Witchcraft-explained childhood tragedies in Tlaxcala, and their medical sequelae

This paper describes results of a study in Tlaxcala, Mexico, involving the sudden death of infants and children that culturally are explained as resulting from the attack of blood-sucking witches. The attacks of the supernaturals are relatively common occurrences and an elaborate ideology has evolved to explain them. Such an ideology serves to explain what constitutes a major trauma of loss and supernatural assault. Data on a total of 47 cases were collected prospectively. The illness experiences of the parents following these traumas were recorded and their nature and consequences analyzed. The results of the study provide a 'folk medical' epidemiology of sudden infant death, a well identified cultural-ecological stressor. Ideas from cultural, psychological and medical anthropology as well as general medicine and psychiatry are used in the interpretation of the results.