Plantes médicinales d'usage populaire dans le région de la Ribera Alta (Valencia, Espagne)

Abstract

This paper presents the first results of a long-term project of research about the folkmedicine of Spanish Comunidad Valenciana. The project aims to develop one of the fields of long tradition - both in research and medical education - at the Departamento de Historia de la Ciencia y Documentacion de Valencia : Valencia's folkmedicine. After 10 years of systematic data collecting, we are now elaborating ethnographic studies as a basis for future comparative ones in order both to complete knowledge about folkmedicine and explore its applications to Spanish health system. Contents of the present paper concern one of the aspects of popular medical practices : the healing herbals people traditionally use to prevent and fight diseases, and they refer to one valencian region, La Ribera Alta. Data about healing plants have been collected through opened-structurated interviews to the population between 1985 and 1991, the sample being 3 per thousand. The paper presents the 34 most frequently used botanical species, out of a total of 127 identified ones belonging to 20 different botanical families. Under each of the species information about frequency, popular names, parts employed, way of preparing and administration, and popular medical uses - mostly empiric ones, but also magic - can be found. These popular medical practices are discussed briefly in the light of La Ribera Alta culture and history.