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Description
They are often respected members of the community, being highly religious and spiritual. Literally translated as "healer" from Spanish, curanderos often use herbs and other natural remedies to cure illnesses, but their primary method of healing is the supernatural. This is because they believe that the cause of many illnesses are lost malevolent spirits, a lesson from God, or a curse.
There are different types of curanderos / curanderas. “Yerberos” are primarily herbalists. “Hueseros and Sabaderos” are bone/muscle therapists who emphasize physical ailments. "Parteras" are midwives.
Curanderos treat ailments like espanto (Spanish for "shock"), empacho (Spanish for "surfeit"), susto ("fright"), mal aire (literally, "bad air"), and mal de ojo ("evil eye") with religious rituals, ceremonial cleansing, and prayers. It is a common belief that a main curing factor of the Curanderos is the Icaros, the spirit song. In the entheogenic ceremonies these songs are navgational devices for the healer who thus journey to the root of the trauma or illness with the help of spirits perceivable in the altered states induced.
These methods of treating health problems often lead to conflict with modern medicine, because doctors reject the curandero's healing as superstitious and worthless. As a result, curanderos have often experienced discrimination and been likened to witches, both by the medical profession and non-hispanic communities. However, because of the importance of the supernatural in traditional Mexican culture, these insults generally lead only to disagreement and rejection of modern medicine by traditionally-minded Mexicans. Other medical doctors, recognizing the benefits of the spiritual and emotional healing offered by curanderos, have begun to work in conjunction with them, supporting their use of rituals and ceremonies in the healing of the sick while insisting that patients receive modern medical attention as well.
The Moche people of ancient Peru often depicted curanderos in their ceramics. 1
Curanderos in fiction
Curanderos, probably because of the mystery and intrigue that surrounds them, are frequently included in fictional works:
- "Bless Me, Ultima", by the Chicano author Rudolfo Anaya.
- The life and writing of Miguel Ruiz was also influenced by curanderismo, since his mother was a curandera.
- The original screenplay for the film Viva Zapata! involved a curandera predicting the birth and death of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata. The original played much more heavily on the supernatural than the chosen script.
- "Eduardo The Healer", is a documentary that follows the life of a Peruvian curandero.
- "Forests of the Heart", by Charles de Lint features a curandera protagonist.
- "So Far From God", by Chicana author Ana Castillo, features the curandera character Doña Felicia.
- "E-Fed World", Handeler Jonathan, The team of Link and Marcus Moore create the Culture Curenderos
- (Notes from the trial of) La Curandera, a song by the band Clutch off their album, Blast Tyrant. It features a fictional trial of a curandera for curing a demon.
See also
References
- ^ Berrin, Katherine & Larco Museum. The Spirit of Ancient Peru:Treasures from the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1997.
- Riding, Alan. Distant Neighbors: A Portrait of the Mexicans. New York: Vintage, 2000.
- Robert T. Trotter II/Trotter II, Robert T., Juan Antonio Chavira/Chavira, Juan Antonio. Curanderismo: Mexican American Folk Healing. University of Georgia Press, Second Edition, October 1997.
