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Ethnomedicinal research has historically focussed on botanical products, ignoring, by and at large, the records on animal-based medicine. Whenever non-botanical remedies appear on indigenous pharmacopoeias, these are taken with little interest and are explained as de facto - i.e. They occur because they occur- This lack of interest impedes ethnobiologists to develop further investigations or theoretical afterthoughts that would enable to articulate ethnomedicinal systems as holistic ecological adaptations. Among non-botanical medicines, those from marine sources hardly receive any mention. This book describes how do botanical and marine medicines relate within an ethnomedicinal knowledge system. In this research, I focussed on Seri ethnomedicine. The Seri are an indigenous group of hunter-gatherers located in the mainland portion of the Central Gulf Region in Sonora, Mexico. Seri posses an extremely pragmatic ethnomedicinal system which provides a rich case for this examination. During a one year long survey in a Seri village, and aided by 67 Seri collaborators, I came to the conclusion that Seri marine and terrestrial medicines are part of a single body of medicinal knowledge.
Über den Autor / die Autorin
Initially trained as an oceanographer, Dr. Narchi was drawn into anthropology after working with the Seri (Comcáac) of Sonora in the year 2000. His research is focused on marine ethnomedicine. Currently, he holds a postdoctoral position at UAM-Xochimilco researching the links between ethnobiological knowledge erosion, urbanization, and poverty.
