Spotlight: Comunidad Tawantinsuyu: Preserving Traditional Medicine

Virtually all pharmaceuticals that we take to cure our illnesses are chemical forms of plant cures for these same conditions. Even aspirin is a chemical version of a natural cure. And, like most chemical versions of plants, the knowledge of the original plants that were used to make aspirin was stolen from African healers by German scientists and researchers. Before the Germans had a chance to commercialize aspirin, the USA broke into a secure safe and took the documents containing the knowledge, claiming it as "spoils of war" during World War II. One who has any true knowledge of natural medicine also knows that the modern medical system has usurped indigenous knowledge and plants for almost all of its prized products, including antibiotics, painkillers, weight loss medicine, and all other forms of chemical drugs. The drug companies take knowledge that belongs to indigenous people and claim it as their own, making trillions of dollars and gaining the trust of the public, while the indigenous people who have developed and sustained the knowledge that was usurped get nothing. Biopiracy is everywhere, but we have chosen to turn our backs on the problem, claiming it as someone else's problem. Our bodies are slowly killed by chemical drugs. We think it is not our issue while our wallets are sucked dry from medical bills and insurance payments. We think biopiracy does not concern us while we are contributing to the colonization and theft of indigenous people by purchasing and using stolen goods. Will we still see this issue as "not our problem" when we develop an illness that the modern medical system cannot cure, like herpes, AIDS, or diabetes, and the only cures available are within secret societies that have chosen to protect their plants and knowledge from the theft of the modern system? Protecting indigenous and natural healing is vital for the survival of humanity, and when we hear of organizations who are fighting for this very issue, we rejoice, Comunidad Tawantinsuyu, a non-profit organization in Peru, is one such group. 

Agustin Guzman, founder of Comunidad Tawantinsuyu, A medicine man, decided that he needed to form an organization to promote traditional medicine. Along with Mary Ann Eidowe. who had been working with Guzman for many years prior to the formation of the organization. Guzman knew it was time to return to traditions and traditional medicine. The pair wanted 1o help return the medicine to the people and return to their traditions and live as their ancestors did, in harmony with nature and among themselves"

Comunidad Tawantinsuyu is a very active organization. According to their website, their mission is, "To contribute to the integral development of human beings based on the wisdom of our ancestors, the main principles of sustainability and the new concepts of intercultural health." The main objectives of Comunidad Tawantinsuyu are to recover and preserve Traditional Medicine, to protect and preserve the environment, to promote the development of medicinal plants, herbs, nutritional products, and handicrafts, to preserve the cultural and spiritual values of native and rural communities, to restore and revalue archeological sites, to recover and implement ecological agriculture, and to preserve and promote cultural and artistic expression. 

PROGRAMS 

Соса Leaf: Comunidad Tawantisuyu is working on the creation of an International Network for the Defense of the Coca Leaf in hopes of creating a legal market for this sacred plant, showing its use in medicine, nutrition, culture and tradition and its importance regarding the environment 

Sweatlodge: Training women in sweatlodge practices is the organization's focus in this area. Work is also being done to educate the public on the many health benefits of Sweatlodge. 

School of Art: A school was created for the children from the Community of Puerto Miguel, Yarapa Gorge, Iquitos (in the Amazon Jungle). During the year 2003, the school had 110 students of Junior and High School children. The goal of the school is to help children improve their abilities and creativity, acknowledge the value of their work, discover new possibilities, and protect nature. 

Sacred Plants: Healing sessions are conducted by the organization using sacred plants such as Wachuma (Trichocereus pachanol), Ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi). hot springs, massage, chant, dance. and more. The group also works to create intercultural health centers, botanical gardens, and conduct training in the use of medicinal plants. 

Ecovillage: Comunidad Tawan- lisuyu is currently starting plans to build an ecovillage for sustainable living. They aim to form a new type of society that will allow physical and spiritual well-being and will create systems of school, natural birth, ceremony and personal development. 

I was given the opportunity to interview Mary Ann Eddowes about the organization and its activities. Eddowes helped explain the philosophy, aim, and challenges of Comunidad Tawantisuyu, and answered some tough questions. Selected portions of the interview follow. 

Rising Firefly: Why is cultural preservation important, and what is being done to insure that traditional/indigenous culture and values are not overshadowed or tainted by modern ones? 

Eddowes: The sacred medicines were given to our elders, who improved them and used them for thousands of years. When Europeans America, this arrived in knowledge was misunderstood, therefore our Elders continued tradition in secret. Nowadays, Western medicine is dying because it does not heal illnesses, because they only take care of the physical body. Traditional medicine considers that most illnesses come from the heart, from the spirit and the soul, and they reflect in our physical bodies getting sick. We are not discovering anything new, we are rediscovering ancient wisdom, and we are very proud to inherit it. At present, Traditional Medicine is still overshadowed by western culture, but as we said before, it is coming to an end. We know in our hearts it is the time to revalue and practice Traditional Medicine to bring it back to help people, and this can be proven if you hear the Prophecies from our Elders. 

Rising Firefly: Most indigenous healers have gone underground because most are not yet free to come to the world with their knowledge due to biopiracy and threats on their person. What must be done by the healers, patients, and others to ensure their safety and enable healers to offer their services and knowledge to the world? 

Eddowes: Legalize this traditional medicine. This is what we are working on. Each country should have clear laws protecting healers, not going against them. It all depends on correct legislation at national and international levels all over the world.

Rising Firefly: Besides going underground, what are indigenous healers in your area doing to protect against biopiracy? 

Eddowes: They are not doing anything, that is the work we are developing and trying to gather people, academic specialists, to help in this. It is not the native people's work, they already have done a lot preserving traditions and our sacred medicine. 

Rising Firefly: Comunidad Tawantisuyu is promoting the Coca plant. How is the Coca plant traditionally used? 

Eddowes: Traditionally it is used by native people as a sacred plant because it feeds the spirit and therefore it is used in offerings and ceremonies. It is the best gift to our Pachamama (Mother Earth) and the Protecting Spirits. It is also used as an oracle to divinate the future. The Coca leaf is also an expression of friendship and brotherhood. Natives will offer them to each other when they encounter as the most precious gift to share. There is no Andean ritual where the Coca leaf is not present. It is highly nutritious and energetic, and native people use it to have enough energy for their daily work in the fields. It is used as medicine and is an excellent herbal tea for digestion and to regulate the body to altitude. 

Rising Firefly: How would the indigenous people benefit from Coca's legalization? How would they suffer? Why has it been criminalized? 

Eddowes: If it is legalized, people would be able to industrialize and commerce it as nutritional, medicinal, and personal hygiene products. Illegal commerce would disappear because it would not be as profitable as it is now. We can compare this case with the legalization of alcoholic beverages. Native people would not suffer. Ii is criminalized due to the bad use through narcoterrorism. Our sacred plant has become profane because of this. Chemical cocaine is sold at very high prices, but natural cocaine (alkaloid of cocaine) is good for pharmaceutical use.

Comunidad Tawantisuyu is not funded by government grants. Since its inception, this organization has been functioning on its own resources. It is truly a non-governmental organization!