Abstract
BackgroundIn practically every human culture, the use of arthropods as medicinal resources has been reported. In Mexico, the Mayan people mainly use plants but occasionally also animals and minerals in their medicine. This article is the first to report the traditional use of the tarantula Brachypelma vagans by medicine men in the Chol community, an ancient indigenous group that inhabits the southeastern part of Mexico. We also describe the utility of such arachnids in traditional medicine.MethodsThis study was carried out in different Chol communities in the states of Chiapas and Campeche (southeastern Mexico) from 2003 until 2007. We interviewed the local medicine men, patients and non-Chol people in each village visited to collect information about the rituals involved and the effectiveness of this traditional medicine and also their opinion of this traditional medicine.ResultsIn all independent villages, the people who present an illness called 'aire de tarantula' or tarantula wind with symptoms including chest pain, coughing and asthma, were treated by the medicine man (called 'hierbatero') with a tarantula-based beverage. From village to village, the beverage has a similar base composition but some variations occur in additional ingredients depending on the individual medicine man. Like in all traditional Mayan medicine, the ritual of the ceremony consists of drinking the tarantula-based beverage and this is principally accompanied by chants and burning of incense.ConclusionsThe recipe of the tarantula-based beverage and the procedure of this ritual ceremony were fairly constant in all the villages visited. Our work shows that despite the tarantula's bad image in several cultures, in others positive use is made of these spiders, as in modern medicine.
Highlights
In practically every human culture, the use of arthropods as medicinal resources has been reported
The practice that uses animal or animal-derived products in human healing is known as zootherapy [3], according to the zootherapeutic universality hypothesis [4], zootherapy is widespread across most human cultures [5,6,7,8]
We investigated a total of six sites; five communities are in Chiapas: 1) Frontera Corozal (16°49’N, 90°53’W; altitude 115 m) located on the banks of the Usumacinta river that marks the border between Mexico and Guatemala and is inhabited mainly by Chol people who arrived at least 30 years ago, 2) Tila (17°17’N, 92°25’W; altitude 1063 m) is the major concentration of the Chol community and is a major religious centre, it is inhabited by many mestizos who speak Chol language
Summary
In practically every human culture, the use of arthropods as medicinal resources has been reported. In Mexico, the Mayan people mainly use plants but occasionally animals and minerals in their medicine. The use of plants, animals, mineral substances and other natural materials in traditional medicine by indigenous peoples, throughout the world and across time, is a well documented practice. Plants and plant-derived materials constitute the principal source of ingredients for traditional medicine, the identification of animal resources for medical cures is important [1,2]. Traditional medicines use animal or animal-derived products from all taxonomic groups like echinoderms, insects, arthropods, reptiles, birds and mammals [9,8,10,11]. In Sudanese traditional medicine fresh manure of a dromedary (Camelus dromedaries L. 1758) is used to alleviate arthritis [6]; in Nigeria, the hippo tusks (Hippopotamus amphibious L. 1758) are used as an aphrodisiac, the fat extracted from a manatee (Trichechus senegalensis Link 1795) is used to cure rheumatism, boils and backache [5]; in China, earthworm extract is prescribed to treat over 80 diseases like asthma, hypertension, ulcers, and epilepsy among other things [12]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
