The Art of Hispanic Healing

CHS 380B
Spring 2005

If you experience a startling or frightening event, if a piece of your soul leaves your body, if stressed or tired, and your thoughts are too cluttered, if physical symptoms appear as a result, who can you turn to for help? Who knows what herbs can soothe fear? Who understands the integral connection and balance between soul, body, and mind? Who recognizes the energies and forces that fill the universe and knows how they affect people? Will a medical doctor understand? In Chicano communities throughout the United States and Mexico there exists a wise and caring person who understands all of the above. She is the curandera. She has a gift and uses it to help her community. She is welcomed into any family, and will help anyone who asks. The curandera holds a unique position in Chicano folklore, especially in Chicano folk medicine. Based on a distinctive mixture of European, African, and indigenous Mexican beliefs, curanderismo is a tradition of specific roles and practices that has been passed down through hundreds of years, and is still as relevant today.

Healing practices similar to curanderismo have existed for thousands of years. Before Spanish conquest of the Americas, indigenous tribes had their own healers, plants, medicines, and spiritual guidance unique to their region and culture. When the Europeans arrived, they brought their own healers and health practices. According to Perrone, Stockel, and Krueger, “curanderismo came to the Southwest with the Spanish and Mexican pioneers” (1989). More accurately, the Spanish brought with them elements that contributed to the development of curanderismo. During the European exploration and conquest, the Spanish brought with them a large number of African slaves, and these slaves brought with them their own culture. Ultimately, curanderismo is the creation of those three cultures.

Certain similarities among the three cultures provided a common ground for the development of true curanderismo. All three cultures believe in a connection between a certain deity and the power of healing. For example, in the indigenous Aztec population, certain gods were associated with certain illnesses, such as the rain god Tlaloc, who was associated with such illnesses as edema and gout (Ortiz De Montellano, 1986). In the Spanish Catholic religion, illness was often believed to be the result of harmful sprits (Avila & Parker, 1998). The African slaves transplanted to the Americas also brought with them their belief in a supernatural, universal energy force that affects all life. In each, the ability to heal and get well was dependant on certain spiritual entities.

While pooling similarities, the European, African, and indigenous cultures also supplied their own characteristic beliefs to curanderismo. For example, Catholics believe in the power of saints; they are intermediaries between people and God, and praying to the saints reinforces one’s prayer and ensures it is received by God (Perrone et al., 1989). In current curanderismo practices, saints are often represented with candles or statues; since much of curanderismo involves prayer, the saints are used to increase the power of prayer. Next, the African slaves brought over by the Europeans provided a connection to the universe, and the belief that the mind, body, and soul are not separate, as the Spanish believed (Avila & Parker, 1998). Finally, the indigenous tribes contributed not only their advanced medical system and extensive knowledge of herbs, but supplied the very spiritual heart at the core of curanderismo. Elena Avila, a modern curandera who studies curanderismo as a way to reconnect with her cultural heritage, proposes that curanderismo “developed, in large part, from the incredible healing that took place from the encounter between Europeans, Indians, Africans, and their offspring” (1998). In this unique situation, with three cultures in emotional, psychological, and physical conflict, it was this need for healing that led to the development of curanderismo.

Based on its complex history and its deep roots, it is easy to see why curanderismo is special. Curanderismo “is medicine and spirituality practiced simultaneously” (Avila & Parker, 1998). It is medicine that heals both body and soul. Born of the mestizo ancestors who arose from the amalgamation of Europeans, Africans, and natives, curanderismo is most often associated with the people who share that heritage. Thus, it is mostly a system of medicine that addresses “the psychological, spiritual, and social needs of traditional” Chicano people (Del Castillo, 1995). However, there are fundamentals of curanderismo, such as connecting to one’s soul and living in balance with the world, that truly apply to all people.

Throughout history, there have been outsiders to the Chicano community who suffer the misconception that curanderas are brujas, witches. This is not true. Brujas are wicked. They may perform curses, or manipulate the souls of the living or dead. In Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima, the curandera Ultima relates a story to another character: In the wild llano of New Mexico, a group of Commanche Indians attacked a Mexican man’s flocks. The Mexican, after rallying support, hanged the Indians, but several brujas manipulated the wandering ghosts of the slain Indians and commanded them to do their evil bidding. Yet, the ghosts of the Indians were not at fault for their actions. “They [were] manipulated by brujas” (1999).

Curanderas, on the other hand, are dedicated to healing, to making the mind, body, and soul whole. They do not use their abilities for pettiness, mischievousness, or revenge. Just as curanderismo is both practical and spiritual, so is the curandera. Whether there is just one curandera in a community, or whether there are several, the curandera is always special. Some say that curanderas inherit their talents. Others say that they are a gift from God. Either way, all agree, the abilities are present even before birth (Perrone et al., 1989). According to Perrone, there is a legend that states, if a child cries while still in the womb, “’it will be given the “Don” and become a curandera’” (1989). Born with the gift to heal and communicate with God, the curandera is destined to do both. Her dedication to healing is evident when one considers the constant training a curandera undergoes. For some, healing is learned from childhood (H. Giron-Mufhfiq, personal communication, April 17, 2005), while for others it is discovered in adulthood (Avila & Parker, 1998). The curandera engages in a lifelong search for deeper spiritual understanding of God, the universe, the body and soul, and how all of them can be used to heal.

In one aspect, curanderismo is a form of psychotherapy (Rose, 1978), but it is much more than that. The curandera really listens to her patients, empathizes with them, and develops a personalized treatment for whatever ails them. More importantly, the curandera helps her patients understand their illnesses and involves them in the healing process, ultimately helping them to better understand their own lives. By seeking out a curandera and engaging in a healing ritual, “both [patient] and healer, by their actions, [are perpetuating] cultural values … that have been such a steadfast part of the traditional Hispanic folkways” (Perrone et al., 1989). The continuing widespread use of curanderas for medical and spiritual guidance indicates that these folk medicine practices still have a place and a purpose in society.

In recent years, views of curanderismo have changed. Previously, the modern medical community viewed curanderismo in a negative light. They seemed to believe that Mexican-Americans clung to their folk medicine as a means of resisting Anglicization (Rose, 1978), and that these folk beliefs were an impediment to the acceptance of modern medicine by this culture (Rose, 1978; Martinez, 1978).Now, however, more and more doctors and medical schools are exploring the connection between spirituality and healing. Some might say that the two systems are as different as night and day, but they can exist in a balance. This can be seen in the example of two psychiatric nurses: Elena Avila, who began to study curanderismo as an adult, and Diana Velazquez, who practiced healing from childhood. They have used their knowledge of the soul and ancient folk traditions to advise patients and physicians alike, and to perform rituals that have showed actual qualitative results with psychiatric patients. One such example is illustrated by Del Castillo (1995), wherein Diana Velazquez swept a special set of beads over a young patient, allowing “the right energy” to flow into the girl. This, coupled with prayer, allowed the girl to take an important step and acknowledge that her doctors were there to help her.

There are several types of curandera, although they are not mutually exclusive. The first type is the yerbera (Perrone et al., 1989) or the hierbero (Avila & Parker, 1998), who specializes in herbs. This healer knows the medicinal properties of the plants in a specific region, and can produce cures from complex combinations of herbs. This healer knows what herbs are used in certain ceremonies. Not only is the yerbera aware of a plant’s clinical properties, but as a curandera who is in tune with the earth and all of its energies, the yerbera understands the very nature of the plant, its essence, and how it can be used (Perrone et al., 1989). The yerbera might use her plants to treat simple cuts and scrapes, or more involved ceremonies. For example, during the cleansing ceremony called a limpias, brooms made of rosemary and rue are often swept over a body to direct the flow of negative energies out of the body; this allows those undergoing the ceremony to clear their minds and reconnect with their souls (H. Giron-Mufhfiq, personal communication, April 17, 2005). With this understanding comes a certain sense of responsibility. For instance, in Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima, the wise curandera Ultima knew that “even the plants [have] a spirit” (1999), and would pray to each plant she uprooted. This prayer offering signifies respect for the plant and for all life.

Another type of curandera is the sobadora (Avila & Parker, 1998) or sobardora (Perrone et al., 1989), a healer who truly uses her hands to heal through massage. Massage can be used to make a connection between healer and patient, to soothe anxiety. Massage relaxes stressed muscles and allows patient to feel more comfortable, and to speak and pray more freely. The massage may be one part of a more complex ceremony; for example, it is often used to treat susto – the loss of soul that occurs when one experiences a great shock or surprise. In a ceremony that might last for days, one step is to “warm those herbs and massage the body all the time. Just keep on massaging it and talking, and praying … it was a ceremony, and it lasted” until the lost piece of soul returned to the body, and the patient became well” (H. Giron-Mufhfiq, personal communication, April 17, 2005). Subsequent steps may involve actually calling for the soul to return. In the susto example, the physical contact of massage anchors the patient to allow reconnection with the soul.

Another type of curandera is the partera (Avila & Parker, 1998), a healer who specializes in childbirth. In the past, the partera would go to an expectant mother’s home to deliver the baby, bringing with her the necessary herbs and medicines. She helped with the actual birth, but perhaps even more importantly, “she nurtured the soul and emotions of the expectant mother” (Avila & Parker, 1998). Today, curanderas may even go to a hospital upon request and assist doctors and nurses with the birth.

A fourth category of curandera is the consejera, or counselor (Avila & Parker, 1998). Really, though, all curanderas use the art of listening and understanding in their healing practices. All curanderas encourage their patients to release emotions and unwanted energies, and to open themselves to the healing experience, whether a particular person requires prayer, massage, or burial in the earth to attain a balance between body and soul.

Each specialty of curandera possesses certain tools for healing. The yerbera might use rosemary or rue in a limpias, or may use local wildflowers; she may grind a certain herb to use in an ointment or salve for a wound. A sobadora’s most important tool is her hands. To cure empacho – the stomach ache/blockage caused by either an unpleasant emotional experience or by eating too much of a certain food, such as rice or bananas (Rose, 1978) – a sobadora may massage the stomach, and may prescribe a tea to soothe the pain, such as chamomile. Other tools for other curanderas may include candles – such as those representing specific saints – eagle feathers, beads, and altars.

Another interesting tool often used in healing ceremonies is the typical egg. In limpias, the cleansing ceremonies, the egg is used to “read” a person, to study their energies and perhaps determine if something is off-kilter. The raw egg is rubbed all over the person’s body, and then may be dropped whole into a glass of water, or may be cracked and its contents dropped into the water. Some believe that the egg yolk “symbolizes the individual, and the egg white … represents the energy that does not belong to the client” and that studying how the two arrange themselves in the glass of water can determine the characteristics of energy associated with that person (Avila & Parker, 1998). In other healing ceremonies, where a patient is ill, the egg can draw the sickness from the patient, allowing them to get better. In an interview with the daughter of a curandera, the daughter shared a story she witnessed as a child:

“There was an older woman …An old woman. She was very sick. And there was my mother and a couple of other healers there, and they kept watch over her for, I mean, 24/7. They never left, one of them never left her side. She was always accompanied by somebody. And we were there, too. And they were praying, and they were doing certain kinds of ceremonies. And like I said, I didn’t know because I was very young. But they, um, the one thing I do remember, that they got a raw egg, and they put, um, you know, from the straw of the broom, they put a cross on that. And then they would put that on top of the woman in a bowl of some sort, and then pray and keep watch on her. And then they would change the egg every once in a while. And the egg would be dirty, just through, I don’t know how it got dirty, you know, but it was like blackened and things like that” (H. Giron-Mufhfiq, personal communication, April 17, 2005).

The significance of the egg is not clearly explained in the literature, but the egg may represent rebirth – a new start and a new chance at life for those newly restored.

Whatever the particular tools a curandera uses, they are only accessories. With the divine gift of healing, a true curandera, a curandera total, needs only three things: her head, her hands, and her heart. With her head, the curandera can understand the balance of body and soul, can understand the benefits of local herbs, and can develop an individualized healing experience for every person that comes to her. With her hands, the curandera can massage away anxiety and fear and can offer a physical connection for a person who may be lost, their soul separated from his or her body. With her heart, a curandera can empathize with a person in need, can offer support, and can receive God’s caring energy. Who else but a curandera can do so much with so little? No wonder the curandera is a respected figure in the Chicano community. With the history and knowledge of three distinct cultures flowing through her veins, and the gift of God in her heart, a curandera has a deep well of strength from which to pull, and the desire to share with all in need.

References

Anaya, R. (1999). Bless Me, Ultima New York: Warner Books.

Avila, E. & Parker, J. (1998). Woman Who Glows in the Dark New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam.

Del Castillo, R. (1995). La curandera total: The life history of Diana Velasquez. In Baca, V. (Ed.), La Genta Hispano History and Life in Colorado Denver: Colorado Historical Society.

Martinez, R. (1978). Hispanic Culture and Health Care: Fact, Fiction, Folklore St. Louis: The C. V. Mosby Company.

Ortiz De Montellano, B. (1986). Aztec sources of some Mexican folk medicine. In Steiner, R. (Ed.), Folk Medicine the art and the science Washington, DC: American Chemical Society.

Perrone, B., Stockel H.H., & Krueger, V. (1989). Medicine Women, Curanderas, and Women Doctors Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.

Rose, L. (1978). Disease Beliefs in Mexican-American Communities San Francisco: R & E Research Associates, Inc.