Traditional Medicine

Colombia is a multicultural country. It has its own knowledge of the Afro-descendant, indigenous and Rom communities, as well as the teachings of popular wisdom. Traditional medicine is the recognition of the knowledge of minority communities.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines traditional medicine as health practices, knowledge and beliefs based on plants, minerals and animals, spiritual, mental and physical therapies in which the community is treated individually or collectively. Its purpose is to maintain the general welfare and traditions that allow their culture to remain through time.

Colombia is a multicultural country. It has its own knowledge of the Afro-descendant, indigenous and Rom communities, as well as the teachings of popular wisdom. Traditional medicine is the recognition of the knowledge of minority communities, teachings that have left the Western world the knowledge to develop medicines that come from nature and the rich biodiversity that characterizes our country.

Generally, the traditional knowledge of the indigenous peoples of Colombia is mediated by a wise man, usually characterized as taita, jaibaná, payé, piacha, kareka, among other names that vary according to the community and geographic location. They are in charge of providing individual or collective therapies, and of preparing future sages in ancestral knowledge. What differentiates each community are the ways of understanding their relationship with nature and the cosmos; depending on that cosmovision they develop their healing therapies and the natural substances they use to heal.

In the traditional medicine of Afro-descendant communities there is also an expert who treats the community: healers, santeros or babalaos transmit the therapeutic knowledge that plants and rituals that the legacy of the Afro socio-cultural heritage has left over time can provide. Afro-descendant healers know and relate to the environment and build the social fabric; they treat snake bites, fever and other ailments with the plants that nature offers them. This cultural legacy of the communities and ethnic groups of our country has been transformed over time. Forced displacement and globalization have had a negative impact on the customs of the people, and although they persist in the most remote areas of the country, it is important to keep them alive because they are part of the cultural heritage of the nation.

Preserving this knowledge and joining efforts with traditional knowledge is one of the obligations of our health system. This wisdom is part of the customs of the communities and often, because they are located in areas far from health care centers, they are the only way in which patients can have access to treatment, which is why both the State and society must recognize their existence and protect them. This is the only way to improve the quality of life of these citizens, respecting their worldview and culture. To keep in mind:

Yagé or Ayahuasca: is a sacred plant, considered as spiritual and corporal medicine that is used in the Colombian Amazon. The taita prepares a drink and directs the whole ritual so that the people who drink it understand the messages that the sacred plant gives them.

Santeria: It is a practice that belongs to the descendants of black slaves, in which Christian saints are mixed with the gods that come from Africa. Through trances, prayers and baths, believers communicate with the gods.

Enteco de difunto: Theft of energy that can be produced by seeing a dead person. In some cultures, children should not be brought before the dead because their energy can enter their body and their being will dry up.