Publication Date
Spring 2025
Abstract
Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM, has been documented in Chile since the late 19th century, and since 2006, acupuncture has been formally integrated into the Chilean Ministry of Health (MINSAL) as an “auxiliary” medicine. In spite of the proliferating practice of MTC within Chile, however, very little is known about the state of such practices within the south of Chile, in regions such as La Araucania. Representations of Eastern medicine, such as the advertising of the well-known Chilean tablet Oblea China, show a fascination with traditional Chinese medical practices in relation to the fortitude and health of indigenous peoples of southern Chile, specifically the Mapuche tribe. While the Oblea China is an example of what not to do, stereotyping both the idea of a mystical Eastern medicine as well as the unknowable “frontier” of Chile, it does bring up questions about the idea of intercultural health systems between two alternative medicines, that of MTC and Mapuche medicine. This project sought to investigate the presence of MTC within La Araucania, the ancestral homeland of the Mapuche people, and the ways in which intercultural health practices have been established between it and Mapuche medicine. Through interviews with experts, field observations, and the distribution of a questionnaire in Temuco and its surrounding areas, qualitative data was collected in order to develop an ethnographic account of the ways in which MTC adds to the medically pluralistic modes of healthcare delivery in La Araucania. Themes that repeatedly emerged through this data collection process was the low presence and high barriers to accessibility for both the practice and services of MTC, and almost no engagement was found between MTC and the Chinese community members spoken with. Nonetheless, this project highlights four examples of intercultural health found between Mapuche medicine and MTC, examples which reflect open, collaborative networks of practitioners and patients alike.
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Li, Bowei, "Existencia y Percepciones de Intercambio Cultural Entre Medicina Mapuche y Medicina Tradicional China en Araucanía, Chile: Práctica y Recepción de Cuidado" (2025). Chile: Public Health, Traditional Medicine, and Community Empowerment. 5.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cih2/5