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Jordan Ringer
Dr. Brian Price
Spanish 461
April 7, 2016
Religious Reflections of Curanderismo
There are many types of modern medicine on the rise in these our times. Some of which
date back to and have connection with ancient practices and rituals. One such practice, stemming
from both Spanish-Moorish influences as well as native Mexican influences, is curanderismo. It
is a practice and a belief that is still closely associated today with the Chicano society, which
populates northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, Aztlan. As the people of Aztlan
have sought to establish their own unique identity as a community and nation, a fusion of sorts
has occurred between their indigenous roots as well as the modern Mexican and Anglo
influences that surround them. Curanderismo has been one of the many indigenous influences
from which modern Aztlan culture has pulled from and sought to preserve. It has become a
means of religious validation and authority for those Mexican-Americans who firmly believe and
seek to keep in contact with the ancient Aztec gods and the rituals that stemmed from their
indigenous societies. Although many have in the past and might even continue today to associate
these practices with evil works like witchcraft and sorcery, there are many religious reflections to
be made that share many common elements of the widely accepted religions we know today.
These religious reflections are evidenced in both modern practices as well as in the text Bless
Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, which can be seen as a less-modern representation of the nature

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of curanderismo. And it is the source through which the Chicano might pursue self-determination
on all levels: spiritual, mental, physical and emotional.
In order to effectively discuss and address the religious reflections found in the methods
and ideology of curanderismo, it is necessary that we as critics and learners take more of a
detached, free-thinking approach. For those of us who belong to a specific religion or believe in a
single, specific theology, it is important that we take a step back and try to approach religion
itself for what it is holistically, at its bare essentials, and not so much from the point of view or
perspective we have as bound by our own beliefs and religious traditions of thought. David
Carrasco, in his article entitled A Perspective for a Study of Religious Dimensions in Chicano
Experience: Bless Me, Ultima as a Religious Text, appeals to this same petition by asking that
we, even if for just this small moment, break the bonds between us and our Christian theologian
views in order to better understand the Chicano experience through the lens of curanderismo. He
argues that there exists this Christian standard against which we will measure all other religious
phenomena if we do not take the initiative to review this work with an open mind. His argument
and purpose was that of convincing the reader that Bless Me, Ultima could be read as a
religious text through the influence of not only curandero practices but also Pagan belief as well
as Catholic beliefs and thought. He states: The theological approach, whether articulated by a
theologian or a social scientist influenced by Judeo-Christian concepts and categories, tends to
view the tremendous variety of religious phenomena in human experience, or even with Mexican
and Chicano experience, by explicitly or implicitly measuring them against the beliefs, doctrines,
teachings and values of the Christian religion, usually judging them as inferior or degraded
religious elements. This approach uses Christian categories of spirituality, value, morality, and
truth as a powerful norm, to establish the acceptability and even superiority of Christianity while

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marking other religions as inferior and sometimes evil. (Carrasco 197) This is something that
cannot happen in order for us to truly understand the religious influence and reflections that
support curandero structure and methodology. Carrasco goes on to say that in order for a student
to fully grasp an understanding of the human experience of divine powers and beings, having this
perspective will distort their understanding of the spiritual universe(s) within the Chicano
community. My petition is the same. Having been born and raised in a Mormon home and
environment my whole life, in order to understand the religious reflections of Chicano
curanderismo, although it may not fall in line with or in tune with my beliefs or standpoint of
what a religion is/should be, I have had to even review my own religion from a very distant
perspective. By distant I mean that in zooming out and even reflecting on my religion for its
more archaic and ancient roots, Ive been able to make many more connections between my own
religion and the Chicano religious experience, whereas with a closed view the temptation would
be to judge curanderismo as a practice gone astray from Christian theology. It would be easy to
overlook the connections between curanderismo beliefs and other religious beliefs, however,
there are many shared, common elements, reflections of religions that I would like to discuss
throughout this work that shed some light as to where we can find religious nature in the
curandero lifestyle and teachings of today.
Religion itself is defined by Dutch theologian Gerardus Van der Leeuw as something
concerned with a Somewhat. But this assertion often means no more than that this Somewhat
is merely a vague something; and in order that man may be able to make more significant
statements about this Somewhat, it must force himself upon him, must oppose itself to him as
being something Other. Or as David Carrasco summarizes it: religions begin, or are
characterized by, manifestations, epiphanies, apparitions, or revelations of strange forces which

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humans perceive as highly exceptional and as illustrating extremely impressive Otherness.

(Carrasco 202) This is one religious reflection that is found all throughout curanderismo and its
methods/practices - its Otherness. Especially in these modern times it seems so much harder
for some religions to accept the idea of such manifestations and/or apparitions, whereas with
other religions it is widely accepted and even preached still. However, a majority of religions can
stem their roots or beginnings back to either a specific experience or moment in time where
something of similar spiritual and even phenomenal magnitude has occurred as a birth moment
to the religion itself. Even in Mormon culture we believe that the Church of Christ was restored
initially and is kept alive here on earth through the apparitions, messages from and the
manifestations of that Somewhat, only weve given the Somehwhat a name and
relationship God our Father. But without going too far into specifics, Mircea Eliade would
define this aspect of holistic religion as an archaic consciousness, a consciousness which is
concerned with the reintegration of primordial forces of the land and the magic of human
consciousness. (Carrasco 219) It is through the lens of Otherness and through these
remarkable experiences with Otherness which I would like to examine the religious reflections
of curanderismo. Through my study of curanderismo I have come to realize just how intimate the
contact is between man and this Somewhat within the Chicano religious realm. Curanderismo
embraces the idea of contact with and through the divine, and is deeply connected to the idea of
apparitions and out-of-body experiences with extreme Otherness. It is interesting to see how
society will react to such an experience. We have seen throughout religious history that all such
experiences are not accepted widely, and often rejected by society to the point of total opposition
to and oppression of those who believe in said experiences. Perhaps this is why curanderismo has
received such labels as being that of sorcery and witchcraft. In Bless Me, Ultima, written

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by Rudolfo Anaya, such a rejection of the practices of Ultima is portrayed. Shortly after having
cured Tonis Uncle of his illness and supposed possession, many of those who witnessed
Ultimas departure from town yelled out things like hechicera and bruja. Ultimas
experiences as a curandera with this Somewhat can be evidenced through her connection to
and with the supernatural and divine in her endeavors to cure and bring spiritual equilibrium and
balance to those around her and in the community of the Luna-Marez family.
Another religious reflection that is very prominent within Curanderismo is the idea of the
Sacred Human. The Sacred Human, as defined by David Carrasco, represents individuals who
have developed a profound knowledge of the sacred realities which guide their particular
communities. They have also acquired sophisticated and ecstatic techniques that enable them to
confront, utilize, and even evoke spiritual forces. (Carrasco 207) While for some religions this
might mean a prophet, or an oracle of some sorts, in curanderismo the person most commonly
associated to this role of the Sacred Human is that of a woman, a curandera. Sylvia Marcos, in
her article entitled Las Curanderas Mexicanas, assigns these women certain enlaces con la
divinidad, stating that las curanderas estudiadas hablan de si, se perciben a si mismos como
vasos de lo sagrado, receptaculos de los contenedores. La divinidad habla a travs de ellas sin
que siquiera recuerden (Marcos 362) These are the very people within Curanderismo that
have contact with this Somewhat as mentioned earlier, and they have experiences with this
Somewhat that no one else can feel or participate in unless brought in by the curandero his/her
self. Sylvia continues on by assigning the curandera by use of 3 characteristic roles as fulfilled
by such a Sacred Human: 1) they act as receptacles, 2) as messengers, and 3) as companions with
God Himself during curing rituals. These 3 characteristics are found all throughout Chicano
literature, especially in Rudolfo Anayas work Bless Me, Ultima, in which one of our main

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characters, Ultima, will assume this role as Sacred Human, as a conduit of religious experience
through which her apprentice, Toni, will learn much of himself as well as learn much about his
contact with the Somewhat he is seeking to understand.
As a receptacle, Curanderas are often referred to as vasos, como para referirse a las
mujeres que reciben a los espiritus y como instrumento y receptculo de las habilidades
curativas del espritu. (Marcos 365) The words vessel, receptacle, or even vase/cup have in
often religious texts been associated with someone of high spirituality and in close contact with
God. In the Old Testament it is read: Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no
unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.
(Bible, Isaiad 52:11) Vessel was a word that was also often associated with the makeup and
design of the Old Testament tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. For someone to be
considered a vessel, it implies a certain degree of purity that such a person possesses, and is
usually an indicator amongst certain societies that that person can be sought after for guidance
and counsel in the things of God and anything within a religious realm/nature. One woman even
went as far as to say that Ultima es sin pecado. Within the practice of curanderismo, la
curandera is just that person. She is someone who, according to Syliva Marcos and her study on
la curandera, llevan peticiones al dominio divino, regresan con soluciones y se atreven a
aventurarse en esos caminos inciertos de lo trascendente. Son viajeras que alcanzan los misterios
del inframundo de las trece dobleces del cielo. Later she says: En el espiritualismo mexicano
contemporneo, las mujeres son vehculos del Creador y de entidades sobrenaturales. (Marcos
366) It is also very interesting to see a woman taking on this role because for the most part in
religious history and throughout most cultures, the religious authorities tend to follow a
patriarchal pattern whether they be priests, fathers, prophets, etc. Not to say that there

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havent been women in the past who have fulfilled those positions/roles of course. In Bless Me,
Ultima, the most dominant religious and spiritual figure is without a doubt Ultima, la curandera.
Of course there are skeptics and many who also will associate her powers and those of
curanderismo with that of brujeria, but when the going gets rough and someone is in danger,
physically and/or spiritually, Ultima is the one who seems to be in tune with the supernatural and
her powers as receptacle and vessel of the divine. When Atonios Uncle Lucas becomes sick, the
Luna family seeks help from multiple religious figures that populate their town in order for him
to be cured of his illness. Even after visiting and doctor and the priest, nothing significant has
been done to help him. So, they go to ask for Ultimas help. Toni describes the situation and the
turn to Ultima when he says: The powers of the doctors and the power of the church had failed
to cure my uncle. Now everyone depended on Ultimas magic. Was it possible that there was
more power in Ultimas magic than in the priest? (Anaya 83) Which brings us to Ultimas role
as an instrument and receptacle of spiritual curing.
Throughout time the idea of curing or being cured has long been associated
with the divine, and as a representation of good rather than evil. Receptacles of healing have
long been alluded to in religious history as a divine source of life and health coming from and
associated with God and good. In Robert Trotters diagnostic of curanderismo, an association
between God and healing is made: To heal may be a sign from God, since health is linked to
light and goodness. To harm someone is to work in the absence of light. Such an act promotes
evil and illness, (Trotter 28) such as the powers associated with Tenorio and his daughters in
Bless Me, Ultima. This dichotomy between good and evil is expressed on each of the levels of
power recognized by both the Bible and by curanderismo: on the human level the curandero
heals and the brujo harms; on the spiritual level benevolent souls and saints can bring luck,

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health and contentment, while malevolent souls and demons bring misfortune, illness and
misery; on the highest level of existence God opposes Satan and his evil works. Within
curanderismo this duality presents a constant theme of oppositions integral to understanding it.
(Trotter 28) Later Trotter explains that curanderos believe in the existence of [these] two
universal minds or powers or even supernatural beings, such as God and the Devil one positive
and good, one negative and evil- which are capable of influencing the destiny of human beings.
(Trotter 30) While working alongside Ultima in trying to heal his uncle Lucas, Antonio asks La
Grande if she is afraid, her response is Nobecause good is always stronger than evil. Always
remember that Antonio. The smallest bit of good can stand against all the powers of evil in the
world and it will emerge triumphant. (Anaya 91) After the eventual healing of Lucas, Ultima
will continue on to serve not only as a receptacle of good, but also as a vessel through which the
powers of divine healing can be tapped. Trotter shares his faith in the existence of [such] a
source of supernatural power that can be tapped by human beings who possess the correct
incantations, prayers and rituals. (Trotter 32) It is also through the methods and materials used,
such as Ultimas herbs and oils, that Antonios Uncle Lucas will be cured. Such curative
mediums have long existed in the religious realm, even within the Holy Bible. Many believe that
it is due to the Catholic influence on Mexican-American culture that the use of herbs, oils and
incantations have long been prevalent in curanderismo, and because of the influence and
references to such a power as made in the Old Testament. In Genesis 1:29-31 we read: And
God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the
earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat
And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold it was very good. (Bible, Genesis 1)
Later in the New Testament of course, the example of Christs healing powers is without a doubt

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an extraordinary influence in promoting the faith in healing, and a huge example of the
association between good and health. There are even a number of mediums that are suggested to
have had healing powers. However, it is through her curing abilities and her supernatural powers,
in connection to that which is good, that we can sense Ultimas role as a Sacred Human and a
receptacle of the divine.
The role as messenger is also very evident in the modern practices of curanderismo.
Sylvia Marcos says: La transmision del mensaje, en la medida en que el mensaje del espiritu
se relaciona con el dolor y la enfermedad, cumple con funciones diagnosticas y de pronostico. El
contenido del mensaje se conoce escuchando al espritu o dejndose influir o marcar por el. Los
mensajes se relacionan bsicamente con preocupaciones del tipo espiritual y de salud y solo en
forma secundaria con asuntos de carcter material. (Marcos 375) It is through their role as
messengers that a curandera can not only understand the infirmity as felt by their patient,
whether spiritual, mental, physical or emotional, but also through which they can perform their
curative functions. They believe in a close contact with the spirit of whom they are treating, and
they as messengers will carry on by transmitting a message of health and life to the spirit of said
patient. In describing the role as messenger of a curandera, Marcos states: ella recibe el
mensaje, toma en sus manos una preocupacion y la transporta al otro plano de la realidad. De los
dioses, de la Divinidadas, la angustia y el sufrimiento habran de resolverse y apaciguarse.
(Marcos 376) As compaeras con Dios, Marcos states that Ella y Dios son colegas,
compaeros, aliados. Tienen una tarea en comn, aliviar el dolor y la pena de una persona que
sufre. Podria tratarse de rescatar un alma perdida, curar un padecimiento convulsivo o restablecer
la paz en una persona que sufre de susto. There are many occasions in which we find this type
of contact between Ultima and the Divine. Even Antonio himself begins to question the strength

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in the relationship between priest and God after witnessing and partaking in the strong
connection between Ultima and God when she is the one to cure Uncle Pedro.
One interesting feature characteristic of the Sacred Human is that the knowledge and role
of the Sacred Human is almost always transmitted to them by older sacred specialists, religious
virtuosos, who were their teachers during a period of suffering and growth. (Carrasco 207) Such
a transmission occurs also in practices of curanderismo, for example when Ultima alludes to her
own experience in her becoming a curandera: I was taught my lifes work by a wise old man, a
good man. He gave me the owl and said that the owl was my spirit, bond to the time and to the
harmony of the universeMy work was to do goodI was to heal the sick and show them the
path of goodness. But I was not to interfere with the destiny of man. (Anaya 13) In both the
religious sense as well as in the context of curanderismo, there exists a pattern in which one is
initiated into the spiritual realm. David Carrasco identifies many characteristics of this initiation
process, on both a religious level as well as from the curanderismo point of view as presented in
Bless Me, Ultima. The most prevalent and important underlying concept is that one is reborn
through the initiation process and is made into something/someone new and refined. Out of
nothingness comes regenerative powers. And in the shamanic imagination, new life cannot
emerge unless there has been a death. (Carrasco 217) This idea of rebirth aligns a lot as well
with many Christian beliefs and theology that one can be reborn - reborn in the sense of body
and spirit, but also that ones spirit can be cleansed of sin. Many believe, those that are Christian,
that it is through the sacred and divine nature of Christ the Savior that one can gain this rebirth of
sorts. In curanderismo, not only will a patient gain rebirth in health through the association with
the curandero as a conduit, but also the apprentice of a curandero will receive rebirth through a
process of initiation they call el desarollo. Carrasco argues that in order for there to be a proper

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initiation, one must go through the proper trials and death, so-to-speak, in order to be reborn
completely. Juan Chavira goes as far as to say the practitioner must go through a development
period (desarollo) that can be traumatic, or at least unsettling. It is through these experiences
and this gritty initiation that the curandero learns to become a link, a direct line of
communication between this and that other world. (Chavira 102) It is interesting to compare the
experiences of Toni with that of in-training medium (a term used to describe an apprentice
curandero) in modern-day curanderismo practices. Chavira details that the most vulnerable time
for the medium comes during his development when he has opened up new channels in his mind
and does not yet know how to close them or protect himself. That is the main reason why it is
necessary for the developing medium to be trained by another fully developed spiritualist.
(Chavira 111) It is through these seemingly harmful and vulnerable moments and experiences
that one is trained and brought to understand how their connection with the spiritual world can
exist and through which they can strengthen the communication. They are under the protection of
a trained curanderismo, however, it still leaves them in a situation of anxiety and difficulty. An
experience I find all too similar is that of Toni and his accompaniment of Ultima to cure his
uncle Pedro. In this experience, Toni comes to feel the physical exhaustion as well as a spiritual
constraint of sorts as supposedly felt by his uncle Pedro. It reads: I felt my body wet with sweat.
I tried to call to Ultima but there was no voice; I tried to move but there was no movement. I
suffered the spasms of pain my uncle suffered, and these alternated with feelings of elation and
power. When the pain passed a wave of energy seemed to sweep through my body. Still, I could
not move. And I could not take my eyes from my uncle. I felt that somehow we were going
through the same cure, but I could not explain itWe dissolved into each other, and we shared a
common struggle against the evil within, which fought to repulse Ultimas magic. (Anaya 100)

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A parallel that I see with this experience is also that of the vicarious experience some Christian
beliefs will associate with the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. It is their belief that through
His stripes we are healed, and that through the death of Christ, Atonement and His resurrection
we can be reborn both spiritually and physically. I see similar vicarious characteristics in Tonis
experience. He is feeling the pains of his uncle, he is experiencing the spiritual anxiety as felt by
him as well, however, it is Ultima who later associates his having been cured with the goodness
inside of Toni. Whether or not this was Ultimas attempt in helping Toni to develop into a
curandero like herself, we do not know, but we do know that Toni will go on to develop
tremendously on both a mental as well as a spiritual level.
Curanderismo for me has come to represent so much more than just an Other religious
entity, rather by viewing its religious and spiritual nature I have come to appreciate it for what it
is and what it represents for the Chicano. Not all Chicanos feel the same towards these methods
and beliefs of course, but for those who understand it and acknowledge can come to a deeper
understanding of its connection to the divine and supernatural. It is much more than an
alternative medicine in these modern times, rather it is a spiritual journey through which one
finds oneself and through which a connection between one and the divinity can be established,
for both the patient as well as the curandero and/or medium. As well as embracing the idea of a
sacred human, there are many wonderful religious features that I have discussed and really
enjoyed researching. I think the most important thing to remember that it is the very other and
different nature of curanderismo that makes it like all other religions. All religions are different,
however they all have a supernatural and extreme Otherness to it, which I think is a great
perspective to have when analyzing these religious features of curanderismo. Curanderismo is

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just one small piece of the Aztlan culture that we know today, however, it represents a piece of
their identity that can date back much farther than just today and yesterday.

Works Cited
Anaya, Rudolfo A. Bless Me, Ultima. New York: Warner, 1994. Print.
Carrasco, David. "A Perspective for a Study of Religious Dimensions in Chicano Exprience:
'Bless Me, Ultima' as a Religious Text." Aztlan 13 (1982): 195-221.
The Holy Bible: King James Version. Salt Lake City, UT: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints, 1979. Print.
Marcos, Sylvia. "Mujeres, Cosmovision Y Medicina: Las Curanderas Mexicanas." Trabajo,
Poder Y Sexualidad (1989): 359-83.
Trotter, Robert T., and Chavira, Juan A.. Curanderismo : Mexican American Folk Healing (2nd
Edition). Athens, GA, USA: University of Georgia Press, 1997. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 7
April 2016.