The Women Healers of Imbabura Province Las mujeres curadoras de la provincia de Imbabura

Abstract

This study analyzes the fundamental role of female healers in the preservation and transmission of traditional medicine knowledge in the province of Imbabura, Ecuador. Through a qualitative ethnographic approach, the life trajectories and therapeutic practices of three representative women are examined. The research reveals a complex and hierarchical traditional medical system that distinguishes between yachaks, healers, and herbalists, each with specific specializations and methods. The analysis demonstrates how this knowledge is transmitted primarily through female lineages and networks of solidarity among women, incorporating syncretic elements that combine ancestral Andean knowledge with colonial Catholic practices. The findings evidence a sophisticated taxonomy of diseases that classifies ailments as “of God,” “of the countryside,” and “of the street,” each with differentiated etiologies and treatments. The study also documents the contemporary challenges these practices face, including cultural erosion and the decline of practitioners, as well as their persistent relevance in urban contexts and among populations of diverse socioeconomic strata. It concludes that female healers constitute a living heritage of knowledge that transcends the purely medical, functioning as repositories of cultural wisdom and networks of social support. The research contributes to understanding Andean traditional medicine systems from a gender perspective, highlighting the need for recognition and valorization of this knowledge for developing more integral and intercultural health models.