OLAC Record: Illnesses of Imbalance in Choapan Zapotec

OLAC Record
oai:scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu:10125/42007

Metadata

Title: Illnesses of Imbalance in Choapan Zapotec

Bibliographic Citation: Donnelly, Erin, Donnelly, Erin; 2017-03-04; I discuss the categorization, causes, symptoms, and treatments of ‘illnesses of imbalance’ in Choapan Zapotec (CHO), an endangered Eastern OtoManguean language spoken in Oaxaca, Mexico. The term ‘illnesses of imbalance’ describes illnesses that are the result of an imbalance in the hot and cold ‘humors’ in the body, as well as those that result from the disruption of normal emotionalspiritual regulation. I use these data to suggest that, just as grammatical documentation is languagedriven, so should documentation of medical and spiritual knowledge be culturedriven. Illnesses of imbalance in CHO comprise two major categories: those resulting from spiritual, mental, or emotional imbalance, and those caused by disruption of balance between the body’s hot and cold forces (likened to Greek humors; cf. Hernández Sáenz and Foster 2001:22). Illnesses resulting from spiritual, mental, and emotional imbalances are caused by: malicious spirits, sudden fright, or an overpowering of negative emotions. These are all imbalances in the sense that something has disrupted a person’s stable, regulated emotional and spiritual state. Malicious spirits can steal people or cause lifethreatening accidents, confusion, sadness, or physical pain (Author 2009; Dow 2001:7477). A person’s own negative emotions, like worry or anger, can cause physical illnesses, including colic, diabetes, and gallbladder rupture (Author 2009). Illnesses coming from a sudden fright (Spanish susto) are the most varied. Anything can cause a sudden fright, or CHO ͡tsebiʔ, but common causes include suddenly encountering a dangerous animal, seeing a corpse, or taking a bad fall. A person’s lifeforce sometimes stays where the ͡tsebiʔ occurred. If the lifeforce is not recovered, the person will die (Author 2009; Dow 2001:83; Lipp 2001:110). Unlike emotionalspiritual imbalances, illnesses from a hot/cold imbalance only manifest physically. They range from minor inconveniences to deadly diseases, and include asthma, cracked skin on the hands or feet, tuberculosis, nosebleed, rheumatism, and ‘womb coldness’. External physical forces cause hot/cold imbalances within the body. These include bathing in or drinking cold water (especially if the body is hot from physical labor) and prolonged sun exposure (Author 2009). These varied illnesses seem completely unrelated from the Western medicalcultural perspective. This represents a crucial lesson for documentary linguists: just as a language’s grammar dictates how we describe it (and not our impositions of how a grammar should be), documentation of medical and spiritual knowledge should not be influenced by our own cultural understandings of health and healing. References Author, Investigación de Enfermedades en el Zapoteco de Choapan. Unpublished manuscript, 2009. James W. Dow, Central and North Mexican Shamans, vol. Mesoamerican Healers (Brad R. Huber and Alan R. Sandstrom, eds.), University of Texas Press, 2001, pp. 6694. Luz María Hernández Sáenz and George M. Foster, Curers and Their Cures in Colonial New Spain and Guatemala, vol. Mesoamerican Healers (Brad R. Huber and Alan R. Sandstrom, eds.), University of Texas Press, 2001, pp.1946. Frank J. Lipp, A Comparative Analysis of Southern Mexican and Guatemalan Shamans, vol. Mesoamerican Healers (Brad R. Huber and Alan R. Sandstrom, eds.), University of Texas Press, 2001, pp. 95116.; Kaipuleohone University of Hawai'i Digital Language Archive;http://hdl.handle.net/10125/42007.

Contributor (speaker): Donnelly, Erin

Creator: Donnelly, Erin

Date (W3CDTF): 2017-03-04

Description: I discuss the categorization, causes, symptoms, and treatments of ‘illnesses of imbalance’ in Choapan Zapotec (CHO), an endangered Eastern OtoManguean language spoken in Oaxaca, Mexico. The term ‘illnesses of imbalance’ describes illnesses that are the result of an imbalance in the hot and cold ‘humors’ in the body, as well as those that result from the disruption of normal emotionalspiritual regulation. I use these data to suggest that, just as grammatical documentation is languagedriven, so should documentation of medical and spiritual knowledge be culturedriven. Illnesses of imbalance in CHO comprise two major categories: those resulting from spiritual, mental, or emotional imbalance, and those caused by disruption of balance between the body’s hot and cold forces (likened to Greek humors; cf. Hernández Sáenz and Foster 2001:22). Illnesses resulting from spiritual, mental, and emotional imbalances are caused by: malicious spirits, sudden fright, or an overpowering of negative emotions. These are all imbalances in the sense that something has disrupted a person’s stable, regulated emotional and spiritual state. Malicious spirits can steal people or cause lifethreatening accidents, confusion, sadness, or physical pain (Author 2009; Dow 2001:7477). A person’s own negative emotions, like worry or anger, can cause physical illnesses, including colic, diabetes, and gallbladder rupture (Author 2009). Illnesses coming from a sudden fright (Spanish susto) are the most varied. Anything can cause a sudden fright, or CHO ͡tsebiʔ, but common causes include suddenly encountering a dangerous animal, seeing a corpse, or taking a bad fall. A person’s lifeforce sometimes stays where the ͡tsebiʔ occurred. If the lifeforce is not recovered, the person will die (Author 2009; Dow 2001:83; Lipp 2001:110). Unlike emotionalspiritual imbalances, illnesses from a hot/cold imbalance only manifest physically. They range from minor inconveniences to deadly diseases, and include asthma, cracked skin on the hands or feet, tuberculosis, nosebleed, rheumatism, and ‘womb coldness’. External physical forces cause hot/cold imbalances within the body. These include bathing in or drinking cold water (especially if the body is hot from physical labor) and prolonged sun exposure (Author 2009). These varied illnesses seem completely unrelated from the Western medicalcultural perspective. This represents a crucial lesson for documentary linguists: just as a language’s grammar dictates how we describe it (and not our impositions of how a grammar should be), documentation of medical and spiritual knowledge should not be influenced by our own cultural understandings of health and healing. References Author, Investigación de Enfermedades en el Zapoteco de Choapan. Unpublished manuscript, 2009. James W. Dow, Central and North Mexican Shamans, vol. Mesoamerican Healers (Brad R. Huber and Alan R. Sandstrom, eds.), University of Texas Press, 2001, pp. 6694. Luz María Hernández Sáenz and George M. Foster, Curers and Their Cures in Colonial New Spain and Guatemala, vol. Mesoamerican Healers (Brad R. Huber and Alan R. Sandstrom, eds.), University of Texas Press, 2001, pp.1946. Frank J. Lipp, A Comparative Analysis of Southern Mexican and Guatemalan Shamans, vol. Mesoamerican Healers (Brad R. Huber and Alan R. Sandstrom, eds.), University of Texas Press, 2001, pp. 95116.

Identifier (URI): http://hdl.handle.net/10125/42007

Table Of Contents: 42007.pdf

42007.mp3

Type (DCMI): Text

Sound

OLAC Info

Archive: Language Documentation and Conservation

Description: http://www.language-archives.org/archive/ldc.scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu

GetRecord: OAI-PMH request for OLAC format

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OAI Info

OaiIdentifier: oai:scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu:10125/42007

DateStamp: 2017-05-11

GetRecord: OAI-PMH request for simple DC format

Search Info
Citation: Donnelly, Erin. 2017. Language Documentation and Conservation.
Terms: dcmi_Sound dcmi_Text

http://www.language-archives.org/item.php/oai:scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu:10125/42007
Up-to-date as of: Sat Apr 20 18:40:09 EDT 2024

Metadata
Title:		Illnesses of Imbalance in Choapan Zapotec
Bibliographic Citation:		Donnelly, Erin, Donnelly, Erin; 2017-03-04; I discuss the categorization, causes, symptoms, and treatments of ‘illnesses of imbalance’ in Choapan Zapotec (CHO), an endangered Eastern OtoManguean language spoken in Oaxaca, Mexico. The term ‘illnesses of imbalance’ describes illnesses that are the result of an imbalance in the hot and cold ‘humors’ in the body, as well as those that result from the disruption of normal emotionalspiritual regulation. I use these data to suggest that, just as grammatical documentation is languagedriven, so should documentation of medical and spiritual knowledge be culturedriven. Illnesses of imbalance in CHO comprise two major categories: those resulting from spiritual, mental, or emotional imbalance, and those caused by disruption of balance between the body’s hot and cold forces (likened to Greek humors; cf. Hernández Sáenz and Foster 2001:22). Illnesses resulting from spiritual, mental, and emotional imbalances are caused by: malicious spirits, sudden fright, or an overpowering of negative emotions. These are all imbalances in the sense that something has disrupted a person’s stable, regulated emotional and spiritual state. Malicious spirits can steal people or cause lifethreatening accidents, confusion, sadness, or physical pain (Author 2009; Dow 2001:7477). A person’s own negative emotions, like worry or anger, can cause physical illnesses, including colic, diabetes, and gallbladder rupture (Author 2009). Illnesses coming from a sudden fright (Spanish susto) are the most varied. Anything can cause a sudden fright, or CHO ͡tsebiʔ, but common causes include suddenly encountering a dangerous animal, seeing a corpse, or taking a bad fall. A person’s lifeforce sometimes stays where the ͡tsebiʔ occurred. If the lifeforce is not recovered, the person will die (Author 2009; Dow 2001:83; Lipp 2001:110). Unlike emotionalspiritual imbalances, illnesses from a hot/cold imbalance only manifest physically. They range from minor inconveniences to deadly diseases, and include asthma, cracked skin on the hands or feet, tuberculosis, nosebleed, rheumatism, and ‘womb coldness’. External physical forces cause hot/cold imbalances within the body. These include bathing in or drinking cold water (especially if the body is hot from physical labor) and prolonged sun exposure (Author 2009). These varied illnesses seem completely unrelated from the Western medicalcultural perspective. This represents a crucial lesson for documentary linguists: just as a language’s grammar dictates how we describe it (and not our impositions of how a grammar should be), documentation of medical and spiritual knowledge should not be influenced by our own cultural understandings of health and healing. References Author, Investigación de Enfermedades en el Zapoteco de Choapan. Unpublished manuscript, 2009. James W. Dow, Central and North Mexican Shamans, vol. Mesoamerican Healers (Brad R. Huber and Alan R. Sandstrom, eds.), University of Texas Press, 2001, pp. 6694. Luz María Hernández Sáenz and George M. Foster, Curers and Their Cures in Colonial New Spain and Guatemala, vol. Mesoamerican Healers (Brad R. Huber and Alan R. Sandstrom, eds.), University of Texas Press, 2001, pp.1946. Frank J. Lipp, A Comparative Analysis of Southern Mexican and Guatemalan Shamans, vol. Mesoamerican Healers (Brad R. Huber and Alan R. Sandstrom, eds.), University of Texas Press, 2001, pp. 95116.; Kaipuleohone University of Hawai'i Digital Language Archive;http://hdl.handle.net/10125/42007.
Contributor (speaker):		Donnelly, Erin
Creator:		Donnelly, Erin
Date (W3CDTF):		2017-03-04
Description:		I discuss the categorization, causes, symptoms, and treatments of ‘illnesses of imbalance’ in Choapan Zapotec (CHO), an endangered Eastern OtoManguean language spoken in Oaxaca, Mexico. The term ‘illnesses of imbalance’ describes illnesses that are the result of an imbalance in the hot and cold ‘humors’ in the body, as well as those that result from the disruption of normal emotionalspiritual regulation. I use these data to suggest that, just as grammatical documentation is languagedriven, so should documentation of medical and spiritual knowledge be culturedriven. Illnesses of imbalance in CHO comprise two major categories: those resulting from spiritual, mental, or emotional imbalance, and those caused by disruption of balance between the body’s hot and cold forces (likened to Greek humors; cf. Hernández Sáenz and Foster 2001:22). Illnesses resulting from spiritual, mental, and emotional imbalances are caused by: malicious spirits, sudden fright, or an overpowering of negative emotions. These are all imbalances in the sense that something has disrupted a person’s stable, regulated emotional and spiritual state. Malicious spirits can steal people or cause lifethreatening accidents, confusion, sadness, or physical pain (Author 2009; Dow 2001:7477). A person’s own negative emotions, like worry or anger, can cause physical illnesses, including colic, diabetes, and gallbladder rupture (Author 2009). Illnesses coming from a sudden fright (Spanish susto) are the most varied. Anything can cause a sudden fright, or CHO ͡tsebiʔ, but common causes include suddenly encountering a dangerous animal, seeing a corpse, or taking a bad fall. A person’s lifeforce sometimes stays where the ͡tsebiʔ occurred. If the lifeforce is not recovered, the person will die (Author 2009; Dow 2001:83; Lipp 2001:110). Unlike emotionalspiritual imbalances, illnesses from a hot/cold imbalance only manifest physically. They range from minor inconveniences to deadly diseases, and include asthma, cracked skin on the hands or feet, tuberculosis, nosebleed, rheumatism, and ‘womb coldness’. External physical forces cause hot/cold imbalances within the body. These include bathing in or drinking cold water (especially if the body is hot from physical labor) and prolonged sun exposure (Author 2009). These varied illnesses seem completely unrelated from the Western medicalcultural perspective. This represents a crucial lesson for documentary linguists: just as a language’s grammar dictates how we describe it (and not our impositions of how a grammar should be), documentation of medical and spiritual knowledge should not be influenced by our own cultural understandings of health and healing. References Author, Investigación de Enfermedades en el Zapoteco de Choapan. Unpublished manuscript, 2009. James W. Dow, Central and North Mexican Shamans, vol. Mesoamerican Healers (Brad R. Huber and Alan R. Sandstrom, eds.), University of Texas Press, 2001, pp. 6694. Luz María Hernández Sáenz and George M. Foster, Curers and Their Cures in Colonial New Spain and Guatemala, vol. Mesoamerican Healers (Brad R. Huber and Alan R. Sandstrom, eds.), University of Texas Press, 2001, pp.1946. Frank J. Lipp, A Comparative Analysis of Southern Mexican and Guatemalan Shamans, vol. Mesoamerican Healers (Brad R. Huber and Alan R. Sandstrom, eds.), University of Texas Press, 2001, pp. 95116.
Identifier (URI):		http://hdl.handle.net/10125/42007
Table Of Contents:		42007.pdf
Table Of Contents:		42007.mp3
Type (DCMI):		Text
Type (DCMI):		Sound
OLAC Info
Archive:		Language Documentation and Conservation
Description:		http://www.language-archives.org/archive/ldc.scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu
GetRecord:		OAI-PMH request for OLAC format
GetRecord:		Pre-generated XML file
OAI Info
OaiIdentifier:		oai:scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu:10125/42007
DateStamp:		2017-05-11
GetRecord:		OAI-PMH request for simple DC format
Search Info
Citation:		Donnelly, Erin. 2017. Language Documentation and Conservation.
Terms:		dcmi_Sound dcmi_Text