Curandero
A curandero is claimed to administer shamanistic and spiritistic remedies for mental, emotional, physical and spiritual illnesses.
[2][3][4][5] Some curanderos, such as Don Pedrito, the Healer of Los Olmos, make use of simple herbs, waters, or mud to allegedly effect their cures.
[1] Others add Catholic elements, such as holy water and pictures of saints; San Martin de Porres for example is heavily employed within Peruvian curanderismo.
Most of the concepts related to curanderismo (the practice of curanderos) are Spanish words, often with medieval, vernacular definitions.
Curanderos in this part of the world are the result of the mixture of traditional Indigenous medicinal practices and Catholic rituals.
Furthermore, they believe that God or the Higher Creator gives curanderos difficult and painful experiences so that they are better able to assist their patients.
[9] Today many women and men continue the curandero tradition in Mexico and the southwestern United States.
However, recent historical research shows that the practice of curanderismo (traditional healing) was not restricted to the American Southwest.
Other reasons these communities might seek out services offered by curanderos are the language barrier and their immigration status.
Unlike hospitals or healthcare workers that might have difficulty with a language barrier and complex medical terminology.
Many of these Latinos will pay in cash for health care services they do receive out of fear of getting their immigration status reported.
If needed, a curandero can cast out the evil spirits that might reside in someone's body and do a full spiritual cleanse.
Hispanics who are less integrated into life in the United States seek these healers to connect and feel familiar with their home countries' traditionalism.
Among some of the illnesses that curanderos treat are: espanto ("scare") or susto ("fright"); detaching or warding off vampiric espiritus (spirits); defending against or negating brujeria ("witchcraft" or "sorcery"), such as mal de ojo ("evil eye") or other ill intent; clearing illnesses associated with mal aire or mal viento ("evil air" or "evil wind"); treating mal projimo ("bad neighbor"), an illness caused by having negative thoughts or feelings towards another individual, or conversely, a group of people feeling negatively towards the patient being treated, both of which can lead to harm to the individual.
A curandero can treat the negative consequences of encounters a person has had had with a duende (a "spirit creature" such as a pixie, imp, fairy, leprechaun, brownie, dwarf, gnome, or troll).
It is believed that this harmful energy can also result in the decaying of a person's internal organs and can be fatal if left untreated.
Examples of such experiences that can cause this is having scary dreams, receiving devastating news, facing a wild animal, etc.
Examples of materials used in these limpizas are sugar, liquor, holy water, perfume, eggs, chickens, and Guinea pigs.
If a house has been abandoned or something terrible has happened in it, such as a sudden death or act of violence, a curandero will do a ritual that cleanses the home from all the mal ("evil").
