ABSTRACT
What are we to make of this event and of the diagnosis of daño? The ritual is certainly unlike the practices of medical practitioners with which we are more familiar. The idea of sorcery-induced illness brings with it negative associations built on Hollywood visions of voodoo ceremonies. It would only be in the spirit of cultural sensitivity that we would apply the term “medical” to the body of knowledge on which the Peruvian shaman depends in treating his clients; in unguarded moments we might even be tempted to use less flattering adjectives, like superstitious or primitive.
