Healing Powers of the Curandero
Healing Powers of the Curandero
The curandero works among the Hispanic people of California, Texas, Mexico, and many areas of South America as a master of the many skills involved in folk healing. Whether male or female, they acquire their abilities through two basic methods: By serving as an apprentice under the guidance of an experienced curandero or by receiving a spiritual vision that gives the knowledge upon them. To be a curandero is to have received a gift from God. The three common types of curanderos are the herbalist, the yerbero; the midwife, the partera; and the massage therapist, the sabador.
After serving an apprenticeship and proving themselves endowed with the requisite skills of healing, the curanderos treat a wide variety of illnesses brought to them by their patients. Among other native healers in the Hispanic culture, however, the curanderos are the only ones to have the skills necessary to remove illnesses or physical maladies inflicted by negative witchcraft.
Sources:
"curandismo." the handbook of texas online. [online] http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/cc/sdc1.html.
middleton, john, ed. magic, witchcraft and curing. garden city, n.y.: natural history press, 1967.
villoldo, alberto, and stanley krippner. healing states: a journey into the world of spiritual healing and shamanism. new york: simon & schuster inc. fireside book, 1987.