The indigenous Tzotzil and Tzeltal worldview through the health-disease relationship in the context of traditional indigenous medicine

Abstract

The Tzotzils and Tzeltals are two indigenous groups that are part of the ancient Mayan culture, and who still preserve their customs and traditions, which support their culture and identity. These ethnic groups inhabit the area known as the Chiapas Highlands, a predominantly indigenous area that is difficult to access due to its geographical location. The Tzotzils and Tzeltals still preserve their ancestral therapeutic practices in terms of traditional medicine, which is shaped by a worldview or cosmovision that is foreign to Western culture. Traditional indigenous Tzotzil and Tzeltal medicine endures and continues to be practiced by traditional doctors and the general population. It is fundamentally a system of pre-Hispanic origin that has its cosmovision as its guiding axis and rests on magical and religious foundations. Traditional medicine has been enriched by the knowledge brought by the Spanish and the African race; in other words, it is a medical syncretism, and it has played a fundamental role in preserving health for many generations.