Traditional Quechua Medicine: Part 1 of a guide to local Peruvian plants
Contrary to what you might think, up to 80% of the populations in less economically developed countries use indigenous medicine for primary health care (1), and the Quechua communities of the Andes mountains are no different. Passed down through kinship lines and exchanged between peers, traditional Quechua medicine has a preference for ethnobiology, and can be split into two parts: plant medicine and holistic medicine. As presented in many studies on Andean medicine, when faced with an illness, almost all households in these rural communities self-treat with their local natural resources. If this fails, they tend to use healers as a second option.
Although Awamaki does not use holistic medicine in its tours, this blog will provide a brief background of spiritual healing often used nowadays in Andean medicine, to give some important antecedents of Peruvian medicine. Peru is rich in ancient healing traditions, kept alive by spiritual healers (or shamans) often known as curanderos, ayahuasqueros and mesa practitioners. It is believed in these communities that ailments are caused by ancestor spirits or evil winds. These healers therefore use rituals, plant remedies and energy healing to treat people, connect them to the spiritual world and maintain the Andean cultural identity and connection to the land. Such rituals include shamanic traditions, in which curanderas take inspiration from spirit animals like jaguars in meditation to connect with unseen realms and find answers. They also use natural energy healing techniques, such as Chumy and Mountain healing to help restore balance and well-being. Traditional plants and herbs are also used to help communicate with spirits to cure illnesses - shamans learn to enter altered states with coca leaves to connect with the divine (2).
Even outside of the spiritual realm in Peruvian communities, plant knowledge is invaluable, because it reinforces national identity and values which are being lost in the complementary processes of modernisation and globalisation. Through my time as a sustainable tourism intern, I have come to understand the importance of natural remedies over pharmaceuticals as a first resort not only during my tours to Patacancha and Huilloc, but also throughout my own nature hikes. Talking to artisans from these communities, I have discovered the plants both native and imported to the Andean region that they use daily to be self-sufficient in the prevention and treatment of illness:
The coca leaf (Erythroxylum coca)(3)
Native to: northern and western South AmericaHow it is used: the leaf is chewed, or mixed with hot water to make a tea (mate de coca)
Used to: improve cognitive function, cure altitude sickness (as it aids blood oxidation), stomach problems, fatigue, headaches and throat infections
Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla)
Native to: southern and eastern Europe and western Asia
How it is used: served with hot water as herbal tea
Important components: terpenoids and flavonoids (anti-inflammatories)
Used to: cure stomach cramps, indigestion and diarrhea
Muña (Minthostachys mollis)
Native to: the regions of Ayacucho, Puno and Cusco
How it is used: served with hot water as herbal tea
Important components: has high levels of calcium and phosphorus
What it is used for: as a preventative medicine for osteoporosis (as it helps maintain healthy teeth and bones), helps with digestion and stomach pains, intestinal infections and inflammation
Sage (Salvia officinalis)
Native to: Europe, Asia and the Americas
How it is used: served with hot water as herbal tea
Important components: terpenoids, flavonoids and carbohydrates
Used to: help with digestion, menstrual cramps, insomnia and throat infections. It is also suggested that it can be used in treatments against diabetes.
Anise (Pimpinella anisum)
Native to: Egypt, Asia Minor and Greece
Cultivated in: Europe, Mexico, Chile, Morocco, Syria
How it is used: served with hot water as herbal tea
Important components: fatty oils, volatile oils, carbohydrates and vitamins
Used to: aid digestion and relieve coughs, menstrual discomfort and insomnia.
Sacha Paracay (Colignonia glomerata Griseb)
Native to: the rural Andean regions (specifically Chinchero)
Looks similar to the yucca plant
How it is used: the plant root is split and rubbed together in water
Uses: this root produces a foam that means it can be used as soap (for alpaca and sheep wool as well as for their own use), shampoo and laundry detergent. Nowadays, people in the Andean rural communities buy separate shampoo and laundry detergent, but every so often they use this root for that purpose.
As a shampoo: it helps for the prevention of grey hair, keeping it very black
As a medicinal plant: used to wash babies from the waist down when they have a fever
Toronjil (Melissa officinalis), otherwise known as lemon balm
Native to: southern Europe and Mediterranean region
How it is used: served with hot water as herbal tea
Important components: flavonoids, phytochemicals (antioxidant) and vitamin C
Used to: alleviate stress, anxiety and mood swings, as well as digestive issues
Chilca/Ch’illka plant (Baccharis latifolia)(4)
Native to: South America
How it is used: it is mixed with water to make a paste and used externally
Used to: relieve joint pain, fractures, dislocations, digestive issues, heartburn, flu and external inflammation. Also often used just after childbirth - placed on the lower abdomen of the mother, to give her strength and help her recover quickly.
Combined with molle leaves and salt, it can also relieve gout
In textiles, Ch’illka can also be used to dye wool green
There are abundant medicinal plants used in the rural Andes regions that could be listed, other notable ones being kunuka, mantamulla, eucalyptus and pacha kunuku.
However, it is interesting to note that medicinal plants are not only used for human medicine in these communities; many rural Andean communities rely on plant-based veterinary practices to treat diseases in livestock, such as alpacas. They have plants to treat diarrhea (M.mollis, S.nutans and T.filifolia), pneumonia (G.prostrata and G.viravira), enteric parasitosis (B.tricuneata and L.daucifolia) and lice (A.compacta) in such animals (5).
So not only is the maintenance of plant biodiversity in the rural Peruvian Andes region vital for the maintenance of age-old cultural practices, but also for the health of the artisans we work with and the livestock upon which their livelihoods and diet rely on.
- 1 Mathez-Stiefel, S.-L., Vandebroek, I. and Rist, S. (2012). Can Andean medicine coexist with biomedical healthcare? A comparison of two rural communities in Peru and Bolivia. Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, [online] 8, p.26. doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-4269-8-26.
- 2 Peru Explorer (2024). Discover Authentic Spiritual Healers Peru Today. [online] Peru Explore https://www.peru-explorer.com/discover-authentic-spiritual-healers-peru-today.htm.
- 3 Aracari Travel (2014). Medicinal Plants of Peru. [online] Aracari Travel. Available at: https://www.aracari.com/blog/aracari-team-insights/medicinal-plants-peru/.
- 4 Somers, C. (2024). A Dictionary of Plant Fibre and Colour. [online] Available at: https://media.churchillfellowship.org/documents/Somers_C_Report_2023_Final.pdf [Accessed 20 Feb. 2025].
- 5 Silva, W., Mijahuanca, A., Seminario, G.I. and Seminario, J.F. (2024). Plant-based veterinary practices in Peru: a review of traditional ethnoveterinary knowledge and phytochemical components. Ethnobotany Research and Applications, [online] 29, pp.1–40. Available at: https://ethnobotanyjournal.org/index.php/era/article/view/6401 [Accessed 20 Feb. 2025].