This film traces the career of one of the last "hueseros," or bonesetters, in Chugurpampa, Peru—80-year-old Don Felipe. Medical anthropologist Kathryn Oths has long been concerned with the survival of indigenous healing. She got to know Don Felipe in the 1980s while conducting fieldwork in Chugurpampa. At that time, dozens of healers offered their services to the sick and injured, but 25 years later, Don Felipe is now the sole provider of traditional health care for Chugurpampa. Besides being a well-known bonesetter and herbalist, over time he also took on the roles of midwife and healer for illnesses unique to the Andes, such as susto (soul loss from fright). While there is a modern medical center, it is seldom staffed by doctors and has few medicines to prescribe, so Don Felipe has become the only trusted source of health care for miles around.
Length: 27 mins.
Country: Peru
Language: English and Spanish with English Subtitles
Director: Adam Booher, Kathryn Oths
Distributor: Documentary Educational Resources (DER)