ETHNOMEDICINE OF LORETO REGION (PERU)

Abstract

The interview presents experience of Russian professional physician D.B.Plekhanov who has been living for five years in Loreto region of Peru being for more than 3 years the apprentice of local shaman. The interview is devoted to the specific traits of requests of Western tourists and the local population when they attend (neo)shamans. It demonstrates heterogeneous nature of existing ethnomedical practices – different practices addressed to native audience and ethno-tourists. Magico-medical practices of shamans based on animistic worldview, folk medicine naturopathy and biomedicine coexist in the Peruvian Selva region, complement each other as a resource for maintaining the health of the local population.