Amazon tribe creates 500-page traditional medicine encyclopedia

BY JEREMY HANCE ON 24 JUNE 2015

 In one of the great tragedies of our age, indigenous traditions, stories, cultures and
knowledge are winking out across the world.

 Whole languages and mythologies are vanishing, and in some cases even entire indigenous
groups are falling into extinction.

 This is what makes the news that a tribe in the Amazon have created a 500-page
encyclopedia of their traditional medicine all the more remarkable.

Update: Mr. Herndon appeared here  on Mongabay’s podcast  in late 2017 to report that volume
two has now been completed, and that the  encyclopedia now spans 1,000 pages.

In one of the great tragedies of our age, indigenous traditions, stories, cultures and knowledge are
winking out across the world. Whole languages and mythologies are vanishing, and in some cases
even entire indigenous groups are falling into extinction. This is what makes the news that a tribe
in the Amazon—the Matsés peoples of Brazil and Peru—have created a 500-page encyclopedia of
their traditional medicine all the more remarkable. The encyclopedia, compiled by five shamans
with assistance from conservation group Acaté, details every plant used by Matsés medicine to
cure a massive variety of ailments.

“The [Matsés Traditional Medicine Encyclopedia] marks the first time shamans of an Amazonian
tribe have created a full and complete transcription of their medicinal knowledge written in their
own language and words,” Christopher Herndon, president and co-founder of Acaté, told
Mongabay in an interview (in full below).

The Matsés have only printed their encyclopedia in their native language to ensure that the
medicinal knowledge is not stolen by corporations or researchers as has happened in the past.
Instead, the encyclopedia is meant as a guide for training new, young shamans in the tradition and
recording the living shamans’ knowledge before they pass.

“One of the most renowned elder Matsés healers died before his knowledge could be passed on
so the time was now. Acaté and the Matsés leadership decided to prioritize the Encyclopedia
before more of the elders were lost and their ancestral knowledge taken with them,” said
Herndon.

Acaté has also started a program connecting the remaining Matsés shamans with young students.
Through this mentorship program, the indigenous people hope to preserve their way of life as
they have for centuries past.

“With the medicinal plant knowledge disappearing fast among most indigenous groups and no one
to write it down, the true losers in the end are tragically the indigenous stakeholders themselves,”
said Herndon. “The methodology developed by the Matsés and Acaté can be a template for other
indigenous cultures to safeguard their ancestral knowledge.”

AN INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTOPHER HERNDON, M.D.

Mongabay: Why is this encyclopedia important?

Chris Herndon (left) and Arturo, a shaman (right), look over drafts of the new encyclopedia. Photo
courtesy of Acaté

Christopher Herndon: The encyclopedia marks the first time shamans of an Amazonian tribe have
created a full and complete transcription of their medicinal knowledge written in their own
language and words. Over the centuries, Amazonian peoples have passed on through oral tradition
an accumulated wealth of knowledge and techniques of treatment that are a product of their
deep spiritual and physical ties to the natural world. The Matsés live in one of the most biodiverse
ecosystems on the planet and have mastered knowledge of the healing properties of its plants and
animals. Yet, in a world in which cultural change is destabilizing even the most isolated societies,
this knowledge is rapidly disappearing.

It is hard to overstate just how quickly this knowledge can be lost after a tribe makes contact with
the outside world. Once extinguished, this knowledge, along with the tribe’s self-sufficiency, can
never fully be reclaimed. Historically, what has followed the loss of endemic health systems in
many indigenous groups is near total dependency on the rudimentary and extremely limited
external health care that is
available in such remote
and difficult-to-access
locations. Not surprisingly,
in most countries,
indigenous groups have
the highest rates of
mortality and disease.

The initiative is important

from the Matsés
perspective because loss
of culture and poor health
care are among their
greatest concerns. The
methodology they
pioneered to successfully
protect and safeguard
their own knowledge can
serve as a replicable
model for other
indigenous communities
facing similar cultural
erosion. For the broader
conservation movement,
we know that there is a
strong correlation
between intact
ecosystems and regions of
indigenous inhabitation,
making strengthening of
indigenous culture one of
the most effective ways to
protect large areas of
Map showing much of Matsés territory, though it does not include
rainforest.
the Brazilian Matsés communities in the Vale do Javari reserve.
Mongabay: Why is now Image courtesy of Acaté/Instituto Investigaciones de la Amazonía
the time to record this Peruana . Click image to enlarge.
information?

Christopher Herndon: The Matsés knowledge and the accumulated wisdom of generations stood
on the very precipice of extinction. Fortunately, there remained a few elder Matsés who still held
the ancestral knowledge as sustained contact with the outside world only occurred within the past
half century. The healers were adults at the time of initial contact and had already mastered their
skills before being told they were useless by missionaries and government workers. At the time we
started the project, none of the elder shamans had younger Matsés interested in learning from
them.

One of the most renowned elder Matsés healers died before his knowledge could be passed on so
the time was now. Acaté and the Matsés leadership decided to prioritize the Encyclopedia before
more of the elders were lost and their ancestral knowledge taken with them. The project was not
about saving a traditional dance or costume, it was about their health and that of future
generations of Matsés. The stakes could not be higher.

Mongabay: What is the encyclopedia like?

Christopher Herndon: After two years of intense work by the Matsés, the Encyclopedia now
includes chapters by five Matsés master healers and is over 500 pages long! Each entry is
categorized by disease name, with explanation of how to recognize it by symptoms; its cause;
which plants to use; how to prepare the medicine and alternative therapeutic options. A
photograph taken by the Matsés of each plant accompanies each entry in the encyclopedia.

The Encyclopedia is written by and from the worldview of the Matsés shaman, describing how
rainforest animals are involved in the natural history of the plants and connected with diseases. It
is a true shamanic encyclopedia, fully written and edited by indigenous shamans, the first to our
knowledge of its kind and scope.

Mongabay: How do you hope this encyclopedia could help conservation efforts?

 
Shaman and apprentice. Photo courtesy of Acaté

Christopher Herndon: We believe that empowering indigenous peoples is the most cost effective
and enduring approach for rainforest conservation. It is no coincidence that the remaining tracts
of intact rainforest in the Neotropics overlap closely with areas of indigenous habitation. Tribal
peoples understand and value the rainforest because they are dependent upon it. This
relationship extends beyond a utilitarian reliance; there is a spiritual link to the forest, a sense of
interconnectivity that is difficult to comprehend through the compartmentalized Western mindset
but real nonetheless.

Many of the serious environmental threats in remote indigenous areas that you hear about in the
news—petroleum, timber, mining and the like—are external industries that opportunistically prey
on the weakened internal social cohesion of recently contacted indigenous peoples, their limited
resources, and increasing dependency on the outside world. The unifying theme of Acaté’s three
programmatic areas, sustainable economy, traditional medicine, and agroecology is self-
sufficiency. Acaté did not predetermine these three conservation priorities; they were set in
discussion with the Matsés elders who know that the best way to protect their culture and lands is
through a position of strength and independence.
The encyclopedia was reviewed and edited over several days in a gathering of the Matsés chiefs
and remaining elder shamans. Photo courtesy of Acaté.

From the global conservation perspective, the Matsés protect over 3 million acres of rainforest in
Perú alone. This area
includes some of the most intact, biodiverse, and carbon-rich forests in the country. The Matsés
communities on the Brazilian side of the Javari and Yaquerana rivers frame the western borders of
the Vale do Javari indigenous reserve, a region roughly the size of Austria that contains the largest
number of ‘uncontacted’ tribes in voluntary isolation remaining the world. At the southern
margins of the Matsés territory, in the headwaters of the Yaquerana river, lies La Sierra del Divisor,
a region of staggering natural beauty, biodiversity, and also uncontacted tribal groups. For these
reasons, although the Matsés may only number a little over 3,000 in total population, they are
strategically positioned to protect a vast area of rainforest and a number of isolated tribal groups.
Empowering them is high-yield conservation.

Mongabay: You mention that the encyclopedia is only Phase I of a broader initiative by Acaté,
what are the other components necessary to maintaining their traditional health systems?
Christopher Herndon: The completion of the encyclopedia is a historical and critical first step
towards mitigating existential threats to Matsés’ healing wisdom and self-sufficiency. However,
the encyclopedia alone is insufficient to maintain their self-sufficiency as their healing systems are
based on experience that can only be transmitted through long apprenticeships. Sadly, due to
outside influences, when we started the project none of the elders had apprentices. Yet, at the
same time, most villages still depended on and actively utilize the medicinal plant knowledge of
the remaining elder healers, most of who are estimated to be over the age of 60.

Giant monkey frog. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler

In Phase II, the Apprentices Program, each elder shaman—many of whom are also Encyclopedia
chapter authors—will be accompanied in the forest by younger Matsés to learn the plants and
assist in treating patients. The apprenticeship program was initiated in 2014 in the village of
Esitrón under the supervision of elder shaman Luis Dunu Chiaid. Due to the success of the pilot in
Esitrón, it was unanimously agreed by the Matsés at the recent meeting that this program should
be expanded to as many villages as possible, with priority given to villages that no longer have
traditional healers.
The ultimate objective of the initiative is Phase III, the integration and enhancement of ‘Western’
health delivery with traditional practices. Wilmer, a health promoter in the small clinic in Estirón
and one of the apprentices from the pilot program provides a role model for other Matsés health
care workers. He understands that the future health of his people depends on the creation of dual,
vibrant systems of health that allow the community to draw upon the best of both worlds.

In addition, it was agreed that our agroforestry work should be expanded to include medicinal
plant integration. This will be based on the healing forest created by one of the greatest Matsés
healers in Nuevo San Juan and currently maintained by his son Antonio Jimenez. To an outsider,
this forest looks like non-descript stretch of rainforest along the footpath to their farms, about a
10 to 15 minutes walk away from their village. In the presence of a master shaman pointing out
the medicinal plants, you realize in a moment that you are surrounded in fact by a constellation of
medicinal plants cultivated by the Matsés healers for use in treatment of a diverse range of
ailments. Many rainforest vines and fungi don’t grow in open sun-exposed gardens and require
rainforest ecosystems for their propagation. The placement of the healing forest 10 to 15 minutes
away from their villages is characteristic Matsés efficiency. If you have a sick child, you don’t want
to have to travel 4 hours to find the remedy.

Mongabay: The encyclopedia was written only in the Matsés language to protect against
bioprospecting and theft of indigenous knowledge. Are fears of biopiracy a real concern to the
Matsés?
Applied traditional medicine of the Matsés. Photo courtesy of Acaté.

Christopher Herndon: Unfortunately, history abounds with examples of theft from indigenous

peoples. For the Matsés in particular, it is all too real. The skin secretions of the giant monkey frog
(Phyllomedusa bicolor) are used in hunting rituals by the Matsés. The secretions, rich in a diversity
of bioactive peptides, are administered directly into the body through application onto fresh burn
or cut-wounds. Within moments, the toxins induce intense cardiovascular and autonomic
responses, ultimately leading to a state of altered consciousness and heightened sensory acuity.

Although the range of the giant monkey frog extends across northern Amazonia, only the Matsés
and a small number of neighboring Panoan tribes have been recorded to use its powerful
secretions. After reports of the Matsés use of it emerged from the forest, investigations of the
frog’s secretions in the laboratory revealed a complex cocktail of peptides with potent vasoactive,
narcotic, and antimicrobial properties. Several pharmaceutical companies and universities filed
patents on the peptides without recognition of indigenous peoples for which it has long held a
unique and important role in their culture. One antifungal peptide from the frog was even
transgenically inserted into a potato.
The fear of biopiracy is unfortunately a door that has swung both ways. Many conservation groups
and scientists in the Amazon have done projects documenting indigenous knowledge of local
fauna, such as recording bird names, but have generally been completely hands-off when it came
to medicinal plants due to the fears of being accused of facilitating biopiracy. Yet with the
medicinal plant knowledge disappearing fast among most indigenous groups and no one to write it
down, the true losers in the end are tragically the indigenous stakeholders themselves. The
methodology developed by the Matsés and Acaté can be a template for other indigenous cultures
to safeguard their ancestral knowledge.

Mongabay: What was Acaté’s methodology and how does it protect the knowledge?

Christopher Herndon: Acaté and the Matsés developed an innovative methodology to protect

their ancestral medicinal plant knowledge from extinction while safeguarding the sensitive
information from theft by outside parties. The Encyclopedia is written only in Matsés. It is by and
for the Matsés and no translations will be made into Spanish or English. No scientific names are
included nor photographs of flowers or other easily identifiable characteristics of the plants to
outsiders.

Looking over the new encyclopedia. Photo courtesy of Acaté

Each chapter of the Traditional Medicine Encyclopedia was written by a renowned elder shaman
chosen by the community. Each elder was paired together with a younger Matsés who over
months transcribed his knowledge in writing and photographed each plant. The photos and text
were compiled and typed up on laptop by Wilmer Rodríguez López, a Matsés who is an expert in a
written transcription of their language.

At the meeting, the compiled Encyclopedia, the draft of which exceeded 500 pages in length, was
collectively edited and reviewed by the tribal shamans over several days. The completed
Encyclopedia is now being formatted and printed for the Matsés, at their direction, and will
neither be published nor disseminated outside of their communities.

We expect that the non-controversial success of the methodology pioneered by Acaté and our
indigenous partners will open the door for similar efforts across the Amazon and beyond. We are
already seeing efforts by other organizations eager to replicate it.

Mongabay: Obviously the focus is on preserving Matsés culture and knowledge, but their medical
knowledge could theoretically help future peoples around the world. Are there specific conditions
under which Matsés shamans and the people would share their knowledge of Amazon plants and
curatives? Or has trust been eroded too far?

Christopher Herndon: Acaté cannot speak for the Matsés on this matter. I can say from working
with indigenous healers throughout the Amazon that I have found them to be generally open to
sharing their knowledge, when approached with respect. They also have an intellectual curiosity
regarding other systems of healing, including our own.
Matsés village. Photo courtesy of Acaté.

Some of mankind’s most important pharmaceuticals, such as quinine and aspirin, have been
developed through learning from traditional healers. Due to the political climate and international
fears of biopiracy, it is challenging for even well intentioned pharmaceutical companies committed
to equitable profit-sharing agreements to undertake such initiatives. Practically speaking, the
complexity of indigenous knowledge and medicines is such that it is not possible to fully evaluate
the phytochemistry within the timeframe that the knowledge is poised to be lost. The
Encyclopedia, although not designed for this purpose, keeps options open in the future for the
Matsés; a future that, in contrast to most historical precedents, will be one of their own
determination.

We should also not lose perspective that, until their encyclopedia, the Matsés entire traditional
health system was on the unchecked verge of disappearance due to influences of the outside
world. The Matsés live in remote areas for which external health provision is challenging and
limited. The health dispensaries in many Matsés communities, particularly the ones farthest
upriver, chronically run short of the most basic medications, such as those used to treat falciparum
malaria, an introduced disease. The Matsés pay out of pocket for these outside medicines, which
are a considerable expense for many elders without sources of income. The simple microscope for
malaria smears was broken in almost every village that I have visited. Comparatively, we live in a
world of health care abundance. If there is to be dialogue, in my view it should begin with how we
can support them in the present rather than how they can help us in the future.

Mongabay: Many people view medicine and rainforest conservation as separate domains. How is
health connected to the environment?

Christopher Herndon: The health of a people, their culture, and environment are inextricably
linked. One should not think of the harsh medical and socioeconomic realities in Haiti without
appreciating the context that 98% of the half-island country is deforested with much of the land,
along with its future potential, eroded away. The border between Haiti and the adjacent
Dominican Republic can be viewed from satellite as an abrupt transition from brown to green, the
result of different approaches to resource use. Likewise, the images of Ethiopia that exist in the
modern consciousness belie the fact that, a mere century ago, Ethiopia was a country with a
significant amount of forest cover.

Clinic in Matsés village. The Matsés use both traditional healing and Western medicine, but
supplying and running remote clinics is difficult. Photo courtesy of Acaté.
Clinic in Matsés village. The Matsés use both traditional healing and Western medicine, but
supplying and running remote clinics is difficult. Photo courtesy of Acaté.

The fate of the Matsés and their culture are forever bound to the future of their forests. By
protecting their forests and strengthening their culture, you are protecting their health from a
future blighted by diabetes, malnutrition, depression and alcoholism, the second wave of
‘introduced’ diseases that typically sets in indigenous communities a few short generations
following contact with the outside world. Viewed in this way, biocultural conservation initiatives
can be extremely cost-effective and preventative approaches to healthcare.

Mongabay: How could the encyclopedia help preserve the Matsés culture?

Christopher Herndon: Sometimes change on the ground begins with something as simple and as
powerful as an idea. The idea that your culture, traditions and way of life are not inferior or
something to be ashamed of, as others may have told you. The idea that the rainforests you call
home have a value infinitely greater than petroleum reserves or mahogany sourced to produce
luxury furniture. The idea that your mastery of the rainforest environment does not make you
primitive and backward, but rather positions you to be at the forefront of the global movement for
conservation. The Encyclopedia is a tangible first step towards bridging an increasingly widening
generational gap before it is too late. The Encyclopedia initiative renews respect for the wisdom of
the elders and returns the rainforest to a repository of healing and a place for learning.

Mongabay: The encyclopedia was completed and finalized in a gathering of the Matsés chiefs from
across their land and the remaining elder shamans of the tribe. What was the atmosphere like at
the meeting?

Herndon with shaman looking at medicinal plants. Photo courtesy of Acaté.

Christopher Herndon: The unprecedented meeting was held in one of the most remote villages in
the Matsés territory. It is extremely difficult to describe in words the emotion felt by all in
attendance as the elder Matsés spoke of the battles they fought—literally—to defend the Matsés
territory and their way of life. Many were choking back tears as one elder after another called on
the youth to seize this opportunity to fill the impending void left as the elders pass away, just as
they did when their grandfathers were alive. I have been working in biocultural conservation in the
Amazon for 15 years but it was one of the most inspirational experiences to hear the power of
their oratory and the determination in their voices. You realize at once that the Matsés are
warriors at heart, who have long fought to protect their lands and they are going to continue that
fight.
Update: Herndon appeared  on Mongabay’s podcast  in late 2017 to report that volume two has
now been completed, and that the  encyclopedia now spans 1,000 pages.

Disclosure: Chris Herndon served on the board of Mongabay.org, while Mongabay founder Rhett
Butler was on the board of Acate Amazon Conservation. Butler was not involved in the editorial
process of this interview.

Header image: A Matsés shaman named Cesar. Photo courtesy of Acaté.

Article published by Jeremy Hance

Agroforestry, Amazon People, Amazon
Rainforest, Archive, Environment, Featured, Green, Indigenous Groups, Indigenous
Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Traditional Medicine, Tribal Groups