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When Iberians invaded the American mainland in 1519, they encountered an empire that rivaled their own. This empire—led by the Nahuatl-speaking Mexica—covered an impressive landscape across the Valley of Mexico, from the Pacific to the Atlantic Coast. What threaded these diverse communities together was a state religion, developed and maintained by the Mexica, and at its head were religious leaders known as tlamacazqueh, or “the givers of things.” These figures animated the Mexica world with the works they made for state ceremonies, but sixteenth-century Iberian authors obscured them in fear of their non-Christian ways, while later scholars, as a result, attended to better-documented state artisans outside the religious sphere. Through an analysis of Mexica art and architecture, the Nahuatl language, and early colonial Nahuatl texts, this dissertation reclaims the role of making in Nahua religion and re-centers the tlamacazqueh as skilled makers with artistic knowledge.The tlamacazqueh mastered techniques to create sacred artworks that drew on the bodily senses and thus animated Nahua religion. These skills, I argue, were part of a Nahua concept of artistry called tōltēcayōtl. In individual chapters, I explore the spaces where these religious leaders learned (īxtlamachtiā) their skills; how they cut (tequi) materials and created new forms with flint knives; how they molded doughs and folded fig bark to place (tlāliā) and present sacred energies; and how they wrapped (quimiloā, ilpiā) sacred art with smoke and woven fibers to create surfaces that could perceive. Therein, I explore the relationships between these Nahua makers and their made things to complicate Euro-American frameworks of animacy and personhood, explore Indigenous concepts of relationality, and center the artistic, ecological, and imperial knowledge and networks that constellated around these individuals.Since religious leaders and their practices did not suddenly vanish once the Mexica Empire fell to Iberian invaders in 1521, I also follow the tlamacazqueh and their artistic skills as they transformed alongside Europeans, Africans, and other Indigenous groups in the slippery middle ground that defined the transatlantic world of sixteenth-century New Spain. In fact, religious leaders took drastic measures to protect sacred artworks in the fallout of war, becoming community mediators and practitioners who maintained their sacred and artistic knowledge. By straddling these pre- and post-Invasion worlds, which indeed Nahuas saw not as separate but sutured, I shed light on how the tlamacazqueh disseminated, presented, performed, and essentially made two imperial religions: one Mexica and the other Ibero-Christian.

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. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12884-021-04344-w., 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. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12884-021-04344-w.

Les serpents sont de ces animaux que Claude Lévi-Strauss appelait « bons à penser ». Chez les Nahuas/Maseualmej du bassin de la rivière Apulco, dans la Sierra Norte de Puebla (Mexique), les représentations des reptiles et des amphibiens se déploient à plusieurs niveaux : cognitif-empirique, pratique et cosmique. Le présent article explore ce dernier niveau et révèle, entre autres, une continuité structurelle frappante entre les attributs et fonctions de certains reptiles dans les représentations autochtones contemporaines et ceux qu’on associait à des divinités chez les Aztèques, au moment de la conquête espagnole, et ce malgré le changement des contenus. Par exemple, une fonction de Quetzalcoatl, hybride serpent-oiseau, celle d’« ouvrir la voie aux nuages de pluie », s’est reportée sur l’hirondelle qui « balaie le ciel » : redevenu reptile fantastique, kuesalkouat, tout comme le gecko, « appelle la pluie ». De même les fonctions nourricières de Tlaloc et de Chicomecoatl sont maintenant partagées entre Aueuejcho et les Foudres, qui « font pleuvoir », et les Talokej et le boa, qui protègent la croissance des épis. Les auteurs démontrent ici que, chez les Maseualmej d’aujourd’hui, la nature, plus particulièrement l’univers animal, se fond dans une surnature. De la même manière, la frontière entre l’humain et l’animal apparaît poreuse et traversée de liens mystiques qui se révèlent quand on examine les croyances à l’« âme double » (tonal)., Snakes rank among the animals which Claude Lévi-Strauss called ‘good to think about’. In this paper, we analyse the representations concerning reptiles and amphibians among the Nahua/Maseualmej who live in the Apulco River valley, in the Sierra Norte de Puebla, Mexico. In these representations, we distinguish three levels: empirical-cognitive, practical and cosmic. Here, we shall explore this third level. Our ethnographic research showed a striking structural continuity between the attributes and functions of some reptiles in contemporary indigenous representations and those linked with gods among the Aztec, at the time of the Spanish Conquest, in spite of the changes in content. For example, one function of Quetzalcoatl (hybrid of bird and snake) that of ‘clearing the way for clouds’ has been taken by the swallow, which ‘sweeps the sky’. Nowadays, under the form of a fantastic snake, kuesalkouat, along with the gecko, ‘calls for the rain’. In a similar way, the feeding functions of Tlakoc and Chicomecoatl are now shared between Aueuejcho and the Thunderbolts, which ‘make the rain to fall’ on the one hand, and the Talokej and the boa, which protect the growth of corn, on the other hand. Globally, our inquiries showed that among today’s Maseualmej, Nature, and particularly the animal kingdom, melts with a Supernature. In the same way, the frontier between human beings and animals is porous and crossed by mytical links as appears when we examine the beliefs related to the ‘double-soul’ (tonal)., Las serpientes son de esos animales que Claude Lévi-Strauss llamó “buenos para pensar”. Entre los Nahuas/Maseualmej de la cuenca del río Apulco, en la Sierra Norte de Puebla (México), las representaciones de los reptiles y anfibios se despliegan en tres niveles: cognitivo-empírico, práctico y cósmico. El presente artículo explora este último nivel. Llama la atención la continuidad estructural entre los atributos y funciones de algunos reptiles en las representaciones indígenas contemporáneas y las que se asociaban a varias divinidades entre los aztecas, en el momento de la conquista española, a pesar de los cambios intervenidos en los contenidos culturales. Por ejemplo, una función del dios Quetzalcóatl, híbrido de ave y serpiente, la de “abrir el camino a las nubes de lluvia” le corresponde hoy a la golondrina, que “barre el cielo”; mientras que kuesalkouat, reptil fantástico, junto con el geco, “llaman la lluvia”. De modo similar, las funciones alimenticias de Tlaloc y Chicomecóatl se reparten ahora entre Aueuejcho y los Rayos “que hacen llover”, por una parte, y los Talokej y la boa, por otra parte, que vigilan el crecimiento de los elotes. Los autores demuestran que entre los Nahuas/Maseualmej de hoy, la Naturaleza, sobre todo el universo animal, se fusiona con lo sobrenatural. De la misma manera, la frontera entre humanos y animales aparece porosa, cruzada por nexos místicos que se revelan cuando se examina las creencias relativas al “alma doble” (tonal).

International audience; Since the 1980s, anthropologists have been valorizing the notion of working together with their research participants to produce knowledge. But what happens when the anthropologist's notion of collaboration differs radically from that of the people with whom he or she wishes to collaborate? My initial attempt at such collaboration with indigenous Nahua people in a Mexican village seemed to fail miserably, yet, over time, the situation changed. Reflecting on the misunderstandings surrounding our discussions on the first drafts of my book about the village provides a glimpse of the cultural context in which the interaction was forged. It raises questions about literacy, the authority of knowledge, and my interlocutors’ views of social relationships. In particular, an understanding of the local notion of work proved crucial to grasping the evolution of these exchanges. The latter revealNahua ontologies as well as my own.; Desde los años ochenta, los antropólogos han valorizado la noción del trabajo conjunto con los integrantes de sus investigaciones para producir conocimientos. Pero, ¿qué sucede cuando la noción de colaboración de los antropólogos difiere radicalmente de la de las personas con las que pretenden colaborar? Mi intento inicial de tal colaboración con un grupo indígena nahua de un pueblo mexicano pareció fracasar miserablemente, sin embargo, con el tiempo, la situación cambió. Reflexionar sobre los malentendidos que rodearon nuestras discusiones acerca de los primeros borradores de mi libro sobre este pueblo permite vislumbrar el contexto cultural en el que se forjó la interacción. Plantea preguntas sobre el alfabetismo, la autoridad del conocimiento y los conceptos de mis interlocutores sobre las relaciones sociales. En particular, la comprensión de la noción local de trabajo resultó crucial para entender la evolución de estos intercambios. Estos últimos revelan ontologías nahuas, así como las mías propias.

Background and aim of the work: Within of Nahua of Naupan, the impact of acculturation processes by the historical interconnection between different models of medicine has given rise to important revisions and reinterpretations of local medical culture. The main purpose of this article is the observation of dynamics and aspects related to processes of understanding, perception and management of diagnostic categories, as well as the local understanding of the person (the individual) in the rural district of Naupan, located in the North East part of Sierra de Puebla. Methods: The analysis presented in this work is the result of an ethnographic study carried out at the Nahua community (1,614 people) residing in the rural town of Naupan (Huauchinango, Puebla, Mexico). Results: The attention will be given to the synthetic analysis of the local conceptions of certain pathologies and how the individual is seen as an unstable and constantly changing aggregate, situated in a context where health-related issues are clearly linked to different levels of perceived reality. Conclusions: In settings where there are no systems of institutionalized medical knowledge, nosological concepts are seen in a subjective and indeterminate manner, due to the fact that in some cases they also vary considerably depending on the person. Faced with the choice of therapeutic options, the Naupeña population moves between integrating and rejecting medical concepts from different cultural horizons, through a continuous creation of knowhow that they see as more or less organized and transmissible knowledge about disease, treatments and methods of prevention and interpretation. (www.actabiomedica.it)

It had been believed that Nahuatl recordkeeping, the focus of a whole movement of central Mexican ethnohistory, had halted by 1800. The author then discovered a large cache of Nahuatl testaments from communities in the Metepec area in the first decades of the nineteenth century, the independence period. The present study, based on those materials, brings native-language ethnohistory a full generation forward in time and is the first to look at indigenous communities in the independence years from the inside.The continued production of Nahuatl testaments itself shows a cultural persistence; the content of the testaments shows most features of local life still operating much as before. The greatest surprise was that in the corpus women testators and property owners outnumber men, making up almost two-thirds of the total, thus reversing the traditional proportions. In chapters on writing, religious practices, the household complex, and non-household land, interrelated blocks of local sociocultural life are portrayed and analyzed against the background of Nahua life in previous centuries. Women are abundantly studied, and the role of the genders receives much attention through statistical comparisons and analysis of cases. Again the results are a surprise, for though women show evidence of a new prominence in matters of funeral rites, for the rest their role seems much as it had always been, and through their bequests they were well on the way to handing males their traditional predominance in property holding.The corpus contains collections from three communities that show micro-local distinctions, featured in each of the chapters. Some of the testaments are in Spanish, which became predominant before 1830, but the texts are so dependent on Nahuatl phrases that they can be studied as part of the whole and show that the language transition at first had small effects on local culture.

Background This study documents cycad-human relationships in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras over the last 6000 years. The impetus was acute need for a better understanding of previously undocumented uses of cycads in this region, and the need to improve cycad conservation strategies using ethnobotanical data. We hypothesized that cycads are significant dietary items with no long-term neurological effects, are important to religious practice, and contribute to cultural identity and sense of place, but that traditional knowledge and uses are rapidly eroding. Guiding questions focused on nomenclature, food and toxicity, relationships to palms and maize, land management issues, roles in religious ceremony, and medicinal uses, among others, and contributions of these to preservation of cycads. Methods From 2000 to 2017, the authors conducted 411 semi-structured ethnographic interviews, engaged in participant-observation in Mexican and Honduran communities, and carried out archival research and literature surveys. Results We documented 235 terms and associated uses that 28 ethnic groups have for 57 species in 19 languages across 21 Mexican states and 4 Central American nations. Carbohydrate-rich cycads have been both famine foods and staples for at least six millennia across the region and are still consumed in Mexico and Honduras. Certain parts are eaten without removing toxins, while seed and stem starches are detoxified via several complex processes. Leaves are incorporated into syncretic Roman Catholic-Mesoamerican religious ceremonies such as pilgrimages, Easter Week, and Day of the Dead. Cycads are often perceived as ancestors and protectors of maize, revealing a close relationship between both groups. Certain beliefs and practices give cycads prominent roles in conceptions of sense of place and cultural heritage. Conclusions Cycads are still used as foods in many places. Though they do not appear to cause long-term neurological damage, their health effects are not fully understood. They are often important to religion and contribute to cultural identity and sense of place. However, because most traditional knowledge and uses are rapidly eroding, new community-based biocultural conservation efforts are needed. These should incorporate tradition where possible and seek inspiration from existing successful cases in Honduras and Mexico. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13002-018-0282-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

La globalización, en sus formas contemporáneas, tiene un impacto sin precedentes en el desplazamiento de prácticas religiosas que antes estuvieron profundamente ancladas en tradiciones, territorios y grupos sociales específicos, sobre todo etnonacionales. Esla obra examina los procesos de transnacionalización de diferentes religiones que recorren en sentido contrario las rutas y los intercambios entre África, Europa y América. Las etnografías contenidas en este volumen describen tradiciones religiosas que viajan en el equipaje de los migrantes para refundar comunidades diaspóricas; religiones afroamericanas que debido a su fama internacional ampliaron y transnacionalizaron su red de parentesco ritual dando paso a la iniciación de nuevos adeptos; misiones cristianas que emprenden la reconquista del viejo continente; circulación de ritos y símbolos en circuitos mercantiles globales que ofrecen segmentos de las tradiciones religiosas reconvertidas en mercancías artísticas, terapéuticas, mágicas y turísticas; y finalmente, fronteras que atravesaron y con ellas transnacionalizaron prácticas religiosas étnicas y nacionales. Todas estas dinámicas de movilización transnacional son objeto de estudios a partir de los cuales analizamos nuevas formas de crear redes, circuitos y liderazgos; pero también nuevos impulsos para fundar naciones imaginadas que atraviesan y trascienden los Estados-nación modernos.

En 1945 Robert Barlow postuló la existencia de un texto, denominado por él como “Crónica X”, del que derivaron una multiplicidad de fuentes con similitudes estructurales que dan cuenta del pasado prehispánico de la Cuenca de México. Han sido varios los investigadores que se han dedicado a discutir e incorporar nuevos elementos a su propuesta original. El objetivo de este artículo es presentar un análisis que integre los argumentos de los estudios realizados para proponer líneas de investigación pendientes en torno a este debate historiográfico., In 1945 Robert Barlow postulated the existence of one text, named by him as “Crónica X”, which was supposed to be the common source of a lot of documents with structural similarities about the prehispanic past of Mexican people. Many researchers have analyzed this document and have also incorporated new elements to Barlow’s original postulates. The objective of this article is to present an analysis that integrates the main points of those researchers as well as to offer a new perspective in this historiographical debate., Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación

This current dissertation explores several ideas about the construction of the Nahua intellectual tradition in 19th century-Mexico. Initially, the argument of this dissertation focuses on examining the intellectual tradition among Indigenous Peoples in Mesoamerica after the European invasion of the Americas. As a result of the Spanish colonization of Mesoamerica, Indigenous Peoples in the capital of New Spain continued developing their own intellectual tradition by following two possible paths. One group of indigenous intellectuals decided to continue with their intellectual production outside of the Spanish colonial institutions. A second group of indigenous intellectuals opted for continuing with their intellectual labors under the sponsorship of the colonial authorities. In this way the intellectual tradition of the Nahua people continued during the entire colonial period. However, during the first decades of the 19th century, with the issuing of the Constitution of Cadiz and the independence of New Spain, the indigenous intellectual phenomenon within the established institutions in Mexico City changed dramatically, but it did not cease. This dissertation explores the changes that Nahua intellectuals who worked within colonial institutions in Mexico City experienced during the first decades of independent government, and examines how they continued with their indigenous intellectual tradition.

This article explores the reactions of the inhabitants of an indigenous village in Mexico to a text concerning the history of this locality. The analysis of this text’s reception raised the issue about the kind of history people want to adopt in the transcriptional process of their oral collective memory or, in other words, the issue of the relationship between oral tradition and historical sources used by researchers. The various kinds of exchanges surrounding this text permitted to disclose distinct manners to relate to one’s own history, including one that omits specific historical events, which memory is no longer transmitted. The article suggests that when put in perspective with what is currently transmitted, historical events silenced in the past might serve as an epistemological aperture to understand local notions of heritage, and by extension, a collective stance toward historical changes., Este artículo explora la reacción de los habitantes de un pueblo indígena de México a un texto que concierne a la historia de esta localidad. El análisis de la recepción de este texto planteó la cuestión del tipo de historia que el pueblo quiere adoptar en el proceso de la transcripción de su memoria colectiva o, en otros términos, la cuestión de la relación entre tradición oral y fuentes históricas exploradas por los investigadores. Los diferentes tipos de intercambios alrededor del texto permitieron revelar distintas maneras de relacionarse con su propia historia, incluso una que omite eventos históricos específicos cuya memoria ya no se transmite. El artículo propone que al ponerlos en perspectiva con lo que sí se transmite, eventos históricos silenciados en el pasado pueden servir como una apertura epistemológica para entender nociones locales sobre patrimonio y, por extensión, una posición colectiva acerca de los cambios históricos.

Las ofrendas rituales realizadas en dos grupos indígenas vecinos, los teenek y nahuas de la Huasteca veracruzana (México), obedecen a priori a la misma lógica. Se presentan a los seres de la tierra para recuperar la salud. Sin embargo, las ofrendas teenek consisten en platillos abyectos (podridos, insípidos, crudos…) que se dejan a la naturaleza mientras las ofrendas nahuas están compuestas de manjares que se comparten en seguida entre humanos y seres ctónicos. El análisis espacial, social, lingüístico y alimenticio de las ofrendas permite resaltar las distintas lógicas que se encuentran atrás de la comida ritual teenek y nahua. Lógicas relacionadas a la sociabilidad sobrenatural pero también mundana que prevalece para cada grupo. Se entrevén así, a través de la comida ritual, la expresión de distintos modos de construcciones simbólicas de la relación colectiva a la alteridad social. The ritual offerings carried out by two close indigenous groups, the Teenek and the Nahua of the Huasteca region in northern Veracruz (Mexico), are, a priori, ruled by the same logic. The offerings are presented to the masters of the earth in order to recover the wellbeing of humans. However, Teenek offerings consist of repugnant dishes (rotted, tasteless, raw,…), which are offered to nature and left in the open, while Nahua offerings are made up of exquisite foods, which are shared thereafter between humans and chthonian beings. The spatial, social, linguistic and food analysis of the offerings allows the distinct logics underlying Teenek and Nahua ritual food to emerge. These logics are related to the supernatural but also to mundane sociabilities, which prevail for each ethnic group. Therefore, one can see, through ritual food, the expression of distinct modes of symbolic constructions of the collective relation with social otherness. Les offrandes rituelles réalisées au sein de deux groupes indiens voisins, Teenek et Nahuas de la Huastèque veracruzaine (Mexique), obéissent a priori à la même logique. Elles sont présentées aux êtres de la terre afin de récupérer le bien-être des humains. Cependant, les offrandes teenek consistent en mets abjects (pourris, insipides, crus,…) qui sont déposés dans et à la nature alors que les offrandes nahuas sont composées de mets exquis qui sont partagés par la suite entre humains et êtres chtoniens. L’analyse spatiale, sociale, linguistique et alimentaire des offrandes permet de faire émerger les logiques distinctes qui sous-tendent la nourriture rituelle teenek et nahua. Logiques qui se trouvent en rapport avec la sociabilité surnaturelle mais aussi mondaine qui prévaut pour chaque groupe ethnique. On entrevoit ainsi, à travers la nourriture rituelle, l’expression de modes distincts de constructions symboliques de la relation collective à l’altérité sociale.

This paper discusses beliefs associated with human spiritual elements (oft en called “souls”) held by the indigenous Nahua from Sierra Zongolica, Mexico. Spiritual elements, such as tonalli, nawalli, and yolotl form part of a complex of correlated and often overlapping concepts. Such semantic intricacy related to the notion of a spiritual element is not just a local peculiarity of Sierra Zongolica. It appears in ethnographic data concerning other Nahuatl speaking areas, as well as in early colonial sources. Therefore, the case of Nahua beliefs constitutes a challenge to monosemantic, unambiguous definitions of Mesoamerican indigenous concepts of human spiritual elements, as presented by many anthropologists and ethnohistorians.

In the last thirty years, the improvement of biomedical acculturate had influenced the medical tradition of Nauha, in souther-eastern Mexico. The study analyses how the constituent elements of biomedical tradition are incorporated into new rhetorical, diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, mixed with languages and symbols typical of local tradition.

¿Cómo retirar el granizo que destruye los cultivos si las entidades que lo envían lo conciben como semillas? ¿Cómo recuperar el espíritu de un enfermo si su captura en el manantial se asimila a un matrimonio? Las relaciones entre las comunidades nahuas de la Sierra de Texcoco, en el centro de México, y los ahuaques o 'dueños del agua' responsables de tales depredaciones no pueden ser reguladas por cualquiera. Sólo el granicero, especialista chamánico, verdadero hombre-ahuaque, es capaz de reconciliar los puntos de vista a través de una traducción de perspectivas. Sirviéndose de una oración polifónica explica los intereses de los ahuaque a los humanos y de los humanos a los ahuaques evitando las 'granizadas de semillas', y recurriendo a un 'divorcio terapéutico' logra extraer el espíritu apresado del interior del agua. La mediación ritual persigue revertir el estado de rapacidad para transformarlo en un sistema de intercambios no agonísticos en el que todas las comunidades del cosmos salgan beneficiadas. Recurriendo al material etnográfico recogido en la zona, el artículo propone repensar las nociones nahuas de 'persona', 'granizo' y 'enfermedad'. Pero además ofrece un modelo de interpretación aplicable quizá a otras áreas de México en las que se ha documentado la presencia de graniceros y de sistemas cosmológicos nahuas que bien podrían resultar, atendiendo a su lógica interna, muy semejantes., INDIANA, Bd. 27 (2010)

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.