Book

Curing among the San Blas Kuna of Panama

University Microfilms InternationalAnn Arbor, Michigan • Published In 1997 • Pages:

By: Chapin, Mac.

Abstract
This dissertation is an ethnographic account of the belief system surrounding disease and curing among the Kuna Indians of the San Blas coast and islands of Panama. The work attempts to describe the system in its own terms '…and to interpret its meaning by attending to the various symbolic, ritual, and social contexts in which it finds expression' (p. xvi). Basically this study strives to understand Kuna theories of disease, its causation, and cure. It is also a key work on cosmology as well as medicine, and tries to correct many confused statements and errors appearing in some of the older literature on the Kuna. The ethnographic data in the text relevant to curing is loosely organized around the progression of events from the initial discovery of the illness, the diagnosis of the disease itself, and the establishment of ways to restore the individual to health. The final chapter of the work is concerned with cultural and social change among the Kuna, with particular emphasis on the island of Ustuppu during the past 70 years.
Subjects
Sociolinguistics
Music
Magical and mental therapy
Shamans and psychotherapists
Animism
Spirits and gods
Childbirth
Difficult and unusual births
culture
Kuna
HRAF PubDate
1999
Region
Middle America and the Caribbean
Sub Region
Central America
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
John Beierle ; 1998
Field Date
1967-1972, 1975-1976
Coverage Date
1967-1976
Coverage Place
San Blas coast and Islands, Panama
Notes
by Norman Macpherson Chapin
UM 8319716
Includes bibliographical references (p.570-580)
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Arizona, 1983
LCSH
Cuna Indians