Masters Theses

Date of Award

3-1981

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Anthropology

Major Professor

Michael H. Logan

Committee Members

Mary Ann Bass, William M. Bass

Abstract

This investigation reports on the present day use of the sweatbath among an indigenous people in Mexico. The purpose of this thesis was to provide evidence that aboriginal medicine in Mexico contained elements which were based on sets of opposing forces, and that these elements are present in the curing rites of the people of Santa Cruz Mixtepec.

Traditional views of the disease causation and curing are described with particular attention given to the postpartum sweatbath ritual or temascal. A comparison of this ritual in Santa Cruz Mixtepec to that seen in neighboring communities suggests that humoral medicine is aboriginal in nature, not solely an introduced trait resulting from acculturation to Spanish culture.

It is recommended that because of the ubiquitous nature of the sweatbath in Mexico, future investigations should consider this trait for studying the amount of aboriginal views that remain in a community's curing techniques and also the amount of acculturation that the community has undergone.

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