a very impressive understanding of indigenous Amazonian social forms in general, knowledge that can be brought to bear on the question.

Mesoamerican forms of shamanism have rarely been discussed in international academic debates. Through ethnographic information collected in the Sierra de Texcoco, in Mexico, what might be called a Nahua shamanic tradition is analyzed in light of the interlacing of relationship modes conceptually associated with hunting and agriculture. Nahua shamanism relates to a sacrificial cosmology that places predation as the first moment of a cosmic cycle of agonistic exchange, whose moment of retribution is linked to rain and agricultural fertility. The specificity of Nahua shamanism lies precisely in this articulation of logics of a hunting and agricultural nature, involved in the definition all at once of the entities at work, of the specialist himself and of the dynamics that govern the exercise of cosmic politics.

Plain English summary In many Indigenous communities, traditional midwives support mothers during pregnancy, childbirth, and some days afterwards. Research involving traditional midwives has focused on training them in Western techniques and redefining their role to support Western care. In Guerrero state, Mexico, Indigenous mothers continue to trust traditional midwives. Almost half of these mothers still prefer traditional childbirths, at home, in the company of their families and following traditional practices. We worked with 30 traditional midwives to see if supporting their practice allowed traditional childbirth without worsening mothers’ health. Each traditional midwife received an inexpensive stipend, a scholarship for an apprentice and support from an intercultural broker. The official health personnel participated in a workshop to improve their attitudes towards traditional midwives. We compared 40 communities in two municipalities that received support for traditional midwifery with 40 communities in two municipalities that continued to receive usual services. We interviewed 872 women with childbirth between 2016 and 2017. Mothers in intervention communities suffered fewer complications during childbirth and had fewer complications or deaths of their babies. They had more traditional childbirths and fewer perineal tears or infections across home-based childbirths. Among those who went to Western care, mothers in intervention communities had more traditional management of the placenta but more non-traditional cold-water baths. Supporting traditional midwifery increased traditional childbirth without worsening health outcomes. The small size of participating populations limited our confidence about the size of this difference. Health authorities could promote better health outcomes if they worked with traditional midwives instead of replacing them.

The Huasteca Potosina region has a relevant landscape heritage of biocultural diversity, due to high biological diversity and the presence of the Teenek (Huastec Mayan), Nahua, and Xi'iuy (Pame) ethnic groups. The object of this study is to analyze, among the different cultural groups of the region, how the performances of the relevant Socioecological Systems (SESs) influence the conservation of biocultural diversity. Quantitative approaches are used to determine the expected trends of indices (Informant Consensus Factor, ICF; Cultural Importance Index, CII; Shannon–Wiener Biodiversity Index, SWI) commonly used in the ethnobotanical field. Data of the main domestic forest species used by the groups mentioned above were collected in 2021. We analyzed the SES profile for each of the ethnic groups and a mestizo group, as well as their relationship with the biome they mainly inhabit and the domestic functions fulfilled by the ethnobotanical species. As a result, we found that the low deciduous forest and the sub-evergreen tropical forest biomes, which co-evolved mainly with the Nahua and the Teenek SESs, present higher diversity and effective use of species so that offer better chances for conserving the landscape heritage of biocultural diversity. Otherwise, the results also show the critical nature regarding the biomes inhabited by the Pame and the mestizo's SESs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Available research on the contribution of traditional midwifery to safe motherhood focuses on retraining and redefining traditional midwives, assuming cultural prominence of Western ways. Our objective was to test if supporting traditional midwives on their own terms increases cultural safety (respect of Indigenous traditions) without worsening maternal health outcomes.Methods: Pragmatic parallel-group cluster-randomised controlled non-inferiority trial in four municipalities in Guerrero State, southern Mexico, with Nahua, Na savi, Me'phaa and Nancue ñomndaa Indigenous groups. The study included all pregnant women in 80 communities and 30 traditional midwives in 40 intervention communities. Between July 2015 and April 2017, traditional midwives and their apprentices received a monthly stipend and support from a trained intercultural broker, and local official health personnel attended a workshop for improving attitudes towards traditional midwifery. Forty communities in two control municipalities continued with usual health services. Trained Indigenous female interviewers administered a baseline and follow-up household survey, interviewing all women who reported pregnancy or childbirth in all involved municipalities since January 2016. Primary outcomes included childbirth and neonatal complications, perinatal deaths, and postnatal complications, and secondary outcomes were traditional childbirth (at home, in vertical position, with traditional midwife and family), access and experience in Western healthcare, food intake, reduction of heavy work, and cost of health care.Results: Among 872 completed pregnancies, women in intervention communities had lower rates of primary outcomes (perinatal deaths or childbirth or neonatal complications) (RD -0.06 95%CI - 0.09 to - 0.02) and reported more traditional childbirths (RD 0.10 95%CI 0.02 to 0.18). Among institutional childbirths, women from intervention communities reported more traditional management of placenta (RD 0.34 95%CI 0.21 to 0.48) but also more non-traditional cold-water baths (RD 0.10 95%CI 0.02 to 0.19). Among home-based childbirths, women from intervention communities had fewer postpartum complications (RD -0.12 95%CI - 0.27 to 0.01).Conclusions: Supporting traditional midwifery increased culturally safe childbirth without worsening health outcomes. The fixed population size restricted our confidence for inference of non-inferiority for mortality outcomes. Traditional midwifery could contribute to safer birth among Indigenous communities if, instead of attempting to replace traditional practices, health authorities promoted intercultural dialogue.Trial Registration: Retrospectively registered ISRCTN12397283 . Trial status: concluded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Huasteca Potosina region has a relevant landscape heritage of biocultural diversity, due to high biological diversity and the presence of the Teenek (Huastec Mayan), Nahua, and Xi’iuy (Pame) ethnic groups. The object of this study is to analyze, among the different cultural groups of the region, how the performances of the relevant Socioecological Systems (SESs) influence the conservation of biocultural diversity. Quantitative approaches are used to determine the expected trends of indices (Informant Consensus Factor, ICF; Cultural Importance Index, CII; Shannon–Wiener Biodiversity Index, SWI) commonly used in the ethnobotanical field. Data of the main domestic forest species used by the groups mentioned above were collected in 2021. We analyzed the SES profile for each of the ethnic groups and a mestizo group, as well as their relationship with the biome they mainly inhabit and the domestic functions fulfilled by the ethnobotanical species. As a result, we found that the low deciduous forest and the sub-evergreen tropical forest biomes, which co-evolved mainly with the Nahua and the Teenek SESs, present higher diversity and effective use of species so that offer better chances for conserving the landscape heritage of biocultural diversity. Otherwise, the results also show the critical nature regarding the biomes inhabited by the Pame and the mestizo’s SESs.

Sometime between 1565 and 1743, three folios were removed from the central Mexican manuscript known as Codex Azcatitlan. Two of the missing folios were part of section referring to the conquest history in this manuscript. Through an analysis of extant images and the comparison with other indigenous accounts of the conquest, this study makes an argument for the possible content on these pages and proposes that the missing folios recorded significant sacrificial events and acts of violence against the Spaniards that were of great importance to the indigenous Tlatelolca authors and their intended indigenous audience. This paper argues that those images that might have been considered most offensive to a Spanish Christian viewer were excised, at a time when censorship was on the rise in New Spain.

In the modern maize myths of the Mayan area and the Gulf Coast where the protagonist is a woman, it is established that her sacrifice, usually carried out by the Sun, is the necessary event to transform what she contains at the potential level into concrete goods, that is corn. However, in cases where the protagonist is male, his death, brought on by his grandmother or his mother, is what makes the young man's transformation into the maize god possible. In a similar vein, Mexica culture establishes that it is the sacrifice of the primal female entity, performed by male deities, which creates the fertile earth in the cosmogonist myth of Tlaltecuhtli, of which a new reading is proposed. This transformation of the female telluric matter into fruitful land in the myth has a masculine valence. Congruently, it had to be a man who wore the skin of the goddess Toci after her sacrifice and flaying in the month Ochpaniztli to propitiate the periodic regeneration of vegetation and in primis of maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

La población indígena de Cuetzalan, México, tiene las características de aquellas que habitan territorios fronterizos desde hace siglos, fronterizos en el sentido de Gloria Anzaldúa, dado que siempre tiene que adaptarse a nuevas condiciones para sobrevivir como gente indígena. El artículo analiza esas adaptaciones como formas/lógicas de pluriversalidad, es decir, los maseualmej (sg. maseual) juntan la epistemología y ontología occidental hegemónica con una epistemología y ontología indígena. Usan las nuevas condiciones, introducidas por la sociedad nacional capitalista, como recurso en su resistencia contra su desposesión (de bienes, de conocimientos, de identidad, etc.). Mantienen su existencia e identidad como comunidad indígena porque conectan las dos lógicas y no las separan. El análisis se basa en investigación de campo de uno a tres meses en cada estancia entre 2003 y 2017 con observaciones participantes, conversaciones informales, así como entrevistas formales. El fundamento de mi análisis son las teorías del sistema mundo, de la colonialidad de poder y la teoría antropóloga de la persona.

The present work analyzes the transmission of the oral tradition of the indigenous peoples during the colonial and contemporary period and how it was documented in manuscripts, canvases, maps, and genealogies. In these documents, a part of the vision of the Mesoamerican world was expressed: the ritual life, the sacred discourses, the cult of the ancestors and the gods that live in the areas surrounding the towns and in the hills that are considered sacred. One of the main premises that will guide this work is this: the indigenous communities are entities that produce knowledge, a part of which we can see documented in their documentation. The community's oral narrative is what guides the tlacuiloque ('scribes') in the representation of their history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Aquest article presenta un estudi exploratori sobre la presència i l’ús de la llengua nahua en l’espai de treball i el valor que té aquest ús dins del mercat laboral local. Es va realitzar un estudi de cas entrevistant quaranta-nou titulats de la Universitat Veracruzana Intercultural (Mèxic). Entre els principals resultats es destaca que, malgrat els fenòmens de discriminació i desplaçament, els treballadors estudiats van manifestar fer un ús oral i escrit del nahua en la seva activitat laboral, i la seva condició de parlants va ser considerada pels seus ocupadors com a necessària i important per a l’acompliment de les seves funcions. Això suposa que una formació professional pertinent i el desenvolupament de la funció laboral del nahua actuen de manera positiva en la seva revaloració. Aquest estudi també mostra les possibilitats d’investigar les llengües minoritzades de Mèxic des de la dimensió laboral de cara a una planificació lingüística integral. Paraules clau: mercat de treball, llengua indígena, educació intercultural, nahua, Mèxic.

Copyright of Orbis Tertius is the property of Universidad Nacional de La Plata and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article studies four perspectives of nakedness. First of all, nakedness as a manifestation of shamelessness and as a sexual transgression. This enables us to move forward in the understanding of the conception of body among the ancient Nahua. Secondly, it is examined as humiliation, punishment and mockery of the person. The lack of clothing is not just a sign of degradation, it also implies a depersonalization. Thirdly, the subject of the intimidating naked body is discussed. For the most part, we focus our attention on the exposure of the female sexual organs. Men are afraid of beautiful and seductive women because the latter can kill the ingenuous who desire them and wish to possess them. Lastly, nakedness is expounded as part of ritual event. In this case, the lack of clothing is a necessary step for transitioning into another status. Nakedness is conceived of as a new birth, an origin, something new. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on ethnographic data collected from 1993 to date, I seek to demonstrate that contemporary Nahua develop certain aspects of their lives in the context of an economy of gifts. Nahua reciprocity expresses this in the basic economic form of "aid", called quipalehuiya locally. I argue that this "aid", given as goods or services, is reciprocated through social networks and provides a foundation for the model of interdependence that completely links this population with its social and ecological environment.

Resumen: La historia de México registra entre sus varios protagonistas a personajes célebres por los hechos gloriosos o vergonzosos en que participaron. Mi intención en este artículo es mostrar a través del trabajo de Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, lo que parece incuestionable: la función del traductor en la construcción de la historia, la identidad y la cultura de un pueblo. En el caso que tratamos aquí se trata de la trascendencia que la obra de Sahagún ha tenido para un mejor conocimiento de la cultura nahua. Palabras clave: México, Sahagún, historia, identidad, cultura, nahua, traductor. THE SILENCE OF THE TRANSLATOR Abstract: The history of Mexico has among its various protagonists celebrities on account of either the glorious or the shameful events in which they got involved. My intention in this article is to show by means of the work of Fray Bernardino de Sahagun, a fact that seems certain: the role of the translator in the construction of the history, the identity, and the culture of a people. In the case discussed here we shall be dealing with the importance that Sahagun's work has had for a better understanding of the Nahua culture. Keywords: Mexico, Sahagún, history, identity, culture, Nahua, translator. LE SILENCE DU TRADUCTEUR Résumé : L'histoire du Mexique compte parmi ses célébrités différents protagonistes, en raison de leur participation soit dans des événements glorieux ou bien honteux. Mon intention dans cet article est de montrer par le biais de l'œuvre de Fray Bernardino de Sahagun, ce qui paraît certaine: le rôle du traducteur dans la construction de l'histoire, l'identité et la culture d'un peuple. Dans le cas évoqué ici, nous serons centrés sur l'importance du travail de Sahagun pour une meilleure compréhension de la culture nahua. Mots-clés : Mexique, Sahagún, histoire, identité, culture, Nahuas, traducteur.

This article addresses the strategies employed by Nahua community of Mexixo to deal with health problems. Drawing on qualitative research, it discusses the choice of plural therapeutic itineraries, including the use of informal and formal healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study conducted on varous developments in medical practices and knowledge in Nauha, Mexico. Topics discussed include the dialogue established between national health institutions and the population of various disadvantaged areas of Mexico; incorporation of biomedical tradition into new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies of Mexico; and the use of biomedicine for the treatment of infectious diseases and preventing epidemics.

Based on ethnographic data collected from 1993 to date, I seek to demonstrate that contemporary Nahua develop certain aspects of their lives in the context of an economy of gifts. Nahua reciprocity expresses this in the basic economic form of "aid", called quipalehuiya locally. I argue that this "aid", given as goods or services, is reciprocated through social networks and provides a foundation for the model of interdependence that completely links this population with its social and ecological environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conditions for the circulation of persons between Mexico and the United States have changed drastically in the last decade. The ways people return must be analyzed taking into consideration the specificity of the regions involved. The dynamic of departure and return in the so-called "historic" region of migration to the United States is conceived of in this article as an "ideal type," useful for comparing other experiences in areas where recent, comparatively late migratory flows accelerated in the 1990s. This article analyzes the return from North Carolina of indigenous and mestiza women to the municipality of Pahuatlán, Puebla. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Papeles de Población is the property of Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Mexico and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Corn is of central meaning for Nahuat-speaking people of Sierra Norte, Puebla, Mexico. It is an integral part of personhood und closely related to ideals of harmony, of (gender) cooperation and (hierarchical gender) complementarity. The article explores the relation of disturbed male harmony, resulting from missing opportunities, to adequate corn production in the context of globalization. This may lead to increased illegitimate gendered violence by men. Besides, it will also be demonstrated how new forms of cooperation and complementarity between husband and wife are developed and may contribute to less hierarchical and less violent gender relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the use of medicinal plants by Nahua women in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. It documents the women's plant knowledge for reproductive purposes, which includes uses such as conception, pregnancy, birth, contraception, menstruation, post-partum, and general reproductive health. The concept of equilibrium is very important in regaining health among the Nahua; consequently, many of the medicinal plants have this as their primary purpose. The introduction of biomedical clinics and hospitals in the region has had a significant effect on the loss of knowledge about medicinal plants. Additionally, the midwives are not taking any new apprentices and laywomen are not passing on their knowledge to future generations. This generational gap contributes to the loss of knowledge about medicinal plants. This research contributes to the study of indigenous ethnobotany by (a) creating a record of the plant knowledge possessed by indigenous women, (b) giving voice to some of their health concerns, (c) indicating how the introduction of biomedicine has affected their plant use, and (d) providing a framework for understanding how marginal peoples around the world respond to the impact that globalization and change has on their health needs and local ethnobotanical knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this descriptive study we investigated the genetic structure of 513 Mexican indigenous subjects grouped in 14 populations (Mixteca-Alta, Mixteca-Baja, Otomi, Purépecha, Tzeltal, Tarahumara, Huichol, Nahua-Atocpan, Nahua-Xochimilco, Nahua-Zitlala, Nahua-Chilacachapa, Nahua-Ixhuatlancillo, Nahua-Necoxtla, and Nahua-Coyolillo) based on mtDNA haplogroups. These communities are geographically and culturally isolated; parents and grandparents were born in the community. Our data show that 98.6% of the mtDNA was distributed in haplogroups A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1, and D2. Haplotype X6 was present in the Tarahumara (1/53) and Huichol (3/15), and haplotype L was present in the Nahua-Coyolillo (3/38). The first two principal components accounted for 95.9% of the total variation in the sample. The mtDNA haplogroup frequencies in the Purépecha and Zitlala were intermediate to cluster 1 (Otomi, Nahua-Ixhuatlancillo, Nahua-Xochimilco, Mixteca-Baja, and Tzeltal) and cluster 2 (Nahua-Necoxtla, Nahua-Atocpan, and Nahua-Chilacachapa). The Huichol, Tarahumara, Mixteca-Alta, and Nahua-Coyolillo were separated from the rest of the populations. According to these findings, the distribution of mtDNA haplogroups found in Mexican indigenous groups is similar to other Amerindian haplogroups, except for the African haplogroup found in one population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Friedreich ataxia accounts for ~75% of European recessive ataxia patients. Approximately 98% of pathogenic chromosomes have large expansions of a GAA triplet repeat in the FRDA gene (E alleles), and strong linkage disequilibrium among polymorphisms spanning the FRDA locus indicates a common origin for all European E alleles. In contrast, we found that only 14 of 151 (9.3%) Mexican Mestizo patients with recessive ataxia were homozygous for E alleles. Analysis of polymorphisms spanning the FRDA locus revealed that all Mestizo E alleles had the common European haplotype, indicating that they share a single origin. Genetic admixture levels were determined, which revealed that the relative contributions to the Mestizo FRDA gene pool by Native American and European genes were 76–87% and 13–24%, respectively, commensurate with the observed low prevalence of Friedreich ataxia in Mestizos. This indicates that Friedreich ataxia in Mexican Mestizos is due to genetic admixture of European mutant FRDA genes in the Native American gene pool that existed prior to contact with Europeans. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper describes the traditional mycological knowledge of the Nahua of San Isidro Buensuceso, on the slopes of La Malinche Volcano National Park, in the state of Tlaxcala, México. The results described in this paper were obtained through interviews with villagers selected at random; a free-listing technique was used to determine the cultural significance of the mushrooms of the region. A total of 48 species, which had 65 Náthuatl names and 40 in Spanish, were identified. Although San Isidro villagers consider mushrooms to be a natural resource mainly used for food, they also use them for medicine, insecticides and trade. This paper presents traditional information on the morphology, ecology, fenology and consistency of the mushrooms found around San Isidro. It proposes that, from a cultural perspective, Gomphus flocossus, Ramaria spp. and Boletus spp. are the most important species of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nahuatl represents a relatively recent extension of the Uto-Aztecan language family into Mesoamerica. Ethnohistorians have linked Nahuatl's arrival to the historically attested migrations of nomadic people into central Mexico in the last centuries before the Spanish Conquest. Archaeologists have tended to treat migration as an explanation for a change in material culture rather than a social question to be examined theoretically. We approach this migration through the comparison of multiple data sets and conclude that what has previously been treated as a historical event is instead part of a longer term process tying together Mesoamerica's northern periphery with its highland core. While we find that certain themes from migration theory are reflected in this preindustrial migration as well, other variables are unique and bode well for archaeology's ability to address and contribute to theoretical issues relating to migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alonso de Molinas Vocabulary is the main historical source followed by the author of this article in order to understand the Nahua agriculture at the end of the XVI century. There are also other historical sources utilized by Alba González to compare the information about types of soils, climate, vegetation, agricultural technicques and the technology associated with it and about irrigation. The article has a broad information about agricultural managements and the uses of plants -mainly corn- utilized in the agricultural labour, which was basic in the life of the Nahuas in Central Mexico. It has several tables with the data obtained from the historical sources which permit to understand the richness of this economic activity. This article is important for agricultural, ecological and historical studies and the information it presents is valuable.

Abstract Background 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. Methods 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 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. Conclusions 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.