Curandero Conversations: El Niño Fidencio, Shamanism and Healing Traditions of the Borderlands - Softcover

Zavaleta, Antonio

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1449000886 ISBN 13: 9781449000882

Publisher: AuthorHouse, 2009

Synopsis

Curandero Conversations offers something for everyone. Following an introduction by renowned Native American healer and author, Jamie Sams, the book examines 190 actual email-based consultations with the curandero, followed by the anthropologist's commentary. The book also offers three major appendices including information for understanding cultural competencies in the delivery of health care, Internet resource links for continued study, and the most complete medicinal plant herbal used by curanderos/as on the U.S.-Mexico border.

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Curandero Conversations

El Nio Fidencio, Shamanism and Healing Traditions of the BorderlandsBy Antonio Zavaleta Alberto Salinas Jr.

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2009 Antonio Zavaleta and Alberto Salinas Jr
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4490-0088-2

Chapter One

A Testimonial

"I came to the realization that the lack of cultural knowledge is like soul loss initiated by the void of our ancestral and family legacies."

-Rachel Edith Barrera, doctoral candidate

Learning to Walk Between Worlds: A Latina's Spiritual Journey

by Rachel Edith Barrera

The Spanish word for healer is curandero/a, and comes from the verb curar meaning to heal. Healing is the defining part of the word curandera. A curandera is a female healer and a curandero is a male healer. In Latino culture there are those who are born with a special gift called el don. This gift of healing can manifest itself in a variety of different ways: parteras (midwives), hierberas (herbalists), hueseras (bonesetters), sobadoras (massage specialists), materias (spirit mediums) and other types of healers who are as unique as the people they help. The gift can manifest in both men and women at any point in their lives; from the moment they are born to the time they become grandparents. The gift can also be passed on from generation to generation like it has with mine.

The mystical world of curanderos/as has been a part of my family for generations. I was born with a special awareness. From my earliest recollection, family, friends and strangers noticed this difference. Some described it as a luz, or light, while others told me I had the gift of healing. Since I was a child, information about and experiences with curanderismo have come to me through a variety of ways, transforming my life into a unique and wonderful apprenticeship in healing and shamanism.

My mother's stories were an early chapter in my apprenticeship. Stories like the time a young girl was possessed in my mother's village or the time my grandmother saw a black cat visit her grandfather, who was a known brujo, warlock, in the community. He lived until my mother was 10 and was easily over a century old. My great-grandfather was also a curandero in the same community. My mother's experiences within the context of her curandera heritage taught her many things, some practical and others esoteric, which she passed on to me. Through these stories, I learned the healing beliefs and practices of my mother's family. I learned the practical application of this knowledge. As a child I eavesdropped on my mother's consulting sessions, as she gave advice to those who came to her for help. I can still smell the herbs she used in her barridas, or ritual sweepings of the body. I learned the art of passing a fertile hen's egg over the body as a cure for mal de ojo, evil eye. I learned the many rituals one must know by heart including those that offered protection against enemies and those which broke trabajos, works of witchcraft. I learned how to identify and prepare medicinal plants for healing. My childhood was filled with wonder and magic. But that soon changed.

During my teenage years my mother became part of an evangelical sect and stopped healing in the ways she learned from her family. Her new church saw her "old ways" as evil, and, little by little, my mother "forgot" the healing ways of our ancestors. However, I did not forget. My mother could not erase what I had learned. My memories resonate with a vital part of my being and define who I am today. Against my mother's wishes, I continued to learn the ways of my ancestors. Luckily, and unintentionally, early in my childhood I learned to interact within the non-ordinary reality, a unique world where shamans and curanderos/ as interact. When my mother no longer shared her knowledge, I continued to be taught and to learn through dreams and visitations from my ancestors and by one very special teacher. My mother will never cease being a healer. My mother's don, or her gift of healing and intuition, has not abandoned her. She continues to apply her medicinal plant knowledge, and her other more esoteric practices continue to evolve. Prayer is now my mother's tool of choice to heal and interact with God. Just as my mother's gift evolved over the years, so did my apprenticeship.

The next part of my apprenticeship began during my undergraduate work at The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, where I crossed paths with Dr. Antonio Zavaleta. I visited his office one day and we began a conversation and a collaboration that has spanned two decades. It was then that I began my deconstruction and re-interpretation of curanderismo through an academic lens. I learned of the syncretic nature of the healing traditions I had been taught-the mixture of the Old World and New World ways. I've read the different histories that created many of the practices seen today in curanderismo. I also worked alongside materias, or trance mediums, of El Nio Fidencio, Mexico's most important folk saint. I learned their traditions, rituals and beliefs. I documented the practices via multi-media techniques; including digital photography, field research, participant observation, and I translated these experiences into the El Nio Fidencio Curanderismo Research Project's initial website. Through these projects, I found myself researching spirit channeling, possession and the ethno-pharmacology related to traditional medicinal plant uses. I delved ever deeper into the knowledge base established by my heritage. I learned the significance of spirits, saints and angels within different contexts, and learned more of the vast richness and resources that curanderos/as use in their healing repertoire. I learned how votive candles are used, about oils, amulets and talismans, and countless other items used by folk practitioners. I visited the crowded and mysterious Mercado Sonora, Sonora Market, known as the Witches' Market, in the heart of Mexico City, and walked alongside countless healers, witches and shamans. I learned to recognize the material resources used by the darker arts, brujera, witchcraft, as well as those of the light.

I have also witnessed how curanderismo is constantly evolving such as curanderos/as, who now use concepts like chakras, understand the positive use of meditation, and blend traditions from around the world. Because of the knowledge gathered through my unique learning opportunities, I formed two conclusions. One conclusion, based on my collaborations with the El Nio Fidencio Curanderismo Research Project, is the lack of knowledge and understanding that the newly trained generations of health care providers possess regarding cultural healing beliefs and practices of the Latino/a community. This failure to incorporate traditional knowledge into the health care delivery system affects the availability of medical treatment options. The other is based on my personal experiences and reflections: some of my generation and younger Latino/as, especially those of Mexican descent are losing vital parts of their diverse cultural heritage. This includes folk beliefs, family traditions and their native Spanish and/or their indigenous language. Some are intentionally no longer being taught their family histories and language. This is especially true of the art of healing and spirituality. I may have the rituals and beliefs that were passed down from my mother's family, but I don't know the specific indigenous group my mother's great grandparents came from because it was shameful to acknowledge Indio, or Indian, blood. This is just one of many examples of how indigenous languages can be lost to future generations.

I have continuously encountered and conversed with other young Latinos/as from diverse communities and backgrounds throughout the United States. Through my interactions, I learned that many Latinos/ as were not familiar with their family cultural heritage or those related to the wider Latino/a culture and history. This was especially true of healing and spirituality. I was intrigued and discovered that many were unaware of the practices and beliefs related to curanderismo. Realizing their lack of knowledge, I was shocked to learn that some even feared this part of their heritage and legacy.

I am a first generation Mexican American, but I see first, second, and third generation counterparts who have not been raised with the knowledge of the histories of their cultural and healing traditions. For different reasons, their parents did not teach them Spanish. I found that some Latinos/as, especially those of Mexican descent who lacked this knowledge, seemed lost, adrift, and hungry for opportunities to learn to speak Spanish. They were also interested in learning more about the esoteric cultural traditions related to their Latino/a culture. Once they began their own journeys of discovery, some soon found a rich and colorful family history of stories and traditions.

I have met many who would make amazing curanderos/as. They can sense their ancestors calling to them, but they do not know how to listen. I came to the realization that the lack of cultural knowledge is like soul loss initiated by the void of our ancestral and family legacies. Important traditions were not passed on to the next generation. This loss of heritage has become like a kind of susto, or fright sickness, a folk illness, typically initiated through some trauma, in which the soul or parts of the soul are separated from the body. The person who suffers from soul loss is not complete until all of the parts of the soul are returned to the body. By healing the soul, the body is subsequently healed. The reuniting of the lost parts of the soul with the body requires the skills of a knowledgeable cultural practitioner. This specialist performs a healing ritual to make the body whole again. The cultural soul loss I speak of has to do with the loss of the spiritual-healing heritage as well as other traditions which have been stripped from the ancestral consciousness of the soul because it no longer is being passed on to new generations. If it is not taught to future generations, the void caused by the loss is eventually filled with something else.

For those like me, who had the good fortune of learning our family's spiritual traditions and beliefs, we should not take for granted that other Latinos/as were exposed to similar ideas and practices and taught their own stories. I have found that many Latinos/as lack this kind of knowledge and at the same time, they long for it, sensing its absence. Often, they are eager to explore every aspect of their cultural heritage. I also found that non-Latinos/as are curious about curanderismo and welcome knowledge that can enrich their lives.

In my understanding, curanderismo deals with the essence of the person, the spirit, and the soul, that constitutes the life fire, along with the body and mind which makes curanderismo a healing modality taking into consideration every component of a human being. Curanderismo is not simply about diagnosing a condition or an illness; it's about treating an entire community through the individual treatment of each member, one by one. Curanderismo is about healing the most integral parts of our being: family and community. In doing so, that which makes us whole is healed: the connection between mind, body and spirit/soul. This connection, which functions through time and space, is where healing truly begins. I realize this connection can also serve as a metaphor for individuals and members of the family within the Latino/a culture, in which the spirit/soul can be represented through the community. Curanderos/as are entrusted to carry the soul and the spiritual essence of their respective communities. As we lose these gifted individuals who carry and protect our cultural and spiritual knowledge, we lose the heart and soul of our communities.

One way to keep the community heart alive is to document, share and pass on our rich cultural heritage. We must learn to treasure each individual's unique interpretation and life experience because each adds their essence to the ancestral soul as it passes to the next generation. The curanderismo of my mother is different from her mother's, which is different from my own. Each generation brings to bear its own thoughts, ideas, and beliefs resulting in a re-enculturation of beliefs. Because of the Latino/a community's ability to acculturate and adapt, we have continued to evolve our cultural beliefs and practices at the dawn of the 21st century. This is evident when Latinos/as use curanderismo to complement modern medicine. However, this may not be the case if it is not being passed on. New generations must ensure the rapidly evolving traditions of healing in the Latino/a community from disappearing all together.

Humankind needs new ways of learning, sharing and healing. Four hundred years ago, the Badianus Manuscript documented the use of medicinal plants by the Aztecs. This manuscript marked one of the earliest known attempts at recording the healing practices in Mexico. This manuscript was unknown to scholars until the early 20th century when it was discovered in the Vatican library. In 1940, a facsimile was published, making the knowledge of Aztec medicine widely available.

Nearly half a millennium after the initial creation of the Aztec herbal, healing knowledge can be recorded and shared in a way that the Aztecs may never have imagined: the Internet. Latinos/as who may not have access to a curandero/a in their community, can now utilize the Internet to access informational resources on curanderismo. And as this book will illustrate, access to a consultation with a curandero via e-mail is now possible. Through this medium, all generations are able to document, share and spread the knowledge of curanderismo. Latino/a esoteric knowledge and traditions are made accessible not only to those who wish to rediscover their own cultural heritage, but to non-Latinos/as as well. If the current generation is not proactive, it will not take long for our cultural knowledge base to eventually vanish. It took almost 500 years for a miniscule portion of the Aztec knowledge base to reappear in mainstream consciousness. We cannot afford to wait another 500 years for the current knowledge base of curanderismo to be explicitly incorporated with its cultural and historical context alongside other different modern healing modalities. It is possible that this critically important, yet mostly overlooked knowledge holds the key to understanding the health care delivery needs of the largest minority population in the United States. We also need to realize that within Latinos/as there exist many cultural and regional sub-groups from all over the world, including, but not limited to, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Guatemalan, Columbian and their children which may represent a plethora of mixed cultural heritages, healing beliefs and practices. These differences influence curanderismo because the healing modalities and the use of material resources of curanderismo differ by culture and region.

Currently, I am a doctoral candidate at the University of Texas at Austin. The alternative-healing community of Austin, Texas has offered me additional ways to expand my knowledge of healing modalities through the study of meditation, neo-shamanism, Native American and New Age healing techniques. However useful, these will never replace the curanderismo I learned from my family as the foundation of my spiritual-healing ancestral knowledge. I have found that modern medicine can sometimes be at odds with the healing ways I have been taught. The current Latino/a generation can help bridge both worlds while simultaneously teaching one another about healing and cultural beliefs. We must connect these worlds so that all can share, learn, and understand how to best heal and prevent further soul loss, or cultural susto. Through spiritual journeys of self-discovery, we will find that we share more than we know or can ever understand. We will find that we are all part of one family, of which everyone and everything that lives on Mother Earth is a member.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Curandero Conversationsby Antonio Zavaleta Alberto Salinas Jr. Copyright © 2009 by Antonio Zavaleta and Alberto Salinas Jr. Excerpted by permission.
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Edition details

• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1449000886
• ISBN 13: 9781449000882
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 484