Medicinal Plants Classification Biosynthesis and ... - Index of

62
Gustavo J. Martínez, Mara Sato and Marta Ojeda
cross-eyed, they get rheum, the “empacho” is very high up and it harms them” … “it
is not known what it is, a bug or a worm” “…when the “pata de cabra” becomes too
much they die flaccid, dislocated. When you get the “empacho” measured and it gets
a bit better and it is up to the head or goes towards the back, it becomes a high
“empacho”
“They say that it is from a badly cured “empacho” or because they change the milk
of babies with constipation…” “they (the babies) begin to dehydrate, their eyes
become sunken and they arch back to cry”
“It is a microbe that lodges in the baby’s spine and slowly eats the medulla. They
arch back and cry, cry and cry. It is only cured by a healer, older people that
understand about that, not by doctors.”
“It is something that children get in their bottom, it looks as though it were a bruise,
it has the shape of a foot, a little bruise…it is terrible for them, it moves up the
spine…”
Originated by blows or strains
The most well known reference in the area is ―nervios” (nerves). This ailment involves
the extremities and its most characteristic symptoms are pains, limping and difficulty to walk.
―They are veins that get out of place…” “the tendons get out of place”, they are
produced by “making a bad effort or by stepping falsely” and “they hurt like a
sprain”.
For some informers a “golpe de aire‖ (chill) can also cause nerves, in which case it is
interpreted as a cold disease originated by temperature imbalances.
Another expression among the criollos is the allusion of “pain in the bones” which is
generally referred to the extremities. Occasionally some inhabitants mention ―paletilla” as a
―type of fever that you get which remains in a art of the body without movement”.
Originated by alterations in the properties of blood and body humours
For the criollos, the condition and quality of blood are significant indicators of a body‘s
general health condition. Furthermore, alterations in blood properties produce a diversity of
symptoms affecting other systems, mainly the skin (Queiroz, 1984; Scarpa, 2004a). This is
evident in the expressions used by the inhabitants of the hills, who believe that ―fat‖, ―thick‖
or ―dirty‖ blood is a consequence of eating fat rich food or having done some kind of excess
that disrupts the composition of blood. As mentioned in other studies (Scarpa, 2004a), the
balance from these disorders is regained by taking blood-depurative plants that are able to
―thin‖ ―purify‖ or ―clean‖ the blood. The depurative effect of the plants is not only evidenced
by an improvement in the blood conditions, but also in the healing of skin affections such as
pimples or ―dibiesos” (furuncles) that are believed to be caused by blood alterations. In this
sense, the informers mention that blood impurities are treated using these depurative
beverages and that balance is regained once the impurities are eliminated. The benefits of
drinking these depurative teas, especially during August, have also been mentioned. It is
thought that during this month the body undergoes a natural depuration process due to