Publication: Traditional Medicinal Systems in French Guiana—Creole, Wayãpi, Palikur

This richly illustrated book provides a detailed overview of the medicinal traditions of three indigenous groups in French Guiana: the Creoles, the Wayãpi, and the Palikur. The use of medicinal plants is central to the daily lives of these three groups, who have developed their own medicinal traditions based on their unique understandings of the body and its relationship to the world and the environment. This revised and expanded edition has been enriched with numerous medicinal species and recent data in chemistry, pharmacology, and ethnobotany. At a time of debates on the commercialization of forest products, intellectual property rights, and the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the questions raised by the authors as early as 1987 take on a whole new relevance. The authors now hope that this new edition of their work will contribute to these peoples reclaiming their traditional medicines and pharmacopoeias.