There probably does not exist a more comprehensive review of Tarahumara history, culture, and healing than this volume. Irigoyen-Rascón began research as a medical student in Cerocahui in 1972, and this is his first English publication. The book benefits from the ten years he spent working as a physician in Norogachi, Samachique, and Guachochi through 1980. Living in Tarahumara communities, learning the language, and gaining acceptance in local activities are essential because, as Irigoyen-Rascón explains, “the behavior when persons alien to the culture are present may differ” (7). This is especially true when it comes to matters of healing, ceremony, and traditional medical belief and practice.Since Irigoyen-Rascón attempts an emic and etic representation of Tarahumara healing practices, his decade of experience as an outside physician/researcher validates the material. However, the primary criticism of the volume relates to the time frame in which Irigoyen-Rascón lived and worked in the Sierra. Forty years later some of the information is out of date. Irigoyen-Rascón acknowledges that culture is not static, but he suggests that the most significant event in the cultural evolution of the Tarahumaras is their response to the Spanish colonial encounters, 1588–1800, when they abandoned “belligerence” and adopted passive resistance. “This passive resistance has continued, essentially unchanged, until the present, and it has secured the survival of the group” (51).However, contemporary changes in the Sierra Tarahumara, such as the illicit drug trade, burgeoning tourism, and economic development projects, are having equally drastic impacts on the lives of Tarahumaras. The Sierra Madre of the 1970s is quite different from the Sierra Madre today, and Irigoyen-Rascón seems conflicted about this. His concluding sentences acknowledge that “alcohol, drugs and criminal activity have found more and better routes to the heart of the land of the Tarahumaras. These changes have had a profound effect on the health of the Rarámuri” (283). Without an intimate knowledge of the Sierra, the average reader may not be aware of these changes, and thus it is difficult to know what is still accurate information and what is outdated. When discussing alcohol abuse, Irigoyen-Rascón states: “Among the Tarahumara, drinking takes place only at socially defined situations. . . . It is known that the Tarahumaras do not customarily consume distilled beverages with high alcohol content” (281). But if so, what are the “profound” effects of alcohol, drugs, and criminal activity he mentions in his last sentence?Similarly, some pertinent works by contemporary scholars are not mentioned. The fascinating chapter outlining the jíkuri (peyote) ceremony includes observations from his own experience combined with some published work, such as Claus Deimel’s (1985), yet Ingrid Kummels’s (2007) work on the ceremony is absent. The short chapter covering birth and death ignores Frances M. Slaney’s (1997) work on fire baptism, as well as Janneli F. Miller’s (2009) on birth practices.Irigoyen-Rascón’s compendium of herbal remedies takes up over one hundred pages. Plants are listed alphabetically, with names in Spanish or Rarámuri, so looking up plants in English is difficult. Extensive and detailed accounts of plant use stem from his own experience, along with descriptions taken from classic older works familiar to Tarahumara scholars. Again, recent published work is neglected, such as Felice S. Wyndham’s (2010).Despite these important omissions, the volume is a handy synthesis of Tarahumara healing beliefs and practice, heretofore unmatched in scope. Obviously Irigoyen-Rascón conducted a remarkable amount of research, and his firsthand explanations are insightful. As long as readers realize that this book presents an ethnohistorical peek into the past, rather than an accurate description of contemporary healing practice, the information is of value.
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Feb 22, 2018
Anne Matilainen + 3
Open Access