Susto etiology and treatment according to Bolivian Trinitario people: a "masters of the animal species" phenomenon.
Evert Thomas, Ina Vandebroek, Patrick Van Damme, Lucio Semo, Zacaria Noza
Medical Anthropology Quarterly September 1, 2009 DOI: 10.1111/j.1548-1387.2009.01065.x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Trinitario people in Bolivia |
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Keywords | Humans Medicine, traditional Data collection Fear Ethnobotany Population groups Bolivia |
| Key findings | Argues that Trinitario susto etiology and treatment reflect a partly animistic hunter and fisherman worldview, in which susto is locally believed to arise from soul theft by masters of the animal species and landscape spirits. Treatment draws on the principle of similia similibus curantur, magicoritual ceremonies, and ethnopharmacological preparations that are well known and frequently used. |
Abstract
This article addresses two concepts that are quite widespread among Latin American cultures: susto or "'fright sickness," and the "masters of the animal species" philosophy, whereby individual animal spirits are believed to be "owned" by species-specific spiritual masters. This is the first article to integrate both these aspects, drawing from ethnographic data from the Trinitario people in Bolivia collected through participant-observation and semistructured ethnobotanical interviews on medicinal plants. Although Trinitarios have a long history of agriculture, their worldview is still partly one of animistic hunter and fisherman societies. This worldview is reflected in Trinitario susto etiology and treatment. Susto is locally believed to originate through soul theft by a variety of masters of the animal species and landscape spirits. Treatment is partly based on the principle of similia similibus curantur or "like cures like" and magicoritual ceremonies, but ethnopharmacological preparations are also well known and frequently used.
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 |