New Cures, Old Medicines: Women and the Commercialization of Traditional Medicine in Bolivia / Edition 1

by Lynn Sikknik

Overview

In this newest addition to the Case Study in Cultural Anthropology series, anthropologist Lynn Sikkink takes us on a journey into the diverse marketplace settings of Bolivia to explore the practice and meaning of traditional medicine. Through her focus on the collection, processing, distribution, and sale of herbs and medicines at a variety of marketplace venues—from rural to urban, highlands to lowlands, market stall to shop—Sikkink introduces students to the field and practice of medical as well as economic anthropology. Her approach also introduces students to the rich perspectives offered by cultural anthropology in general.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780495837114
Publisher:	Cengage Learning
Publication date:	03/03/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Lynn Sikkink received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Minnesota. She taught at San Jose State University, Lawrence University, the University of Minnesota, and Carleton College before accepting a position as an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Western State College. Sikkink won a MacArthur Predissertation Fieldwork grant in 1989 to examine "Exchange and Domestic Economy in Bolivia." She returned to Bolivia as a Fulbright scholar in 1991 and in 2000 earned a Fulbright Award for Teaching and Research in Bolivia. Sikkink's work with indigenous women dealing with medicine and economic exchange in modern-day Bolivia is relevant to several fields in anthropology now experiencing considerable growth in course enrollments, including medical anthropology, economic anthropology, gender studies and applied anthropology, and the effects of globalization and culture change on peoples and systems worldwide.

Table of Contents

Foreword. Preface. 1. ANDEAN TRADITIONAL MEDICINES IN RURAL SETTINGS AND COMMUNITY EXCHANGE NETWORKS. Introduction. Setting and Environment. A Brief Introduction to Andean Medicine. Bolivian Language and Ethnicity. Fieldwork and Research Methodology. Summary. 2. TRADITIONAL MEDICINES IN NEW CONTEXTS: OLD CULTURAL PRACTICES IN NEW VENUES. Introduction. The Hot and Cold System in Traditional Healing and Exchange. Traditional Medicines, Commerce, and Change. Healing in the City: A Traditional Medicine Practice. Summary. 3. WOMEN'S ROLES IN ANDEAN MARKETPLACES: SHOPPING IN THE ANDES. Introduction. Cochabamba's La Cancha: Tarzan in the Marketplace. The Marketplace as a Crossroads. Gender and the Marketplace. The Informal Economic Sector. Summary. 4. MARKETING MEDICINES IN-RURAL BOLIVIA: SAN PEDRO DE CONDO. Traditional Medicines as Communal Resources: Where Herbal Remedies Come From. San Pedro de Condo: A Village of Entrepreneurs. Sense of Place: Traditional Medicines and the Local Geography. A Trajectory from Rural Home to Regional Marketplace. Traditional Medicine Exchange at Home in San Pedro de Condo. Summary. 5. SELLING MEDICINES AT CONDO'S REGIONAL MARKETPLACES: HUARI, CHALLAPATA, AND ORURO. The Huari Fair: From Colonial Fair to Regional Market. The Challapata Fair: The "New" Regional Marketplace. Between Field and City: Oruro Vendors of Traditional Medicines. Summary. 6. BOLIVIAN TRADITIONAL MEDICINES AND URBAN COMMERCIALIZATION: MEDICINE VENDROS IN COCHABAMBA. Introduction: From Love Charms to Medicinal Teas. The Cochabamba Marketplace: Layout and History. Vendors and Their Medicinal Wares. Rural-Urban Interfaces: Marketwomen and Medicinal Wares. Healing and the Morality of Marketplace Exchange. Summary. 7. COCA, COCA MEDICINES, AND THE DILEMMA OF COCA IN THE ANDES AND BEYOND. Introduction: Coca as Drug/Coca as Sacred. Coca in the Andean Countryside: Traditional Uses of Coca. Coca Medicines in Bolivia. Coca Wine. From Coca Wine to Coca-Cola. Coke versus Coca: Origin Myths. Coca Medicines and Changing Perceptions of Health. Coca Production and Coca Eradication. Summary. 8. NATURAL MEDICINE AND NATUROPATHS IN BOLIVIA: A NEW TWIST ON TRADITIONAL MEDICINE. Naturismo and Naturistas in Contemporary Bolivia. Commerce and Healing: The Marketplace Services of a Natural Medicine Doctor. Dragon's Blood, Commercialization, and Naturismo. Wilson: New Opportunities in the City. Maribel: From Q'uwera to Naturista. From Pharmacy to Traditional Medicine Cottage Industry: Aleph. Summary. 9. TRADITIONAL MEDICINES AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. Introduction: A Case of Conflicting Claims. Wira-Wira and Traditional Medicines as Common Resources. Biotechnology Firms versus the Rights of Prior Use: Patents and Problems. Potential Solutions. Summary. 10. EPILOGUE: THE FUTURE OF TRADITIONAL MEDICINES IN BOLIVIA. References. Index.