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Curanderismo

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C uranderismo, from the Spanish verb curar (toheal), is a healing tradition found in MexicanAm~rican communities throughout the

United States. Its historic roots are common withtraditional healing practices in Puerto Rican andCuban American communities, as well as traditionalpractices found throughout Latin America. At thesame time, it has a history and a set of traditionalmedical practices that are unique to Mexican cul-tural history and to the Mexican American experi-ence in the United States.

There are seven historic roots embedded in mod-em curanderismo. Its theoretical beliefs partly tracetheir origins to Greek humoral medicine, especiallythe emphasis on balance, and the influence of hotand cold properties of food and medicines on thebody. Many of the rituals that provide both a frame-work and a meaningful cultural healing experiencein curanderismo date to healing practices contempo-rary to the beginning of the Christian tradition, andeven into earlier Judeo-Christian writings. Otherhealing practices derive from the European MiddleAges, including the use of traditional medicinalplants and magical healing practices.

The Moorish conquest of Southern Europe is visi-ble in the cultural expression of curanderismo. Somecommon Mexican-American folk illnesses origi-nated in the Near East and then were transmittedthroughout the Mediterranean, such as belief in malde aja, or the evil eye (the magical influence of staring

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260 Fundamental~ of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Igreatly in their knowledge of the practices that stem medicine. Thus, curanderismo and modern medi-from each of ~se seven historical sources. The cine often assume complementary roles in the mindsoverall system 0 curanderismo is comple~ and not of the curanderos and their patients, although notonly maintains ts cultural link to the past, but nec~sarily in the minds of the medical professionalsevolves toward ccommodation with the future as of the area.well.

Intellectual TraditionCultural ContextThis article is ba ed pardy on research that was con-ducted in the Lo erRio Grande Valley of Texas formore than 15 y s. That information is enhancedby data from oth r regions near the border betweenAmerica and M 'co, and from Mexican Americancommunities in olorado, Nebraska, Chicago, andFlorida. A mul plicity of research environments,both rural and ban, has affected the practice ofcuranderismo. ger (1974) has described one possi-ble outcome of brbanized curanderismo, in whichthe folk healing ~ystem mimics the modern medicalsystem. Yet this $imicry does not exist to any signifi-cant extent in Squth Texas, where both curanderosand their client~ ha,ve extensive knowledge of themedical system. urban and rural areas. However,unlike attitudes reported in earlier studies of thearea (Madsen 1 61, Rubel 1966), curanderos andtheir patients ac ept the utility of modem medicine.These multiple nvironments of curanderismo prac-tice create a co plex healing system with. core ele-ments that are c mmon to each place, and modifica-tions that resp nd to local cultural, political, andlegal circums ces.

The earliest s stematic research was done on cur-anderismo in th late 1950s; when modern medicin~was inaccessible or only recently available to signifi-cant segments the Mexican American population.Since that time, e efficacy of modem medicine hasbeen demonstr ted empirically numerous times, soit is an integra ed part of the cultural system, al-though many a~cess barriers still exist to prevent itsfull utilization bt everyone. These barriers reflect thesame rea~ons ~t th~ holistic health movement ~dthe charIsmatic! healing movements are becommg~ncreas~gly pob~lar. Althoug.h. tradi~onal healersm MeX1canAm~rlcanCOmmUmt1es belIeve that mod-ern medicine is s capable in certain types of healing,their experienc shows that their own practices arenot recognized hospitals and clinics, and that theycan accomplish those same tasks better than modem

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for the popUlation as a whole. Healers refer to thisconcept as "developed abilities."

Another element common to Hispanic-based folkmedicine is the hot-cold syndrome (Ingham 1940,Foster )953, Cui-rier 1966). This belief system is notcommon in South Texas (Madsen 1961), where theonly indications of a hot-cold syndrome foundamong&t the patients were sca,ttered folk beliefs suchas not eating citrus during menses, not ironing bare-foot on a cement floor, or taking a cold shower afterprolonged exposure to the sun. None of these beliefswere organi~ed in a systematic fashion, nor were theyextensively shared Within the Mexican Americanpopulation. In other areas, there is ~xtensive knowl-edge and use of this system of classifying foods, treat-ments, and elements of illnesses to provide the basisfor deciding which remedies apply to specific ill-nesses.

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within the l1;tedical care system (Kiev 1968, Holland1963).

Curanderos routinely deal with problems of a so-cial, psychological, and spiritual nature, as well asphysical ailillents. Many cases overlap into two ormore categories. Bad luck in business is a commonproblem pr~sented to curanderos. Other problemsencountered were marital disruptions, alcoholism or~cohol abuse, infidelity, supernatural manifesta-tions, cancer, diabetes, and infertility. One healerdistinguishes between the problems presented by fe-males and males. The central focus of the problemsbrought by Women is the husband-the husbanddrinks too much, does not work, does not give themmoney, Or is seeing other women. Men bring prob-lems of a more physical nature, such as stomachpain, headaches, weakness, and bladder dysfunction.Men also bring problems that deal directly withwork; they need to find ajob, cannot get along withpeople at work, or are having trouble setting up abusiness. The wife rarely is the focal point of th~irproblems. The total list of problems presented tocuranderos includes nearly every situation that canbe thought of as an uncomfortable human condition.Curanderismo seems to play an important, culturallyappropriate psychotherapeutic role in MexicanAmerican co~unities (Galvin 1961, KIineman1969, Torrey 1972).

Another element of curanderismo that forms animportant intellectual foundation for its practices isthe concept that healers work by virtue of "a gift of

healing" (el don) (Hudson 1951, Romano 1964,Rubel 1966, Madsen 1965). This inherent ability al-lows the he~er to practice his or her work, especiallyin the supernatural area. In ,the past, this was be-lieved to be a gift from God. Howev~r, a secular in-terpretation of the don is competing With the moretraditional explanation. Many healers still refer tothe don as a gift from Goq arid support this premisewith Biblical passages (Corinthians 12:7 and]ames5: 14), but other healers explain the don as an inborntrait that is present in all human beings, just like theability to sing, run, or talk. Ahnost any human beingcan do these 1JIings, but some do them better than'others, and a few people can do them extremely well.Curanderos, according to this theory, are the indi-viduals with a better ability to heal than is normative

The community-based theoretic structure for curan-derismo has three primary areas of concentration,called levels (niveles) by the healers-the materiallevel (nivel material), the spiritu~ level (nivel espiri-tual), and the mental level (nivel mental). More cur-anderos have the don for working at the material level,which is organized around the use of physical objectsto heal or to change the patient's environment. Thjstheoretic area can be subdivided into physical andsupernatural manipulations. Physical treatments arethose do not requir~ supernatural intervention toassure a successful outcome. Parteras (midwives),hueseros (bone sett~rs), yerberos (herbalists), and soba-dares (people who treat sprains and tense muscles),are healers who work on the nivel material and effectcures without any need for supernatural knowledgeor practices. AIl of the remedios caseros (home reme-dies) used in Mexican American communities arepart of this healing tradition.

The supernatural aspect of this level is involvedin cures for common folk illnesses found in MexicanAmerican communities, such as susto, empacho, Gaidade mollera, espanto, andma[de ojo.These illnesses areunique to Hispanic cultural models of health andillness. This area of healing also includes the spells

262 Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Not all problems can be successfully dealt withusing each level. An example of this is serious alcoholabuse (Trotter & Chavira 1978, Trotter 1979). Alco-hol abuse and alcoholism are treated by curanderos,using techniques of both the material and the mentallevel. The techniques of the spiritual level, however,were considered ineffective in dealing with alcohol-related problems. So if one has the don for workingwith the spiritual level alone, he or she is excludedfrom the process of curing alcohol problems.

One theme that is common to the practices of allthree levels is the use of energy to change the healthstatus of the client. On the material level, this energyoften is discussed in relation to the major ritual ofthat level, known as the ba1Tida or limpia (a sweeping,or cleansing). In that ritual, a person is "~ept" fromhead to foot with an object that is thought to be ableto either remove bad vibrations (vibraciones malos),or to give positive energy (vibraciones positives) to thepatient. The type of object used (such as egg, lemon,garlic, crucifix, or broom) depends on the nature of$e patient's problem and whether it is necessary toremove or to replace energy. On the spiritual level,the energy that is used for both diagnosis and heal-ing is the previously mentioned com:eiites espirituales..The mental level is nearly totally oriented aroundgenerating and channeling vibraciones mentales. Thefollowing sections provide more detail on the actualpractices of the curandero's work on each level.

and incantations that are derived out of medievalEuropean wit~craft and earlier forms of magic, suchas the cabala, that have been maintained as superna-tural healing .,elements of curanderismo. Superna-tural manipulations involve prayers and incantationsin conjunctio~ with such objects as candies, ribbons,water, fire, qucifixes, tree branches, herbs, oils,eggs, and live 1miffials. These treatments use a com-bination of c~mmon objects and rituals to curehealth problerfls.

The spiritual level (nivel espiritual) is an area ofhealing that is' parallel to the channeling found inNew Age grobps and in shaman healing ritualsaround the world (Macklin 1967, 1974a, 1974b,1974c, 1978, I\1acklin & Crumrine 1973). Individu-als enter an altered state of consciousness and, ac-cording to the curanderos, make contact with thespirit world by lone or all of the following methods:opening their ~inds to spirit voices; sending theirspirits out of the body to gain knowledge at a dis-tance; or allowing spirits the use of the body to com-municate with this world, or all three.

The mental 'evel (nivel mental) is the least com-monly encountered of the three levels. One healerdescribed workihg with the mentalleve1 as the abilityto transmit, ch~el, and focus mental vibrations (vi-braciones menta~) in a way that would affect the pa-tient's mental dr physical condition directly. Bothpatients and h$1ers are confident that the curan-deros can effect, a cure from a distance using this

.technique.The three lev~ls are discrete areas of knowledge

and behavior, e~ch necessitating the presence of aseparate gift for healing. They involve differenttypes of training, and different methods of dealingwith both the nciLtural and the supernatural world.The materiallev~l involves the manipulations of tra-ditional magical 'forces found in literature on West-ern witchcraft (Hudson 1970, Givrey 1971). Spiritu-alisminvolves th~ manipulation of a complex spiritworld that exists parallel to our own, and the manip-ulation of co1Tienlfs espirituales, spiritual currents thatcan both heal anc!l provide information or diagnosisfrom a distance. iThe mental level necessitates thecontrol and use <f the previously mentioned vibraci-ones.menta~s. Thtfs, the. levels are separate methodsof diagnosmg anq treatmg human problems that areembedded into ai single cultural tradition.~

The Material Level (nivel material)

The material level is the easiest of the three levelsto describe; it is the most extensively p,racticed andthe most widely reported. At this level, the ~-der~ manipulates physical objects and perfbrms rit-uals-(or trabajas, spells). The combination of objectsand rituals is widely recognized by Mexican-Ameri-cans as having curative powers. Practitioners of thematerial level employ common herbs, fruits, nuts,flowers, animals and animal products (chickens,doves, and eggs), and spices. Religious symbols arewidely used, such as the crucifix, pictures of saints,incense, candles, holy water, oils, and sweet fra-grances, and secular items as well, such as cards,alum, and ribbons. The ~dero allows his pa-tients to rely extensively on their own resources byprescribing items that either are familiar or have

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strong rultural $ignificance; thus, a significant char-acteristic of the i objects used at the material level isthat they are cofIlmon items used for daily activitiessuch as cookin~ and worship:

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boiled until soft and then applied to the sores as apoultice. Other herbs are used as decongestants. Ahandful of qregano (oregano: Oregenum vulgare L.) isplaced in a humidifier to treat someone with a badcold.

Some he~ballore is passed on as an oral tradition,and other information is available in Mexican booksthat are Widely circulated among both curanderosand the public (Arias; Wagner). These works de-scribe and classify numerous herbs. Herbal remediesare so important to Mexican-American folk medi-cine, that their use often is confused with the artof curandensmo itself by the mass culture. Indeed,some curanderos known as yerberos or yerberas, spe-cialize in herbs, but their knowledge and skills gobeyond the mere connection of one disease to oneherbal formula. In order for a curandero to begenuine, even at the material level, an element ofmysticism must be involved in their practice. Herbsare used commonly for their spiritual or superna-tural properties. Spiritual cleansings (barridas) oftenare given with ruda (Ruta graveolens L.), romero(rosemary, Rosmarinus officiates L.), and albacar(sweet basil, Ocimum basiticum L.), among others.Herbs are used as amulets, verbena (verbena, Ver-bena officinalis L.), worn as an amulet, is used tohelp open a person's mind to learn and retainknowledge.

Some curanderos have successful practices on thematerial level without resorting to the use of herbs.Some nonherbal treatments are described below.

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Supernaturally Caused Illnesses and Ritual Cures

Supernatural illnesses, which occur when impellingnegative forces damage a person' s health, sometimescan be confused with natural illnesses. One healerstated that these supernatural illnesses may manifestas ulcers, tuberculosis, rheumatism, or migraineheadaches, but in reality, they are believed to behexes that have been placed on the person by anenemy. Supernatural influences also disrupt a per-son's mental health and his or her living environ-ment. Physicians cannot cure a supernatural illness.The curandero commonly deals with social disrup-tion, personality complexes, and sometimes with se-rious psychological disturbances, One healer gavethe following description of a case that containedseveral of these elements:

Natural Illnesses and Herb,rl Cures

Curanderos recpgnize that illnesses can be broughtabout by natur~ causes, such as dysfunction of thebody, carelessnJss or the inability of a person to takeproper care Oft Self or herself, and infection. Cur-anderos at the ateriallevel utilized large amountsof medicinal he bs (plantas medicinales) to treat thesenatural ailmen~ , Some traditional Curanderos clas-

sify herbs as ha g the dichotomous properties con-

sidered essenti for humoral medicine, based on ahot-cold classifi ation system common throughoutLatin America Foster 1953). They use these dualproperties to prescribe an herb or combination ofherbs, dependi~g on the characteristics of the ill-ness. If a pers~n's illness supposedly is caused byexcessive "heat~' an herb with "cold" properties is

given, Convers ly, if a person's illness is believed tobe caused by e cessive "coldness and dryness," acombination of erbs having "hot and wet" proper-ties is administ~red. Other curan eros recognize herbs for their

chemical prope 'es, such as poisons (yerba del coy-ote, Karwinskia h mboldtuna Roem. et Sch.), hallucino-gens (peyote, Lop phora williams Lem,), sedatives (florde fila, Talia 1nfxicana Schl.), stimulants (yerba deltrueno), and purgatives (cascara sagrada), These indi-viduals refer ~~ the beneficial chemical propertiesof the herbs ,at allow them to treat natural ill-nesses.

Curanderos rescribe herbs most frequendy asteas, baths, or oultices. The teas act as a sort offormative chem therapy. Borraja (borage: Borajo offi-ciali5 L,), for ex pIe, is taken to Cut a fever; flor defila, a mild sed tive, is taken for insomnia; yerba dela golondrina ( Phorbia prostrate Ait.) is used as adouche for va ' al discharges; and peilos de elate are

used for kidney problems, Herbal baths usually areprescribed to d al with skin diseases;fresno (ash tree,Fraxinus Sp.) is sed to treat scalp problems such aseczema, dandnfiI, and psoriasis; and linaza is pre-scribed for boqy sores. For specific sores such asboils, malva (~robably a Malvastrum) leaves are

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264 Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

This patient worked for the street maintenance

department of (a small city in south Texas).Every day after work a voice would lead himout into the brush and sometimes keep him

there until 2:00 AM. This activity was wearingout the man and his family and he was goingcrazy. A bad spirit was following this man andwould not leave him alone. The man was

cured, but it took three people to cure him: my-self, a friend, and a master (maestro) from Mex-ico. This man was given three barridas eachday for seven days, one by each of us. Thetools used were eggs, lemons, herbs, garlic,and black chickens. The man was also pre-scribed herbal baths and some teas to drink.He was also given a charm made from thehobo miirina designed to ward off any more

negative influences which might be directed athim. This patient regained his sanity.

There alsparea number of illnesses that are bothsupernatur.tny caused and of a supernatural nature,which can be treated on the material level. The fol-lowing account is an example of such an illness andcure. I

Rituals and the Material Level

Curanderos use several types of rituals for superna-tural cures. The barrida is one of the most frequentrituals. These cleansings are designed to remove thenegative forces that are harnling the patient, whilesimultaneously giving the patient the -spiritualstrength necessary to enhance recovery. Patients arealways "swept" from head to toe, with the curanderomakes sweeping or brushing motions with an egg,lemon, herb, or whatever object is deemed spiritu-ally appropriate. Special emphasis is given to areasin pam. While sweeping the patient, the curanderorecites specific prayers or invocations that appeal toGod, saints, or other supernatural beings to restorehealth to the patient. The curandero may reciteth~se prayers and invocations out loud or silently.Standard prayers include the Lord's Prayer, theApostles' Creed, and Las Doce Verdades de Mundo(The Twelve Truths of the World).

The following description of a barrida illustrateshow the material objects, the mystical power of theseobjects, the invocations, the curandero, and the pa-tient come together to fonn a healing ritual designedfor a specific patient and a specific illIiess: In thiscase, five eggs, four lemons, some branches qf albacar(sweet basil), and oil were useq. To begin the healingprocess, the lemons and eggs were washed with alco-hol and water to cleanse them spirit1!ally. Before be-ginning the ritual, the participants were instructedto take off their rings, watches, and other jewelry;high frequency spiritual and mental vibra~onscanproduce electrical discharges on the metalo- whichmight disturb the healing process. The sweeping it-self is done by interchanging an egg and a lemonsuccessively. Sweeping with the egg is intended totransfer the problem from the patient to the egg bymeans of conjures (conjures) and invocations (re-chasos). The lemon is used to eliminate the trabajo(magical harnl) that has been placed on the patient.The patient is swept once with albacar (sweet basil)that has been rinsed in agua pre parada (preparedwater). This sweeping purifies the patient, givingstrength and comfort to his spiritual being. The rit-ual ends by making crosses with aceite preparado (spe-cifically prepared oil) on the principal joints of thepatients, such as the neck, under the knees, ~dabove the elbow. This oil serves to cut the negatIvecurrents and vibrations that surround the patient,

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My brother-in-law was working at a motel. ..in Weslaco. When he started working theylaid off this other guy who had been working

there for several years. This guy didn't lik~ it,and he's been known to be messing aroundwith black magic. I don't know what he didto my brother-in-law, but every other day he'dhave to be taken home because he was sick.He started throwing up, had shaky knees, andweak joints. So my mother and I went over tosee this lady in Reynosa, and she told my

mother just what to do. My sister rubbed herhusband with a lemon every night for threedays. She also gave him some kind of tea. ..On the third day, a big black spot appearedon the lemon, so we threw it away, and he'sbeen fine ever since.

Curanderismo 265

cific problems. Red magic involves domination,green deals wiili healing, white wiili general positiveforces, and black wiili negative or debilitating forces.

When working wiili a specific area of magic, oneuses material objects iliat are iliat color naturally oriliat have been made iliat color artificially. The color-based division of magic also is carried over into an-oilier type of ritual system used on ilie material level,velacione, or burning candles to produce superna-tural results. The velaciones and ilie colored materialobjects used in ilie so1tilegios tie into ilie energyilieme iliat runs throughout curanderismo, becauseilie colors and objects are believed to have specificvibratory power or energy iliat can affect ilie patientwhen activated by ilie incantations used in conjunc-tion wiili ilie objects. For example, blue candles areburned for serenity or tranquility; red candles areburned for healili, power, or domination; pink can-dles are burned for good will; green candles areburned to remove a harmful or negative influence;and purple candles are burned to repel and attackbad spirits (esPiritu.s obscuros) or strong magic. Onceilie proper color of candle has been chosen to pro-duce ilie proper mental atmosphere, ilie-candles arearranged in ilie correct physical formation and acti-vated by ilie cmjuros y rechasos. If a patient asks forprotection, ilie candles might be burned in a trian-gle, which is considered to be ilie strongest forma-tion, one whose influence cannot be broken easily.If iliey want to dominate someone-a spouse, alover, or an adversary-ilie candles might be burnedin circles. Oilier formations include crosses, rectan-gles, and squares, depending on ilie resUlts desired(Buckland 1970).

Anoilier relatively common use of candles is todiagnose problems by studying ilie flame or ilieridges that appear on ilie melted wax. A patient maybe swept wiili a candle while ilie healer recites aninvocation asking ilie spirit of ilie patient to allowits material being to be investigated for any physicalor spiritual problems iliat may be affecting ilie per-son. This ritual also can be performed by burningobjects used in a barrida. Lighting ilie candle orburning ilie object after ilie barrida helps ilie curan-dero to reveal ilie cause and extent of ilie patient'sproblems. S~ly, if a petitioner asks for candling,ilie wax of ilie candles burned for ilie velacion maybe examined for figures or oilier messages iliatpointto ilie source of a patient's problems.

which have been placed there by whoever is provok-ing the harm. The crosses protect against the contin-ued effect of these negative vibrations. Agua pre par-ada is then rubbed on the patient's forehead andocciput (cerebro) to tranquilize and to give mentalstrength. All ~e objects used in the bamda are thenburned, in order to destroy the negative influencesor harm transferred from the patient.

Another common ritual is called a sahumerio, orincensing. The sahumerio is a purification rite, usedprimarily for treating businesses, households, farms,and other places of work or habitation. This ritualis executed by treating hot coals with an appropriateincense. The Fandero may prepare his own in-cense, or he may prescribe some commercially pre-pared incense such as el sahumerio maravilloso (mirac-ulous incense). A pan with the smoking incense iscarrie~ throughout the building, making sure thatall comers, closets, and hidden spaces, such as underthe beds, are properly filled with smoke. While "in-censing," the healer or someone else recites an ap-propriate prayer. If the sahumerio maravilioso is used,the prayer oft~n is one to Santa Marta, requestingthat peace an~ harmony be restored to the house-hold. Mter ,the sahumerio, the healer may sprinkleholy water on the floor of every room in the houseand light a white candle that stays lit for seven days.The sahumerio is an example of the curandero treat-ing the general social environment, seeking tochange the conditions of the persons who live orwork there. Incensing of a house removes negativeinfluences such as bad luck (salaciones), marital dis-ruptions, illness, or disharmony. For business andfarms, incensing helps assure success and growth,and protects against jealous competitors. These rit-,uals

are designed to affect everyone in the environ-ment that has been treated.

Another type of ritual, called a so1tilegio (conjure)uses material objects such as ribbons to tie up thenegative influences that harm the curandero's pa-tients. These negative influences are frequently per-sonal shortcomings such as excessive drinking, infi-delity, rebellious children, unemployment, or anyother problem believed to be imposed by antisocialmagic (un trabajo). One so1tilegio that the authors ob-served required four ribbons in red, green, white,and black, each approximately one yard in length.The color of each ribbon represents a type of magic,which the 'curanderos can activate to deal with spe-

One of the ~ ganiZing principles of the material

level of a:).rand rismo is synchronicity with Christi-

anity in gener and the Catholic Church in particu-lar. Special invpcations often are directed at saintsor spirits to br~g about desired results. For exam-ple, San M~ dePorres is asked to relieve poverty;San Martin cat allero is asked to assure success in

business; San] das Tadeo is asked to help in impos-

sible situations and Santa Marta is asked to bringharmony to a , ousehold. Ritual materials used bythe church, su~ as water, incense, oils, and candles,are extensivel~. used by folk healers. The ways inwhich these re~gious objects are used and the theo-ries for their ~fficacy closely mirror the conceptsfound within ~e healing ministry of the Church,which are not I incompatible with European witch-craft, from whjch curanderismo partly derives.

rived from once-living humans. The soul is thought tobe ithe immortal component, the life and personalityfoItce of human beings-an entity that continues toexist after physical death on a plane of reality separatefrom the physical world. This concept is importantnot only to curanderismo but also to the religions andmystical beliefs found in all western cultures.

The soul is alternately described by curanderos asa force field, ectoplasm, concentrated vibrations, oras 'a group of electrical charges that exist separatefrom the physical body. It is thought to r~tain thepersonality, knowledge, and motivations of the indi-vidual even after the death of the body. Underproper conditions,- the soul is ascribed the ability tocontact and affect persons living in the physicalworld. Although souls occasionally can be seen asghosts or apparitions by ordinary human beings,they exist more often in the spiritual realm men-tionedabove. Some people view this realm as havingvarious divisions that have positive or negative con-notations associated with them, for example,heaven, limbo, purgatory, or hell. Other people seethe spiritual realm as parallel to the physical world.They state that the spiritual is a mote pleasant planeon which to live, but few attempt any suicidal testof this belief. One healer commented that "spirit"[espiritos], "souls" [almas], are the same thing. Thesespirits' activities closely parallel their former activi-ties in ,this world. Since the personality, knowledge,and motivation of the spirits are much the same asthey were for the living being, there are both goodand evil spirits, spirits who heal and spirits whoharm, wise spirits and fools. ,

These spirits might communicate with or act uponthe physical plane. Some have left tasks undone intheir physical lives they wish to complete; otherswant to help or cause harm; many wish to communi-cate messages to friends and relatives, telling themof their happiness or discontent with their new eXis-tence. Curanderos with the ability to work on thespiritual realm, therefore, become the link betweenthese two worlds. Some curanderos believe that thereare multitudes of spirits who want to <;ommuni<;atewith the physical world, and they tend to hoveraround those who have the don to become a medilitn,waiting for an opportunity to enter their bodies andpossess them. This explains the cases of spirit posses-sion in Western cultures. Individuals who become

The Spiritual Level (Hive! Espiritua/) r

Curanderos w~o have the don for working on thespiritual level !(nivel espiritual) of curanderismo areless n~erous Ithan those who work on the materiallevel. These ~ractitioners also must go through adevelop menta! period (desarrollo) that can be some-what tfaumati(:. Spiritual practices in communitiesrevolve" aroun~ a belief in spiritual beings who in-habit '.In°the~ plane of e~i~tence, but ",:ho are inter-ested ill m~g contact WIth the physical world pe-riodically. HeEers become a direct link between thisplane of exis nce and that other world. In somecases, the cur deros claim to control these spiritbeings, and inlother cases, they merely act as a chan-nel through "o/hich messages pass. Some of thesepractices are $rrled out by individual healers, whileother activiti9S occur in conjunction with spiritualcenters (centr~ esPiritistas) that are staffed by trance

mediums and other individuals with occult abilities.

These center frequently work through two promi-nent folk sa. ts: EI Nino Fidencio from NorthernMexico and : Don Pedrito Jaramillo from SouthTexas (Mac+ 1974a, 1974b, 1974c). This trend invisiting spirit1Ialist centers appears to be relativelyrecent, ha~~ not been reporte~ during the 1950sand 1960s br those doing research on MexicanAmerican fol~ medicine (Madsen 1964, Rubel 1960,1966, Clark ~ 959).

The practice of spmtualism rests on "soul con-.cept," a beli9f in the existence of spirit entities de-

Curanderismo 267

possessed are people with a strong potential to betrance mediums, who have not had the opportunity

to learn how to control this condition.

The ability to become a medium is thought to becentered in the cerebro, that portion of the brainfound at the posterior base of the skull. Those withthe gift are said to have a more fully developedcerebro, while those who do not are said to have aweak cerebros (un cerebro debil). This weakness hasno relationship either to the intelligence or to themoral nature of the individual, only to his or herability to communicate with the spiritual realm.Weak cerebros represent a danger for anyone whowishes to become a medium. Only rare individualsdemonstrate meqiumistic potential spontaneouslyand can practice as mediums without further train-ing. So, curander6s frequently test their clients andfriends for this gift of healing, and those with the

, gift are encouraged to develop their ability. The de-

velopment of this ability is called desarrollo, arid is afairly lengthy process that might last from twoIUonths to more than six initially, with periodic re-fresher encounters often available from the maestro(teacher). Desarrollo is a gradual process of increas-ing an apprentice's contact with the spirit world, giv-ing him or her more and more experiences in con-trolled trances and possessions, as well as theknowledge necessary to develop and protect himselfor herself as a spiritualist. The teacher also is respon-"sible

for giving the apprentice knowledge at a safepace. The curandero does not always explain whateach sensation means; each person, as he or she de-velops, becomes more sensitive to his or her environ-"ment.

The apprentice must expect to encounter oddsensations suCh as bright light, noises, changes inpressure, and other sensations associated with devel-oping powers. At the end of these desarrollo sessions,the conversation reverts to social chatting for sometime before the app['entice takes his leave. This de-velopmental process continues, with variations, untilthe apprentice is a fully developed medium.

~,fully developed mediums control how, where, andC and there are several options avail-

to them. Some mediums work alone ~d o.nly

family problems; others might use their abili-for their own knowledge and gratification.

Many curanderos able to work on the spiritualI level prefer to work at home, alone. Their prac-

tices tend to be less uniform than the practicesof mediums working at spiritual centers, be-

I

cause they do not have to conform to the calen-dric and ritual structure found in more formal-ized temples. However, there is enough

commonality to their actions to provide an ac-curate description of a lone medium. Thishealer is described by a student in his early

twenties who was one of her clients; she hadbeen handling problems for him and his familyfor several years.R: Can you describe how this curandera

works, in as great detail as you can?5: We drive up into the driveway of a fairly

decent-looking place. She walks out and greetsus, shakes our hands, asks how we are doingand how we have been. Then we go inside.

She's got a small room perhaps eight by tenfeet. She has an altar with saints and candiesand flowers on it. She has a small vase shqpedlike a crystal ball sitting on a table. Sometimesit has water on it and sometimes turned upside

down.You walk in there and s.it down and she's

talking with you. She's not in her trance; it'sjust social talk. Then she sits and puts her handon that crystal-deal. She taps it, closes her eyes,and she starts asking you what kind of problem

you have or whatever you want to ask her.R: Her voice changes?5: Yes, it does. It's a lot lower. All of a sudden

her voice becomes soft, sort of like whispering.

Really mild.R: Does she keep her hands on the glass all of

this time?other persons whom they feel have compli-spiritual or psychic powers. Some mediums

( Continues)

268 Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

qpment of these centers is described elsewhere(Trotter & Chavira 1975). Once a temple has beenestablished, it may house from one to 20 mediums.The more mediums, the better; otherwise, a mediummay have to let his or her body be used by too manydifferent spirits, exhausting them and laying themopen to supernatural harm. Larger temples mighthave four or five videnntes (clairvoyants), as well asthe mediums, and might be putting several appren-tices through desarrollo at the same time. Many of theaccounts provided to these authors about spiritualhealing were from individuals who had had experi-ences With spiritual temples in Mexico. Some tem-ples were located in Espinaso, the home of EI NinoFidencio and a center of pilgrimage for mediumspracticing in his name, and others were in urbancenters such as Tampico and Mexico City. Largenumbers of people make pilgrimages to these heal-ing centers in Mexico, to deal with health care prob-lems that they have not resolved in the United States.

One healing center is called RocaBlanca, after thespirit that speaks most often in that place. Theowner, Lupita, founded it 25 years ago, after discov-ering her ability to cure. She was granted permissionto practice by a spiritual association. This report isfrom a visitor to Lupita's healing center:

5: No. Sometimes she grabs a folder with pa-pers in it and starts writing down things on it,

using her finger.R: Can she read what she has written?5: I'm pretty sure she can.R: How does she cure people?5: She does it in a number of ways. Some timeago my mother had pains on both of her heels.She went to the doctor and the doctor didn't findanything wrong. So she went over to this ladyagain who said it was something (a trabaio orhex) that [a woman across the alley from hishouse] had put in the yard. When my mother'sout hanging up clothes she's barefooted andshe stepped on it. And that's what was hurtingher. So the curandera gave her a "shot" on herarm like a regular shot. And that cured her.R: How did she give her the shot?5: (Simulated the action of giving an injectionwithout a syringe or hypodermic.)R: Could your mother feel it?5: She told me she didn't. But it cured her.

The informant went on to tell of several othercures this curandera had performed for his fam-ily. She had prescribed herbs, suggested theuse of perfumes to ward off the envidia (envy)of their neighbors, and suggested that themother perform a series of barridas on her son-in-law to remove a hex against him that wasmaking him ill and keeping him from work.Each of these cures could just as easily havebeen suggested or performed by.a curanderoworking on the material level of curanderismo,but this curandera did it from a trance state.Therefore, what sets this curandera apart fromthose working strictly on the material level is

not the tools she uses or the rituals she suggeststo her clients, but the source of her diagnosisand cure-her contact with a spirit world.

I went to this place simply because I was curi-ous. I was swept with albacar and the mediumwas at my side. While I was being swept, themedium went into trance. The sister who wassweeping me asked the spirit who he wontedto talk to. He said, "with the one you aresweeping." Then, the sister finished sweepingme and directed me to talk with the person whowas addressing m~. When she (the mediul;" intrance) talked to me, she sounded like a man.He asked me, "Do you know who I am?" I

have a cousin who got killed in a place in Tam-pico. "You must be my cousin," I said. 'iYes,exactly, I am your cousin." "look," he said,"You have come here with your husband." On

other occasions I really had been there with myhusband, mother and different relatives. "Youhave come here with your husband becauseyou think he is hexed and that is why he is sick.

( Continuesj

Sometimes ~ trance session is open to more thanone person atithe same time. This group session canbe carried ou\ by a lone curandero, but more oftenis found at spititual centers. Th~ process of the devel-

i

Curanderismo 269 'i~.i','II! , I!

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But that's not true. He has a physical illness that

the doctor can cure. Don't believe it's anything

bad."He said, "I'm going to prove who I am by

coming to your house. Tell my cousin I'm goingto see her." You see, I have a sister who's not

nervous at all and who isn't afraid of anything.On Tuesday, as my sister was leaning by the

window watching a television show, she feltsomeone embrace her. She turned and saw noone.

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These spiritual centers vary according to theirsize, their owners and the spirits who are associatedwith them, yet there is considerable regularity in theservices they perform. Sometimes mediums pre-scribe simple herbal remedies for physical problems.These recipes are virtually identical to the ones pre-sented in the previous section on the material levelalthough, occasionally, it is said that a spirit will rec-ommend a new use for an herb. The mediums mightsuggest that the patient perform the already familiarrituals of curanderismo, such as the barrida. The spir-its are thought to be able to influence people's livesdirectly, in addition to imparting knowledge aboutremedies. The curanderos state that spirits controlspiritual currents (Corrientes espirituales) and mentalvibrations (vibraciones mentales); they can manipulatethe patient's health by directing positive or negativeforces at them from the spiritual realm.

During spiritual sessions observed at a developingspiritual center in South Texas, a spirit repeatedlypresented himself over the course of several weeksto treat several patients. One of these patients was aman suffering from lower back pain. One week thespirit told him to buy a bandage and bring it to thenext session. The man did so, but then the spiritchided him for not following instructions correctly.The bandage was too narrow and not long enough.The man was instructed to buy a new bandage andplace it on the window ledge to catch the morningdew, which is thought to have healing properties.He then was to place a glass of water under the headof his bed and ajar of alcohol at the side of the bed.He was to 'wrap himself in the bandage according togiven inStructions, and lie quietly on his bed for no

.

j

less than two hours, during which ~e the spiritpromised to visit him and complete the cure. Theman followed these ins~ctions and stated that hedid gain relief from his back pain. The same spirittreated a young college girl who periodically suf-fered asthma attacks: The girl's mother, a regularmember of the group, brought her to the session.The spirit, in the person of the medium, stood andclasped the girl's head with one hand on hercerebroand the other on her forehead, sending Com:entesespirituales through her brain. The spirit then toldher to take a sip of agua preparada and sit back downin the circle. The treatment was successful in over-coming this particular attack, and the mother men-tioned after the session that these cures r~lieved herown asthma for several months.

Another patient requested a social and emotionaltreatment. Her husband recendy had begun to prac-tice witchcraft (btujeria), and she was worried that heor his friends might attack her or members of herfamily. A considerable amount of tension existed be-tween the couple's families. She felt under continualstress and had gone to a doctor for help. The doctorprescribed a mild sedative, which she had taken forthree weeks without relief. The medium's spiritprob,ed her mind, and told her to take three sips ofagua pre parada, to break any spells that had beencast on her. The spirit promised to provide her withprotection and help from the spiritual, realm, tocounteract anything that her husband might do. Sheappeared to be content with the spirit's activities onher behalf and was gready relieved.

There are several aspects of the spiritual level thathave not been covered in this brief description, bU;.tare described in more detail elsewhere (Trotter1975). Th~e include the actual techniques of testingfur el don, the physical and supernarural dangers oftrance mediumship, the acquisition of spiritual pro-tectors to overcome those dangers, detailed descrip-tions of the trance state from the subjective perspec-tive of the developing medium and the objectiveperspective of an observer, and finally, the existenceand purpose of mediums' associations.

The Mental Level (Nive/ Mental)

Conducting observational, descriptive, and experi-mental research on the practices of the mental levelhas proven to be the most difficult task in exploring

I

270 Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

all of the aspects ~f curanderismo. The mental levelhas the fewest ri~als and the least outward complexbehavior associat<l:d with it. And, to date, it has thefewest practitione;rs, which severely limits the num-ber of people whr could be approached for an op-portunity to invesrigate the phenomenon. All of thecase~ the author observed followed a similar pattern.For example: I

After the curandero chatted with the patient

and asked them about the basic problem, he

asked the patjenfto state her complete name

(el nombre cotnpleto). The curandero wrote the

name on a pi~ce of paper. Sitting behind the

desk he used for consultations, he leaned his

arms on the d~sk, bent forward slightly, closed

his eyes, and concentrated on the piece of

paper. After p few minutes, he opened his

eyes, told the patient more about his or her

problem, and stated that it was being resolved.

The curandero stated that he had learned to

use his mind as a transmitter through desar-

rollo. He cou~d channel, focus, and direct vi-

braciones mentales at the patient. These men-

tal vibrations worked in two ways-one

physical, one behavioral. If he was working

with a physicdl illness, such as cancer, he chan-

neled the vibr~tions to the afflicted area, which

he already hap pinpointed, and used the vibra-

tions to retard Ithe growth of damaged cells and

accelerate ths growth of normal cells. In a case

of desired behavioral changes, he sent the vi-

brations into the person's mind and manipu-

lated them in pway that modified the person's

behavior. The curandero gave an example of

one such case in which a husband had begun

drinking excessively, was seeing other women,

was being a Ipoor father to his children, and

was in danger of losing his job. The curandero

stated that h~ dominated the man's thought

processes an~ shifted them so that the husband

stopped drin~ing to excess, and became amodel husba r' d and father (Trotter 1981, p.

473).

~re also are a number of syncretic beliefs, drawnfrom other alternative healing traditions-such asNew Age prartices, the "psychic sciences," and East-ern philosophy-that have been incorporated intothis '4reaofcuranderismo. For example, some heal-ers s;tate that they are able to perceive "auras"around people, and that they can use these auras todiagnose problems that patients are encountering.They conduct the diagnosis based on the color orshape of the patient's aura. Some state that theylearned these practices from other healers, whileothers indi~ate that they learned them from bookson p~apsychology.

~e mental level is practiced most often by indi-vidual healers working with individual patients,rather than in groups. It appears to be a n~ addi-tion to this healing system and does not have, asyet, ~ codified body of ritual associated with" it. Ittherefore constitutes an area in which additional de-scriptive work will be necessary to unify healers' be-havior.

Theoretical Unification

The three levels of curanderismo unify the theoriesof disease and illness found in the MexicanAmericanfolk medital model. They create a framework fordetermining the therapeutic approaches of ~~2dero~ in South Texas. The system emphasizesa~~l~istic ~pproach to treatment, and r~lies heavilyopthe intimate nature of the referral system and theextensive personal knowledge of the patient's socwenvironment that is normally held by the curandero.Christian symbols and theology provide both tools(candles, incense, water) and organization models(rituals, prayers, animistic concepts) for the materialand the spiritual levels, but not ~o a similar degreefor dle mental level. An energy concept is the centralidea ithat integrates the three levels and forms a sys-tematic interrelationship between them. This energycon~pt derives C from belief in forces, vibiation,and

currents that center in the mind of those who havethe gift for healing, and that can be transmitted to

cause healing from a distance, by affectifigthe pa-tient's social, physical, spiritual, or psychologitalen-

c

vironment.AlJ three levels of healing are still evolving. ~e

variations in the practices of curanderismo can ~~

exp~ed partly by differences in the curandero~

Curanderismo 271

personality; differences in their treatment prefer-ences or abilities; and differences in their emphasison theoretical or experiential approaches. Therealso are variations produced by individualinterpre-tations of an underlying body of theory. A study ofthese variations would be useful, now that the under-lying theoretical system provides a common startingpoint and common objectives.

at home, both natural and supernatural, are taken toprofession~ healers who have a locally widespreadreputation for being able to treat both biomedicaland traditional health care problems. Most of thesehealers work in a silent, but positive, partnershipwith physicians, although the physicians often areunaware of the link. The curanderos interviewed invarious studies of Mexican American folk medicineare consistent in their positive re;gard for modernmedicine. They consistently refer patients to mod-ern health care services, where they see the efficacyof that approach to be equal to or greater than theirown. At the same time, they note significant differ-ences in the models of health and illness betweentheir own practices and modern medicine, especiallyin the areas of supernatural illnesses; in addressingsocial (marital, business, interpersonal) problems;and in dealing with psychological problems. In thesecases, the treatments take place either in the pa-tient's home or work environment, or in specialworkrooms established by the curanderos as part. oftheir practices. The cure might call for working di-rectly in the environment that is affected. In othercases, the venue of choice is the curandero's areabecause the cure depends on careful preparationand protection from outside influences. Thes~ workareas contain altars, medicinal plants, tools for su-pernatural rituals, and other items, and the atmo-sphere is considered to be most beneficial for thehealing process, particularly in the case of sup ern a-tural problems and treatments ([rotter & Chavira1981).

The research that is available on curanderismo isbroad in interest and historic depth. Unlike specifichealing techniques, such as acupuncture, which canbe studied in relation to specific illnesses with rela-tive ease, curanderismo is a complex brew of boththeoretical approaches to healing and an interre-lated set of healing techniques. The techniquesrange from herbal cures, which must be approachedfrom an ethnopharmacological perspective; to rit-uals, which ~ be studied symbolically as projectivepsychiatric techniques; to methods such as massages,natural birth, nutritional prescriptions, and dietary

Curanderismo is a community-based healing system.It is complex and widespread. At one level, it maybe practiced anywhere that there exist MexicanAmericans who know about it. Part of this healingtradition is the information that is spread through-out the Mexican American culture on home treat-ments for common physical ailments (colds, flu, ar-thritis, asthma, or diabetes), and for commonspiritual or "folk illnesses" (susto, mal de ojo, and e1n-pacho). This is analogous to the biomedical informa-tion that is spread throughout all European cultures,including the Mexican American culture, where thehome is the first line of defense and diagnosis ofillnesses that eventually might necessitate a doctoror a hospital. On the other hand, some aspects ofcuranderismo require the ust of special locations,preparations, and tools. This is true especially ofspiritual practices on the spiritual level, and for theeffective treatment of supernatural harm on the ma-teriallevel.

The first setting where this knowledge is used isat home. When people become ill, they use theirexisting cultural model of health and illness to comeup with solutions. One type of solution is home diag-nosis and home treatment. Therefore, both biomed-ical concepts and folk medical concepts are appliedimmediately, and home treatments are attempted.In the case of curanderismo, this often results in theuse of home remedies (remedio caseros) that have beenpart of the culture for generations, especially herbalcures. When the diagnosis identifies a magical or su-pernaturally caused illness, the illness results in ahome,-based ritual. These interventions are done bymothers, grandmothers, c;:ousins, friends, or knowl-

edgeable acquaintances.Illnesses that appear to be too serious to handle

272 Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

healers, rather than talking to those who treated onlyfamily members and neighbors. Therefore, a cur-andero can be defined as an individual who is recog-nized in 'his community as having the ability to heal,who sees an average of five or more patients a day,and who has knowledge of and utilizes the theoreti-cal structure described in' this paper. These peoplecan be viewed as both specialists and professionals.Several area~ ofcuranderismo have received a con-siderable amount of. research attention.

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Home Remedies

Herbal and chemical treatments for both naturaland supernatural illnesses are very common in Mexi-can American communities. More than 800 remedioscaseros have been ide~tified on the U .S./Mexican bor-deralone (Trotter 1981a, 1981b). Many of the reme-dies have been tested for biochemical and therapeu-tic activities (Etkin 1986, Trotter & Logan 1986,Trotter 1981, Trotter 1983). Overall, the remediesare not only biochemically active; more than 90 per-cent have demonstrated therapeutic actions thatmatched the folk medical model for their uses. Atthe same time, only a small proportion of the herbshave been tested. This lack of information is beingovercome by an ongoing project to study the efficacyof the complete range of herbal cures available inMexican American communities (Graham 1994),utilizing combined ethnographic and biomedicalmethodology (Browner et al 1988, Croom 1983,Trotter 1985, Ortiz de Montellano & Browner 1985).

The exceptions to the general rule of efficacy arethe use of remedies for illnesses such as the commoncold, where they relieve symptoms but do not di-recdy treat the illness. The actions of these remedies,some of which are described above, include di-uretics, treatments for constipation, abortifacient,analgesics, sedatives, stimulants, cough suppres-sants, antibacterial agents, coagulants and anticoag-ulants, vitamin and mineral supplements, and plaiitSwith antiparasitic actions. The majority have provensafe an~ effective, when used in the manner de-scribed :and recommended by the curanderos.~sarea, and the therapeutic, culturally competentcounseling practices of the healers are the mostclearly acceptable and useful fQr articulation withmodern medicine.

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practices. Some stud es have investigated the scien-

tific efficacy of the p actices of ruranderismo, while

others have approa ed it from a sociopolitical or

symbolic viewpoint. orne practices have not been

studied at alLThere ore, while the efficacy of some

parts of the system ar clearly defined, others remain

to be explored.

Early research on randerismo can be found in

the classic anthropol gical works on Mexican-Amer-

ican folk medicine, p blished primarily in the 1960s

(Clark 1959a, Curri r 1966, Kiev 1968, Madsen

1961,1964, Rubel 19 0,1964,1966, Romano 1965).

These authors produfed descriptive baseline data on

the prominent fOlk ~ ediCal practices of Hispanic

communities in the nited States. They provide an

initial view of airan erismo that is rich in descrip-

tions of Mexican-American folk illnesses such as

susto, empacho, mal d~ OlD, Gaida de mollera, bilis, and

espanto (Nall1967). These works generally treat tra-

ditional healing in Mexican American communities

as a body of knowltjdge that is widely distributed

throughout the culilfe, rather than as a theoretical

healing system. Thef.efo~e, th~ works c°n.sid~r the

consensual data on what IS available to a SlgnifiC3,1lt

segment of the exis~ng Mexican American popula-

tion, but spend less t~me describing the professional

actions of curanderqs, because these mass rultural

phenomena are generally thought of as having

themes or unifying eiements, rather than a theoreti-

cal structure. This ~ewpoint is well represented in

articles about ruranderismo and its form and func-

tion within MexicantAmerican communities (Clark

1959b, Edgertonet al1970, Foster 1953, Martinez &

Martin 1966; Torr $ 1969). - Later research ma tains the strengths of this ap-

proach, but adds fo theoretical concepts. Earlyepi-

demiological appro ches to folk illnesses give an

idea of the geograp~ical spread and variation in be-

~efs, ~esses., and t aling rituals, while ~ater studies

Identify or disruss e common denomInators that

unify curanderos- eir underlying perception of

illness. Traditional thropological research tech-

niques were used to gather the data for these studies,

primarily participa~ observation and interviewing

over prolonged peri~ds of time. Most of the authors

utilized personal nJtworks to identify individuals

who were known loqally as healers. Emphasis often

was placed on finding individuals who were full-time~

Curanderismo 273

have linked mal de aja to any biomedical condition;however, since the symptoms include irritability,lethargy, and crying, it is possible that some connec-tion will be made in the future.

Healing and Psychiatry

Another area of significant endeavor in curande-rismo is the id~ntification of parallels and areas ofcompatibility between the processes and rituals ofcuranderismo and the use of psychiatry in cross-cuI.,rural settings. The time period between 1969 andthe mid-1970s saw the analysis and publication of.several seminal works in this area (Kiev 1968, Kli-neman 1969, Torrey 1969, Trotter 1979, Velimiro-vic 1978). The parallels are clear, especially wherehealers concentrate on psychological conditions thatthey recognize from their knowledge of psychologyand psychiatry. This is an area where a number ofsuccessful collaborations have been conducted be-tween traditional healers and individuals from mod-ern medical establishments in several states.

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Adlditionallnfolrmation on the EF,idemiology ofFolk Illnesses

Of all the complex areas of Mexican American tradi-tional healing, the one that has received the mostresearch attention has been the study of Commonfolk illnesses that are experienced and treated inMexican American communities. The most com-monly reported are susto, an illness caused by afrightening event; mal de ojo, an illness that can betraced to the Near East, which involves a magicallypowerful glance taking away some of the vital es-sence of a susceptible person; empacho, a blockage ofthe intestines caused by eating the wrong type offood at the wrong time, or by bc:ing forced to eatunwanted food; and caida de la mollera, a conditionof fallen fontanel in infants. A number of others alsoare well defined, if not as commonly studied, butthese four take up most of the research attention.

The epidemiology and the cognitive models ofthese illnesses have been well documented (Rubel1964, Trotter 1982, Trotter 1985, Welleretal1993).They have been studied both singly and in combina-tion with each other (Baer et al 1989, Rubel et al1984, Weller et al1991, Weller et al1993, Logan &Morrill 1979), in terms of their cognitive structurewithin and between Hispanic cul~ral groups, theirfrequency of treatment, belief and mention in var-ious communities, and their relationships to medicalconditions and to the treatment of medical condi-tions (Trotter 1991, Trotter et al 1989, Collado-Ardon et al1983). In the case of susto, there is clearevidence that it is linked directly to serious morbiditypatterns in Latin American communities, and actsas an excellent indicator that biomedical personnelshould inv~stigate multiple conditions and problemsamong patients complaining of its symptoms. Gaidade la mollera, upon investigation, is a folk medicallabel that corresponds to severe dehydration in in-fants, caused by gastrointestinal problems. It is lifethreatening and, when identified by parents, is anexcellent indicator that the child should be broughtin immediately for medical care. Empacho is a severeform of constipation, based on its description, and istreated with numerous remedies that cause diarrhea.Since it is thought to be a blockage of the intestines,the purgative effect of these remedies signals thattreatment has been effective. To date, no studies

~

Unexpected Consequences

It is clear that Mexican American folk medicine con,.tains a very high ratio of useful, insightful, and cul-turally competent healing strategies that work wellin Hispanic communities. As seen above, these rangefrom proven herbal cures, to therapeutic models, to

culturally important labeling systems that can helpphysicians identify the cultural labels for certaintypes of biomedical problems. The complexity ofcuranderismo assures that these findings will in-crease.

At the same time, no health care system exists thatdoes not have side effects and unexpected results.With allopathic medicine, these range from the birthdefects of thalidomide, to dreadful side effects ofchemotherapy, and the limited ability of psychologyto deal with chronic mental health conditions suchas alcohol and ~g abuse. In curanderismo, condi-tions are not the bulk of the effects of its use, a fewunexpected consequences have been discovered intreating empacho (Baer & Ackerman 1988, Baer1989, Trotter 1983b). These occurrences are rare,but must be taken into account and understoodwithin the overall cultural context of curanderismo,and within the context of the far more pervasive pos-

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l":1jj;274 Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

itive benefits iliat ilie communities derive from hav-ing iliese alternative healili care practices available.Willi ilie comple~ty and ilie diversity of practiceswithin this traditi~rial healing system, iliere remainsa great deal of u~eful and insightful research iliatcan be conducted beneficially in relation to curan-derismo.

The initial phase bf the research findings reportedfor the author w~s supported by a grant from theRegional Medical] Program of Texas (RMPT GrantNo. 75-108G). Futfther efforts at data collection weresupported by the Texas Commission on Alcoholism,Pan AIr.1erican U~versity, and the authors them-selves.

~,~

Alger N (ed). 1974~ The Curandero-Supremo. In Many

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BacaJ. (1969). Some health beliefs of the Spanish speak-

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Baer R, Garcia de ba DJ, Cueto LM, et al. 1989. Lead

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Collado-Ardon R, Rubel AJ, O'Neil CWo 1983. A folk ill-ness (susto) as indicator of real illness. Lancet 2:1362

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Creson PL, McKinley C, Evans R. 1969. Folk medicinein Mexican American subculture. Dis Nervous Sys 30:264-266

Croom EM. 1983. Documenting and evaluating herbalremedies. Economic Botany 37(1):13-27

Currier RL. 1966. The hot-cold syndrome and symbolicbalance in Mexican and Spanish American folk medi-cine. Ethnology 4:251-263 .

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