Meanings and Practices of Swaddling (qillpu) in Infant Care in Andean Communities

Bibliographic Data

ID13024010
AuthorsEdgar Gutiérrez-Gómez (0000-0001-9485-1284, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, corresponding author), Roxana Rojas-Montes (San Cristóbal of Huamanga University), Sonia Beatriz Munaris-Parco (0000-0001-8784-5724, San Cristóbal of Huamanga University), Roly Auccatoma-Tinco (0000-0003-2669-041X, San Cristóbal of Huamanga University), Adolfo Quispe Arroyo (0000-0001-5814-5593, San Cristóbal of Huamanga University), Rubén Darío Alania-Contreras (0000-0003-4303-1037, Universidad Nacional del Centro del Perú)
Year2026
Volume16
Issue3
Pages77-77
Publication date2026-02-24
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocieties (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2075-4698 • E-ISSN: 2075-4698
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/soc16030077
OpenAlexW7131285218
LanguageEN
References cited15

Swaddling, known in Quechua as qillpu, is an ancestral practice still in use in Andean communities, linked to cultural conceptions of health, protection, and appropriate ways of raising babies. The objective of the research was to analyze the sociocultural meanings and practices associated with qillpu, as well as the tensions that arise in relation to conventional medicine in the field of childhood. A qualitative ethnographic approach was used, involving in-depth interviews with mothers, participant observation, and interpretive analysis of the discourses collected in Andean communities. The results show that swaddling is perceived as a comprehensive care strategy that promotes rest, bodily symmetry, and the physical and spiritual protection of the child. The testimonies legitimize its use in the face of accusations of abuse, emphasizing its temporary and functional nature. It is concluded that the qillpu maintains a solid symbolic and practical relevance, and therefore its analysis requires an intercultural dialogue that articulates ancestral knowledge with biomedical approaches

Cultural knowledge · Ethnography · Face (sociological concept · Participant observation · Qualitative research · Raising (metalworking · Relation (database · Sociocultural evolution · Child Welfare and Adoption · Indigenous Health and Education · Migration, Education, Indigenous Social Dynamics

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