title: A decade after Guatemala's agreement on identity and rights of indigenous peoples: Mayan-Tz'utujil women's views on health, healing, and disease.
abstract: Mayan women have been called "guardians of life and ancestral culture." As such, one of their main responsibilities is the health of those in their care. Mothers are the ones who, as soon as a child, husband, or older relative falls sick, assess the symptoms and decide how to proceed. Although Mayan-Tz'utujil healing practices have been the subject of study on numerous occasions, the literature lacks women's views on health, healing, and disease. In this study I present those views within the framework of postcolonial studies, reflecting on the changes in Guatemala's national health policy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah 84408, USA. agiralt@weber.edu
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giralt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D003469:Culture; D004194:Disease; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006166:Guatemala; D006262:Health; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006291:Health Policy; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007878:Legislation as Topic; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult