Ancestral Indigenous Wisdom

"This gathering will give our traditional healers the opportunity to share their experience. They may not have had the chance to study at renowned universities, but I believe that the best university is life experience itself and the study of nature."

Manuel Pedro Vásquez Galan – Director of the Decentralised Office of the Decentralised Directorate of Culture for Ucayali

"The Ministry of Culture awards honours such as ‘Distinguished Cultural Figure’ to indigenous elders, in recognition of their valuable contribution both to Peru’s cultural diversity and to the preservation and transmission of knowledge within their own communities."

Statements by Andrés Muente Barbagelata, a lawyer representing the Peruvian Ministry of Culture

The workshop ‘Traditional Medicine versus Naturopathy’ examined the fundamental differences between traditional indigenous medicine and naturopathy based on scientific research. Traditional medicine is presented as a holistic system rooted in ancestral knowledge, spiritual revelations and deep observation of nature, which uses elements such as plants, animals, water, earth, smoke and rituals such as icaros, tobacco blowing, prayers and aromatic practices. In contrast, naturopathic medicine focuses only on the scientific identification of active compounds in plants. This often creates tension between empirical laboratory research and spiritual and traditional healing systems.

The debate also highlights the main challenges traditional medicine is facing, including cultural impositions rooted in colonial history, commercialisation and unethical practices among unqualified practitioners, as well as the decline in the intergenerational transmission of knowledge. Proposed solutions include integrating traditional medicine into formal education, expanding official inventories of medicinal plants, strengthening protected natural areas, and officially recognising traditional healers. Communities are also encouraged to cultivate medicinal plants, document traditional remedies, and promote healthier lifestyles. The workshop concludes by emphasising the importance of prevention and the responsible use of medicines, whilst acknowledging the need for further scientific research into Amazonian medicinal plants and a stronger dialogue between the two systems.

Workshop: Traditional Ancestral Medicine vs. Naturopathy

Youtube Video Timestamps in Spanish

0:00 Introducción: Que es medicina tradicional?

Curación tradicional (observación de la naturaleza y revelaciones espirituales) y Elementos de la medicina tradicional (plantas, animales, aguas, tierras, humos)

2:01 Medicina naturista (identificación científica de principios activos de plantas)

2:51 Ceremonias y curaciones tradicionales (Icaros, soplo de tabaco, oraciones y aromas)

3:08 Conflicto entre la medicina tradicional y investigaciones científicas

4:04 Problemas que enfrenta la medicina tradicional

-Imposición cultural (herencia del colonialismo)

-Mercantilisación de la medicina tradicional (falsos maestros, falta de ética profesional de médicos no-certificados)

-Transmisión de conocimiento (pocos maestros y discípulos, Ciencia vs tradición o creencias)

5:45 Propuesta de soluciones para el estado:

-Incluir en la curricular educativa las diversas alternativas de medicina de acuerdo a su región

-Incrementar el inventario oficial, el cual debe ser ampliado y difundido

-Desarrollo de reservas naturales

-Certificación y reconocimientos a los médicos tradicionales:

-Ejemplo: Comparación con la artesanía

07:34 Soluciones de parte de las comunidades:

-Mini-huertos de plantas medicinales

-Recetarios tradicionales de enfermedades comunes

-Fomentar un estilo de vida saludable

08:24 Participante 1: Registro de plantas medicinales del Instituto de Medicina tradicional de Loreto (IMET)

-Falta de investigación científica de plantas medicinales de la selva

09:34 Participante 2: Medicina tradicional en la prevención

10:06 Participante 3: “No vale tomar medicamentos y seguir adelante como antes”

10:38 Conclusiones

"What is traditional medicine?

Traditional medicine has its origins in the close observation of nature and direct experimentation with its elements, as well as in experiences of spiritual revelation that guide knowledge and healing practices.

In contrast: Science-based naturopathy also uses medicinal plants, but reduces their effects to the identification of active ingredients and their use in the human body."

Workshop: Systematising Ancestral Knowledge

Youtube Video Timestamps in Spanish

0:00 Identificación de médicos tradicionales

(boca a boca, información institucional, comunicación con el Curaca y Jefe de la comunidad)

2:41 Clasificación de médicos tradicionales

4:20 Transmisión de conocimientos y saberes (transmisión oral, acompañamiento y experiencia, sensibilidad con la naturaleza, registro escrito)

6:37 Clasificación de plantas según Roberto Puricho Perez - Pueblo originario Huni Quin, Provincia de Purús)

(Las plantas medicinales se reconocen por el color, el aroma, el tamaño, la textura y poder clasificarlos al utilizarlos para tratamiento en una determinada enfermedad)

8:31 Añadiciones por Javier Salomon Torres

11:14 Registro escrito de medicina tradicional

13:42 Ley de Medicina Tradicional Ancestral de Bolivia

The workshop “Systematisation of Ancestral Knowledge” focused on how indigenous knowledge—particularly traditional medicine—is identified, organised and passed on within Amazonian communities. It explains that traditional healers are recognised through community consensus (word of mouth), local authorities such as the curaca or community leader, and in some cases through institutional recognition. The workshop also described different types of healers, emphasising that their knowledge is deeply linked to life experience, cultural roles and spiritual understanding.

A central part of the workshop addressed the ways in which knowledge is transmitted: oral tradition, learning through mentorship and direct experience, sensitivity to nature and, in some cases, written records. Roberto Puricho Pérez, from the Huni Kuin people, explains that medicinal plants are classified according to observable characteristics such as colour, aroma, size and texture, which allows their use in the treatment of specific illnesses to be determined. Finally, the importance of documenting this knowledge whilst respecting its complexity is highlighted, and Bolivia’s law on ancestral traditional medicine is cited as an example of the recognition and protection of these knowledge systems.

Example of Bolivia: Law No. 459 on Traditional Ancestral Medicine in Bolivia

Law No. 459 on Bolivian Ancestral Traditional Medicine guarantees the rights and duties of traditional healers, spiritual guides, midwives, naturopaths and, of course, the people they treat.

To practise traditional medicine freely, without pressure or discrimination, within the national territory.
To be treated with dignity within the national health system.
To receive remuneration in kind or in monetary terms in accordance with their customs and traditions.
Respect for their criteria in identifying ailments and physical and spiritual illnesses.
The right to refuse to treat a patient on ethical grounds.
To be recognised in the exercise of their practice.
To freely belong to organisations of traditional medicine.
To establish centres for the production of traditional plants.
To participate in scientific and technological research into health processes.
To protect their individual and collective knowledge.
To be assessed according to criteria established by traditional doctors themselves.
To the validity of the certificates they receive for the treatment provided.
To the operation of ancestral, industrial and research laboratories.
To respect for their beliefs, rituals, identity and cultural attachment to symbols.

Source: https://www.minsalud.gob.bo/1539-ley-459-garantiza-14-derechos-de-medicos-tradicionales-parteras-naturistas-y-guias-espirituales

Workshop: Recognition of Traditional Healers

This workshop examined the training and recognition of traditional healers, emphasising that their knowledge is based on experience, spiritual practice and ancestral transmission. Their legitimacy within communities stems primarily from collective recognition and patients’ experiences.

The workshop also addressed the importance of professional ethics, warning of cases of abuse, inappropriate practices and the management of treatment costs. Furthermore, it highlighted the need to improve aspects such as the dosage and administration of remedies. Finally, it proposed as a future vision the formal recognition of traditional healers by the State, through institutions such as the Ministry of Culture or the Ministry of Health.

Youtube Video Timestamps in Spanish

0:00 Formación tradicional del maestro

-Diagnostico mediante la visión o método ancestral de acuerdo a la formación y experiencia del maestro

-Plan de tratamiento con plantas, animales, tacto, espiritual

2:36 Como reconocer a un Medico Tardicional (Preguntando en la comunidad, ‘registro’ de pacientes)

3:24 Etica profesional de médicos tradicionales (casos de abuso, ‘maleros’, precio de un tratamiento)

7:13 Dosificación y administración

6:14 Acreditación por el ministerio de salud o cultura

"‘There's a lot to do!"

A statement by Rocío del Pilar Plaza Tuisma, from the Ucayali Regional Office for the Development of Indigenous Peoples, who emphasises that the integration of traditional and Western medicine is a collective process that requires the active participation of all social stakeholders.

She also emphasises the importance of a respectful approach that values the cultural diversity, customs and knowledge of indigenous peoples, with the aim of generating a genuine social impact.

Leydy Rivera Pinedo – a participant in the ‘First Meeting on Traditional Medicine and Ancestral Knowledge’ – spoke about recognising the value of other forms of knowledge and highlighted the great richness of the ancestral medicine of indigenous peoples, passed down from generation to generation and based on a close relationship with nature.

She also criticised the lack of recognition and the impersonal approach of conventional medicine, calling for indigenous knowledge to be respected, integrated and valued within the healthcare system.