Premium
Afro‐Cuban Religion, Ethnobotany and Healthcare in the Context of Global Political and Economic Change
Author(s) -
MORET ERICA
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
bulletin of latin american research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.24
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1470-9856
pISSN - 0261-3050
DOI - 10.1111/j.1470-9856.2008.00273.x
Subject(s) - globalization , politics , context (archaeology) , latin americans , ethnobotany , political science , identity (music) , development economics , ethnology , economic growth , sociology , political economy , geography , traditional medicine , economics , medicine , medicinal plants , law , physics , archaeology , acoustics
‘Globalisation’, driven by neoliberal‐based policies, can be seen to have significant impacts on ethnobotanical practices, particularly through the commercialisation of traditional knowledge and rise in identity‐based social movements. Despite its relative political and economic isolation in comparison to more ‘neoliberalised’ areas of Latin America, local‐level shifts occurring in post‐Soviet Cuba are similar to those occurring elsewhere in the region. Afro‐Cuban ritual activities have proliferated, particularly in Havana, leading to an increased dependence on the rich magico‐medicinal pharmacopoeias employed in hybridised religions such as santería and palo monte – suggesting that ‘globalisation’ may have profound, albeit indirect, implications for even the most economically marginalised countries such as Cuba.