Folk Diseases Among Urban Mexican-Americans

Abstract

Acculturation and assimilation of persons of L Mexican origin in the Southwest has been slowed by various social mechanisms of the larger society which tend to keep these people separate, and by a tendency on their part to separate themselves from the larger community by living in<i>barrios</i>. One result of this sociocultural isolation is the preservation of many folk beliefs of Spanish and Hispanic-American origins. Most important among these from a medical point of view are the prescientific concepts of health and disease and the related practices. Prominent among the disease concepts are<i>mal ojo</i>(evil eye),<i>empacho</i>(surfeit),<i>susto</i>(magical fright),<i>caída de mollera</i>(fallen fontanelle), and<i>mal puesto</i>(hex). Gillin¹gives a detailed account of<i>susto</i>in Guatemalan natives and draws parallels between folk and scientific (psychiatric) therapeutics. The existence of the first three concepts among Spanish-speaking Americans has been described by Saunders.²Clark's work