Seizures among the Tzotzil and Tzeltal. Sacred gift of stigma

Abstract

Testimonies about convulsive crises suffered by the Tzotziles and Tzeltales of Chiapas allow us to appreciate how these experiences permit, through time, different interpretations of the symptoms according to their disappearance, their continuation and/or their aggravation. According to these possibilities, the explanations range from positive connotations associated with the presence of the gift of healing, to stigmatizing ideas associated with notions of witchcraft. However, the social processes that surround these experiences are also relevant to the different interpretations of these crises.