Description

Health from WHO (1948) is defined as “a complete state of physical, mental, spiritual and social well-being, not just the absence of disease or illness” in the individual. This has been a breakthrough, considering that health had previously been defined simply as the “absence of disease” in a particular person. Since this definition (WHO) is fundamental today, it does not clarify the fact that the notion of health depends on the context in which it originates.The present article is based on the study that is advanced in the corregimiento of Cabrera, starting from the hypothesis that there are different ways to signify health and illness. And these meanings, therefore, are dependent on the cultural and historical particularities of the context.Cabrera is a rural population that belongs to the municipality of Pasto (Nariño-Colombia), is located seven kilometers from the city of San Juan de Pasto. It has an approximate population of 2152 inhabitants (Secretary of Culture Municipal Pasto, 2009).The aim of this article is to understand the meaning of health and disease in the light of traditional medicine.   The research is traced from the qualitative paradigm, the historical-hermeneutic approach and ethnographic cut. The techniques used for the collection of information are: entrance survey, participant observation, semi-structured interviews and focus groups.