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- Title
Yo'åmte: A Deeper Type of Healing Exploring The State of Indigenous Chamorro Healing Practices.
- Authors
Lizama, Tricia A.
- Abstract
The traditional healing practices of the Chamorro people were in existence long prior to Spanish and American colonization, and their continuation is a form of indigenous resistance and cultural survival. The Chamorro people identified specialists as the makana and kakana. Due to Spanish colonization, the makana and kakana practices were outlawed. The "new" healers who emerged were considered experts in medicinal plants and herbs, called the suruhåna (female healer) and the suruhånu (male healer). A gathering of Chamorro traditional medical practitioners recently decided to call themselves by the Chamorro term yo'åmte ("a deeper type of healer"), as the word suruhånu was derived from cirujano, the Spanish word. Although traditional healing practices continue to exist, in order to remain vital, the social and cultural form of how they existed has had to change as well, including increasing apprenticeships and writing down the primarily oral traditions. This paper will examine the history of traditional Chamorro healing and the changes that have occurred in the transmission of the practice. Findings will have consideration in the future for how this valuable knowledge is preserved and perpetuated. There is a significant need for the continuation of this study and other studies, as there has been a previous lack of relevant data or research on this subject.
- Subjects
CHAMORRO (Micronesian people); HISTORY of colonization; TRADITIONAL medicine; HEALERS; MEDICINAL plants; HISTORY
- Publication
Pacific Asia Inquiry, 2014, Vol 5, Issue 1, p97
- ISSN
2377-0929
- Publication type
Article