| Foreword | p. xi |
| Acknowledgments | p. xiii |
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| Curers and Their Cures in Colonial New Spain and Guatemala: The Spanish Component | p. 19 |
| Curanderismo in Mexico and Guatemala: Its Historical Evolution from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Century | p. 47 |
| Central and North Mexican Shamans | p. 66 |
| A Comparative Analysis of Southern Mexican and Guatemalan Shamans | p. 95 |
| Mistress of Lo Espiritual | p. 117 |
| Recruitment, Training, and Practice of Indigenous Midwives: From the Mexico-United States Border to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec | p. 139 |
| Maya Midwives of Southern Mexico and Guatemala | p. 179 |
| Relations between Government Health Workers and Traditional Midwives in Guatemala | p. 211 |
| Mesoamerican Bonesetters | p. 243 |
| Mexican Physicians, Nurses, and Social Workers | p. 270 |
| Mesoamerican Healers and Medical Anthropology: Summary and Concluding Remarks | p. 307 |
| Glossary | p. 331 |
| References Cited | p. 335 |
| Contributors to the Volume | p. 385 |
| Index | p. 389 |
| List of Tables | |
| List of Names of Indigenous Mesoamerican Groups | p. 7 |
| Features of Cleaning and Sucking Treatments | p. 85 |
| Sources Used for Regional Comparisons of Indigenous Midwives | p. 140 |
| Geographic Distribution of Midwives and Other Birth Attendants | p. 144 |
| Prenatal Activities of Indigenous Midwives | p. 148 |
| Postpartum Activities in Indigenous Groups | p. 152 |
| The Four Most Common Medical Specialties Combined with Midwifery | p. 156 |
| Secular and Sacred Recruitment Paths of Hueyapan's Midwives | p. 159 |
| Recruitment (Secular vs. Sacred) of Hueyapan's Midwives and Regular Collaboration | p. 161 |
| Male Midwives, Husband, Children, and Male Curer Present at Birth | p. 164 |
| Mean Age of Midwives in Indigenous Groups | p. 166 |
| Presence of a Traditional Medical Organization among Indigenous Groups | p. 170 |
| Traditional Medical Organization by Size of Population | p. 172 |
| Communities, Language Groups, and Bibliographic Sources | p. 181 |
| Demographic Characteristics of the Midwives | p. 219 |
| Comparison between Selected Demographic Characteristics of Traditional Midwives and Government Health Care Providers | p. 222 |
| Comparison between Traditional Midwives' and Health Services' Practices | p. 229 |
| Relations between Traditional Midwives and Government Health Care Providers | p. 237 |
| Recruitment and Training of Bonesetters by Linguistic Group | p. 246 |
| Gender Distribution among Bonesetters by Linguistic Group | p. 254 |
| Twentieth-Century Demographic Record for Mexico | p. 272 |
| The Five Principal Ailments by Region | p. 278 |
| Increase in Physicians and Paramedical Staff in Mexico, 1970 to 1995 | p. 284 |
| Intake and Exit Figures for Male and Female Medical Students, 1986 to 1994 | p. 285 |
| Increase of Nursing Profession in SSA, IMSS, and ISSTE, 1965 to 1995 | p. 286 |
| Growth in the Number of Physicians in Mexico since 1980 | p. 288 |
| Total Nurses and Auxiliary Nurses in SSA, IMSS, and ISSSTE in 1980 and 1996 | p. 289 |
| Organizational Distribution of Physicians and Nurses in SSA, IMSS, IMSS-Solidaridad, and ISSSTE in 1993 | p. 290 |
| Geographical Distribution of Population, Physicians, Nurses, and Paramedical Staff in Mexico in 1990 and 1993 | p. 292 |
| Health Sector Infrastructure and Resources in Mexico and Mexico, D.F. | p. 296 |
| Medical Service Indicators, 1995 | p. 296 |
| List of Figures | |
| Western Mesoamerica | p. 10 |
| Eastern Mesoamerica | p. 11 |
| Locations of native cultures whose shamans are described in this chapter | p. 70 |
| Altar of a Sierra Nahnu shaman | p. 81 |
| Sierra Nahnu paper figure representing the animating force of the patient with companion spirit animals | p. 84 |
| Mutilated paper figure found beside the graveyard in Tenango de Doria | p. 89 |
| Health system structure and ideal referral patterns in Guatemala | p. 221 |
| Percentage distribution of physicians in Mexico in 1990 | p. 293 |
| Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved. |