Indigenous practices allowed during treatment in Roraima hospital
The treatment of indigenous patients at the Hospital da Criança Santo Antônio (HCSA), in Boa Vista, capital of the northern state of Roraima, has incorporated indigenous people’s cultural traditions, ranging from healing rituals to typical foods, said Yanomami language interpreter Richard Duque, who works at the hospital.“We here at the hospital fully subscribe to this approach. We prepare the environment so care providers can follow it, as much as our conditions allow,” Duque explained.Among the practices incorporated to conventional medical treatment is spiritual support. “We bring over their preferred healer—or xapiri in the Yanomami language, the one they trust—and we schedule in their traditional healing practice.”
Richard Duque, interpreter of Yanomam...