Maya and contemporary scientific conceptions of cancer

A project initiated by Prof. em. Roland W. Scholz and Mónica Berger González, and run with the patronage of the Swiss Embassy in Guatemala.

Supported by the Cooperation Agreement (MoU) between ETH-Zurich and Universidad del Valle de Guatemala.

(time frame: Sept 2010 to 2015)

Project Team (ETH-NSSI)

• Dr. Pius Krütli, ETH Zurich, Project Co-leader
• Dr. Barbara Becker, ETH Zurich, Project Co-leader
• Mónica Berger González, PhD Candidate, ETH Zurich
• Martin Hitziger, PhD Candidate, ETH Zurich

Project Partners

Partners from practice

• Simeón Taquirá Sipac, Council of Maya Elders of Guatemala, Project Co-leader
• Pablo Ax, Kamal B’ey, ACGERS Q’eqchi’ Council of Elders
• Narciso Asij, Kamal B’ey Mopan Council of Elders
• Rafael Lopez, Kamal B’ey Kiche’ Council of Elders
• Estanislao Teleguario Yos, Kamal B’ey Kaqchikel Council of Elders
• Mario Lopez Ordoñez, Kamal B’ey, Kiche’ Council of Elders

Partners from science

• MA. MSc. Andrés Alvarez Castañeda, Director Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG)
  
• Dr. Ruedi Füchslin, ZHAW, SAB
• Dr. med. Eduardo Gharzouzi, INCAN, Member of Scientific Advisory Board  (SAB)
• Dr. med. Walter Guerra, Technical Director INCAN (Guatemala National Cancer Institute)
• Prof. Dr. Paul Kleihues, University Hospital Zurich, SAB
• Prof. Dr. med. Christoph Renner, Oncology centre Hirslanden Zurich, Co-leader, SAB
• Dr. Sergio Romero, Texas University, SAB
• Dr. Mónica Stein, Dean of Research Institutes, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG)
• Prof. Dr. Heinrich Walt, University Hospital Zurich, SAB
• Dr. Caroline Weckerle, University Zurich, SAB
• Prof. Dr. Jacob Zinsstag, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, SAB
  

Project's Summary

The goal of this project is to develop a systemic approach to human cancer which allows to describe and to relate the current scientific approaches to cancer and the indigenous Mayan concept of cancer. The project takes an epistemological perspective and provides a better understanding of various processes involved in different types of cancer diagnosis and treatments. This becomes possible by a transdisciplinary (td) process that is organized and conducted by the Guatemala Maya Council of Elders (GMCE), academics from ETH Zurich, oncologists, physicians, and scientists from Zurich University Hospital, Swiss TPH, INCAN, UVG, and other institutions. Since August 2012, Pius Krütli and Barbara Becker (ETH Global) are leading the project team.

A key part of the project consists of in depth interviews with the wisdom keepers of five ethno-linguistic groups, followed by workshops among the key elders of these groups to facilitate a comprehensive, cohesive, codified representation of the epistemics and belief systems involved in the Maya vision.

The tproject should serve to (i) identify commonalities and differences between the ‘current scientific’ and the Mayan reconstruction of cancer processes, (ii) integrate, systematize and document the historically fragmented knowledge of Maya elders in both the mental-cognitive (spiritual) and physiological perspective, and (iii) design a potential field study to evaluate the effectiveness of Mayan cancer treatment in a long-term survey which is both meeting the criteria of medical evaluation studies and the evaluation from a Mayan perspective.

Read the report about the MACOCC project in "Polykum" (in German) »» (PDF 1.9 MB)

Selected publications, reports, seminars

• IED Newsletter 15, 2013/03 »»
  
• Macocc Newsletter 4, 2013/02 (»» PDF, 1.6 MB)
• Macocc Newsletter 3, 2012/04 (»» PDF, 618 kB)
• Macocc Newsletter 2, 2011/08 (»» PDF, 401 kB)
• Macocc Newsletter 1, 2011/01 (»» PDF, 1.4 MB)

PhD theses

• Mónica Berger González: Maya and Contemporary Conceptions of Cancer: Cultural Formation of Environmental Literacy (working title)
• Martin Hitziger: The role of plants in Mayan cancer treatments (working title)

Funding Sources

2010–2015

• Chair NSSI, ETH Zurich
  

2010

• COGITO Foundation

2011

• COGITO Foundation
• ETH Department of Environmental Sciences
• Swiss Embassy in Guatemala
• Universidad del Valle de Guatemala

2012

• State Secretariat for Education and Research SER

2012–2015

• ETH Zurich
  

Personal donations

• Prof. em. Dr. sc. tech. Dr. Dr. h.c. Franz Schmithüsen (Forest Policy and Forest Ecocnomics)
• Daniel Mäder, former Diploma Student of Environmental Sciences