[Tradition, improvisation and modernity in Yucatecan Mayan shamanism: The suhuy art of Juan Cob, h-men of Yaxcabá].
Michel Boccara
Salud Colectiva 2017 DOI: 10.18294/sc.2017.1077 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Juan Cob, a Yucatecan Mayan h-men (shaman) of Yaxcabá, and communities in Yucatán, Campeche, and Quintana Roo |
| Duration | 40 years of fieldwork, 1976 to 2016 |
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key findings | The article uses the history of Juan Cob, an h-men from Yaxcabá, to examine changes and continuities in Yucatecan Mayan shamanism, particularly the healing practice known as tsak, based on the author's 40 years of fieldwork from 1976 to 2016. |
Abstract
Through the history of a Yucatecan Mayan shaman (h-men), this article analyzes the changes and continuities in Yucatecan shamanism and, more specifically, in one of its main functions: tsak, healing. The results presented here are part of fieldwork carried out over 40 years, from 1976 to 2016. The author lives in a community in central Yucatán (Tabi, Sotuta) and has carried out a number of research studies on Yucatecan shamanism in communities in the Mexican states of Yucatán, Campeche and Quintana Roo. Juan Cob, h-men of Yaxcabá, is not only an informant but also the author's friend and neighbor, with whom he has created a number of films.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Plantas con madre": plants that teach and guide in the shamanic initiation process in the East-Central Peruvian Amazon. Curanderos, apprentices, and herbalists in East-Central Peru, including Mestizo,... | 2011 | Qualitative study | n = 36 |
| Purging and the body in the therapeutic use of ayahuasca Healers and participants in shamanic tourism contexts of the Peruvian Amazon and... | 2019 | Ethnography with literature review | n = 227 |
| The Globalization of Ayahuasca Shamanism and the Erasure of Indigenous Shamanism Western tourists and indigenous peoples in Iquitos, Peru | 2016 | Ethnography | |
| Shamanism and Rock Art in Far Western North America Historic hunter-gatherer cultures of California and the Great Basin | 1992 | Ethnographic review and analysis | |
| Working with “La Medicina”: Elements of Healing in Contemporary Ayahuasca Rituals Ayahuasqueros and Western participants in shamanic tourism in Iquitos, Peru | 2012 | Ethnography |