Andean voices on ageing well: a biographical study with older Aymara adults

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Scarce attempts have been made to meet the challenge of understanding the features of successful indigenous ageing in Latin America and the Caribbean. This study examines the dimensions underpinning the concept of Ageing Well among the Aymara people, based on the following questions: What conception do older Aymara adults have of Ageing Well? What are its central elements? How does Ageing Well juxtapose with Living Well? RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This study involved the participation of 36 older Aymara adults (aged from 62 to 97 years), with equal numbers of men and women and made up of 16 individuals living in rural Andean areas and 20 in the city of Arica. Biographical interviews were conducted covering the following dimensions: (1) significant social relations; (2) interconnection with the community; (3) conception of wellbeing as harmony; and (4) interconnection with the land and the meaning of ageing in place. RESULTS: The findings of this study show that for the Aymara people, Ageing Well is interconnected with three categories: harmony and balance in wellbeing (body, mind, and soul), community as the articulating element of the system governing social and cultural life, and nature, together with the deities that inhabit or are expressed through it. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: This study shows that community is also the central element in the interweaving of Living Well and wellbeing in the Aymara ageing process. The implications of these findings for promoting longevity on a global scale are discussed.

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