Pajuyuk, achimamas: knowledge of kichwa women about the Amazon rainforest for women's health

Abstract

The knowledge of Amazonian Kichwa women about the plants of the forest for women's health is an apprenticeship that begins at an early age and lasts a lifetime. The members of the Association of Kichwa Women Midwives of Alto Napo - Amupakin cultivate their chakras and their relationship with the forest to maintain the balance of their own bodies, the health of their families and their communities, caring for life from birth. From the inseparable relationship of their bodies with the territory they inhabit, arises a series of cultural practices of teaching and learning with Pajuyuk women and men from whom they acquire their gifts for healing, also from the relationship with non-human living beings such as plants, trees, rivers, waterfalls, rocks, animals, among others. This complex system of thought, which is sustained day-to-day, has by default given a relative autonomy over health and has allowed the continuity of the life of the Amazonian Kichwa people.