“CURANDERISMO”: HISTORICAL ZOOTHERAPY AMONG CRIOLLO INHABITANTS IN RURAL AREAS OF CÓRDOBA, ARGENTINA

: This article presents a compilation and analysis of animal-based remedies included, in the chapter corresponding to Córdoba, in the category of "curanderismo" in the National Folklore Survey (NFS). NFS is a general survey carried out in 1920 with the explicit objective of recording the traditional knowledge of the Creole inhabitants of Argentina. In the NFS, we can releved the records of 37 animal species (7 of them domestic), animal parts or animal-derived products, with 66 different uses. Of these species, just 9 (3 domestic and 6 wild) continue to be used, reflecting a loss of knowledge and practice about the use of zooterapeutics. The species were classified into 14 use categories, with a prevalence of diseases of the digestive system and diseases of the musculoskeletal system or connective tissue, which would reflect the living conditions of the populations addressed by the NFS. The NFS reveals a complex ethnomedical system that included local biodiversity but also elements of cultural syncretism. Paying attention to them may enrich our view of the daily life of current and past rural communities.