Lindsay Evans

Logan, UT
Junior, Anthropology
Utah State University

Medicina Folklórica

INTRODUCTION

Imagine feeling ill. You first begin to feel cold as your body temperature falls and you shiver. Next, you lose your appetite and you begin to slowly lose weight. You consider it an ephemeral sickness and you wait out seeking treatment. Then you begin to feel sad. Your illness consumes your thoughts; all the while you are noticeably losing more weight. You finally decide it is time to visit a medical doctor Ð someone who has been formally trained in the field of medicine and whom you assume is recognized by the local medical governing body.

At your initial visit, the physician recognizes some deviation from the biological norm and runs the necessary tests. A diagnosis cannot be given and he or she decides to prescribe a wide-spectrum antibiotic. The physician instructs you to come back in a week or so if the symptoms persist and he or she sends you away feeling unsatisfied with your prescription in hand. Two weeks later you still have no indication of feeling better. You return to your physician as requested but no conclusion regarding your illness can be reached. In Peru, this is the common scenario a patient encounters when seeking treatment from a formal physician. Oftentimes their ill health cannot be diagnosed because illness is perceived as an interconnectedness of the physical and spiritual, of mind and body. Many illnesses that people experience cannot be explained physically. Some of these illnesses that I will discuss include: mal ojo, susto, chucaque, and mal aire. I specifically worked with two women in Huanchaco, Peru who have learned how to use folkloric medicine to treat and cure culture-bound illnesses. I participated in several different ritualistic cleansing sessions for each type of illness and learned how each woman has learned to heal.

BACKGROUND

My interest in natural healing began close to seven years ago. I was in need of a summer job and began working in a natural foods and herb market. It was while working here that my interests grew and I quickly realized that an entirely different, and often unrecognized, approach to treating illness and disease existed. Since working at this market I became more interested in alternative healing methods as I learned about herbs and their healing properties, naturopathy, and nutrition.

My interest in Peruvian healing traditions began while attending Utah State University. I enrolled in a medical anthropology course (taught also by Dr. Bonnie Glass-Coffin) where I learned about illness, disease, and their healing methods and how they significantly differ from culture to culture. When I began my ethnographic research in Peru I realized there are several more cultural healing rituals and I knew this was the topic of research that I wanted to study and understand better.

METHODOLOGY

For my research of the healing traditions in Peru I have relied upon two primary methods for collecting data and research from the "ethnographerÕs tool kit". They are ethnographic interviewing and participant observation. The first method is ethnographic interviewing, both structured and unstructured. With the assistance of a translator, I had the opportunity to converse with Lucia* on numerous occasions as well as with another woman named Daniela*. I was not only able to observe each of them while performing the healing procedures, but I was able to conduct interviews about each kind of cleansing method they practice. Interviewing gave me further insight into how each method works as well as how illness is perceived as being both physical and spiritual. Because of the language barrier (my lack of Spanish skill) participant observation was the method that I used to collect the majority of my research. I was able to participate as a patient for each type of curing session as well as observe other patients and fellow students who were in a "bona-fide need" of a spiritual/physical cleansing.

In addition to these sessions with the two women in Huanchaco, I had the opportunity to participate in an all-night curing session called a mesa with a curandera (ritual specialist) in northern Peru. This experience gave me further insight into traditional healing or folkloric medicine in Peru and is one of many invaluable opportunities I had during my study. By participating in these experiences I have not only been able to collect data for my research, I have in addition been able to further my own understanding of illness and disease in Peruvian society.

DISCUSSION

In Peruvian society, illness and disease are perceived as the result of not only the physical and biological deviation from the norm but also from the spiritual norm. There are several illnesses that are solely spiritual, in which cases a recognized physician cannot cure. For this reason women in Peru have learned how to heal their families of many spiritual illnesses. Each illness has several ritualistic cleansing methods referred to as a limpia or limpieza; limpiar means to "cleanse" or "pull out". It is utilized when one is suffering from the known symptoms of any spiritual illness.

The origins of these healing traditions have existed for so long that they have become unknown to many, as well as to both the women that I worked with. Lucia learned from her grandmother, who learned from her mother. Lucia is also planning to teach her own daughter to heal using folkloric medicine. Although Lucia is teaching her daughter she told me that folkloric medicine is dying out because women of the younger generations are not being taught the healing traditions. Daniela learned from her mother who was taught by her mother and so on.

Spiritual Illnesses

Mal Ojo/ Ojeado

Marcos* is three years old. He is an extremely outgoing, playful, and intelligent young child. Randomly one day he began to act unusually fussy, was not playful and became difficult to be around. He cried a lot, would not sleep and was unhappy most of the day. These symptoms lasted for about two days until his mother determined he was suffering from mal ojo. Seeking a limpia she took Marcos to see Daniela.

Daniela got an egg and a glass from the kitchen and came into the small and square, dim shaded room. Marcos continued to be grumpy and disobedient as he was kicking and squealing repeatedly demanding "take off my shoes. I want to take off my shoes". He originally started out on DanielaÕs lap as she instructed him in Spanish to give three breaths to the brown colored, medium-sized egg. His mother translated the instructions into English reassuringly as she demonstrated to him what to do. After, Daniela moved the egg in a cross motion over MarcosÕs body, all the while he persisted to squirm. Finally he felt comfortable as he sat still on the lap of his mother. Daniela passed the egg over MarcosÕs body beginning with his head. She moved the egg in circular motions, rubbing it over his head, face, and neck. She moved down his right arm and across his small, dark fingers. She then passed the egg over the right side of this chest and down his left arm, still proceeding in circular motions. She moved the egg back to his left shoulder and began again on the opposite side in circular, rubbing motions. Marcos sat relatively still as others in the room tried to distract him. Daniela continued down his left leg and onto his small sized foot. She continued to pass the egg onto MarcosÕs bare stomach and his back. When she was finished passing the egg she filled the glass about three quarters full with water from the tap. She cracked the egg carefully on the rim of the glass and dropped the yolk into the clear water. She put the broken egg halves together and dipped them into the water three times, removing the remaining whites from the shells. Then she held the glass up to her eyes, looking to see if the whites appear "hardened" as they do when cooked. The whites remained clear, but Daniela noticed a small indenture in the yellow yolk; it was an eye. This meant that Marcos had in fact been ojeado.

Mal Ojo or Ojeado means evil eye. It is most commonly seen in infants and children. Mal ojo is a result of an adult individual (male or female) with a well developed sense of self who can pass their body humor/essence, love, or energy to a child. Because babies and children are too young to have developed a strong sense of character themselves, they become ojeado when too much of this humor or love is shared. When a person is aware that they have a strong character they will typically offer their handkerchief or a piece of clothing (both carry the body essence and humor of the individual) to cover the face of the newborn or the child. This act will protect the child from the strong humor of the adult. When I interviewed the women about mal ojo, both Lucia and Daniela believed that "darker-skinned" individuals have a tendency to share more "love" than others. Lucia said that babies begin to cry when they see darker-skinned people. "ItÕs psychological," she said.

Daniela commented that whenever her son began to cry more than usual she would rub an egg on his stomach and around his belly button to create a "tunnel" for the ojeado to escape from the body. She also told me of another method she practices to get the ojeado out of the child quicker. After making a cross with the egg over the body of the child she passes it entirely over him or her and then proceeds to crack the egg into a bowl. With a small-sized stick of Totora reed,: the child must stir the egg around beginning with his or her right hand, then left leg, to left hand, and lastly, right leg. Both Lucia and Daniela told me they will try to heal a baby or child first before taking him or her to a physician. They both reported stories of women who have taken their children with mal ojo to see a physician. In cases where the physician has given the child an injection, the child has died. They believe injections are like "poison" to a child with mal ojo.

There are several ways to heal mal ojo during a ritualistic limpieza. Generally an egg is used, but newspaper, natural Peruvian cotton, or a potato with salt can be used to cleanse the child of the spiritual illness.

Susto

Anita* is twenty-three years old. For most of her life she has been passive and introverted. She told me that sometimes she feels sad and oftentimes cries privately. She said usually there are no "valid" reasons for her to cry, almost like it is out of her control. She frequently says "I donÕt know, itÕs just the way I am" when asked "what is wrong" or when she is questioned why she is "all of the sudden so quiet". She also reported to me that sometimes she thinks she needs to feel "validated" but she does not know for what reason. Anita is not depressed. Having spent a lot of time with her I know that she is outwardly a very happy person who has good and bad days. But inside she feels sad and tries not to think about it.

I attended an all-night mesa with Anita in northern Peru. During her limpieza the curandera informed Anita that when she was around the age of six or seven she had been camping in the mountains and had woken up in the middle of the night crying from a nightmare. The curandera told Anita that it was an evil spirit of the mountains particularly "Pacha Mama,": who had frightened her soul that night. That is why to this day she has generally felt indecisive, easily frustrated, and held back.

The cure to AnitaÕs susto is to find any three smooth stones (particularly not sandstone) from a river or lake. Then, she instructed Anita to boil the stones in water for thirty minutes. The curandera told her to drink the boiled water as a tea every morning for one month. She also gave Anita a bag containing "agua de los 7 espiritus" and "agua del susto" (water from the sacred lagoons) and several herbs separated into two sections: para tomar (for drinking) and ba–o (for bathing). She instructed her to boil the herbs in water like when making a tea. The herbs for drinking Anita must prepare and drink one cup of tea every day for a month. The curandera instructed to use the herbs for bathing she must boil in water; then let the water cool completely. Every night before sleeping, for one month, she instructed Anita to take a bath. Teaspoon by teaspoon the curandera told her to drop water over her entire body excluding her head and face.

Susto is fright that results in soul loss and is perpetuated by spiritual entities; it is not a result of brujer’a (sorcery). Symptoms of susto include: coldness, loss of appetite, weight loss, sadness, and illness that consumes thoughts and activities. It is a spiritual illness and cannot be diagnosed or treated by a formal physician. Many people experience susto and there are several ritualistic cures that can be utilized during a limpieza. Lucia cures susto using several different healing objects such as an egg, a bread roll, natural cotton, cuy (guinea pig), and newspaper. Each of these objects are utilized identically in the ritualistic limpia.

With an egg, Lucia made crosses across the top of my head, then she made a cross over my closed eyelid and over the other eye. She then crossed my chin and forehead all the while she repeatedly prayed quietly for God to take the evil spirits out, that I will be cleansed of bad energy. She moved onto my arms making crosses all the way to my hands and fingertips. She turned my hand over and made a cross in my palm. Then she moved to the other arm and hand doing the same cross motions, still praying. Lucia made a cross on my neck and onto my back. She moved the egg to my chest and stomach, making crosses all over my clothed body. She gave me the brown egg and instructed me to rub it under my shirt all over my stomach and belly button. I did so, then handed the egg back to her. Lucia kneeled down in front of my chair and made crosses from my hips to my knees and down across my calves. She picked up my foot and made a cross over my shoe. Then she moved to the left leg and made crosses until she reached my foot. Very quickly she cracked the egg on the table and dropped the yolk into the prepared glass of water. She bent down to eye level with the table and inspected the glass carefully for susto. She turned the glass around and said "No, no lo tienes." Luckily, I did not have it. Lucia made three crosses through the yolk with a silver knife in the glass. When she finished she dumped the egg down the sink drain. She told me that before when Huanchaco was smaller, people used to throw the water and yolk from the glass over their shoulder into the street. She said that you are not supposed to look back, and you will be cured.

Lucia continued with Tracy, who was next to me, and did the same as before. When she cracked the egg into the clear glass she saw small translucent, white threads from the yolk rising to the top of the water. This indicated that Tracy had susto. She made three crosses in the glass as the time before and dumped out the water.

The next time I saw Lucia she showed me how to cure susto with bread and cotton. Because I did not have susto I brought Tracy with me again to do another limpia. The chair was placed in a dark, secluded corner where Lucia could perform the cleansing. She pulled a soft bread roll out of a small, pink, plastic bag. Tracy sat in the chair while Lucia prayed as she passed the roll over her body in the same exact manner as with the egg limpia. When Lucia was finished she showed the roll to me. It was crumbled and broken into pieces; this indicated susto. When Lucia was finished with my bread limpia, the roll was still together, with no broken pieces. Lucia put our used rolls back into the bag, tied a knot at the top and told us tomorrow she would feed the rolls to a dog. By using bread, the susto can be transferred from the individual to the dog and within a year the dog will die. The natural cotton limpia is performed the same way as both the egg and the bread limpia. This time, Lucia put "agua de rosas" on the cotton which smelled like roses and turned the cotton a pale pink color. After she demonstrated, she put the cotton in a plastic bag and told me she would burn the cotton. If the cotton makes "crackling pop" sounds, it is an indication of susto.

Daniela performed a different kind of limpieza for susto that is unlike the others mentioned above. It is performed with two white-tier candles. Again, Tracy was DanielaÕs patient and she first instructed her to gives three breaths to the candles. Daniela began on TracyÕs head in circular rubbing motions. She moved to her face and then down TracyÕs left arm and hand to her right arm and hand. Daniela continued to rub the two candles over TracyÕs stomach and back; then she finished by rubbing down her legs. I followed Daniela into the kitchen where she dropped the two candles into a small six-inch cooking pan which she then set over heat to melt. In order to hurry the process, Daniela split apart the candles and they quickly melted into a clear liquid. Next to the pan sat a large metal bowl half full of water. She poured the entire contents of the liquid into the bowl and waited for the wax to set up in the water. As the wax began to harden in the water, Daniela stirred it around and inspected its shape. She then picked up the wax and held it to her eyes. She quickly pointed out the shape of a dog where small bubbles had formed in the wax. Daniela told me that Tracy had suffered susto and that her soul must have been frightened by a dog. In order to get rid of susto completely, Daniela instructed Tracy to continue the limpia several times until no wax collections appear.

Chucaque

Pablo* was at a social event the night before he was cured of chucaque. While at the party, some things (and people) got out-of-hand and Pablo became humiliated in front of the entire group. He was publicly shamed and embarrassed which caused him to suffer from chucaque. The next night Pablo had a splitting headache and sought the help of Daniela. He sat in a chair in a dimly lit room and Daniela stood behind him. With her right hand she grabbed a small piece of hair from the back, upper-half of his head. She placed her left hand on top of his head for additional pressure. She wrapped the hair around her middle finger about two times and pulled upward. With one yank an unbelievably loud "pop" sound came from the pull. Everyone in the room watching giggled from surprise and shock. Then she moved to the right side of his head and put a small piece of hair around her middle finger. She again yanked on his hair, but this time no sound was made. Daniela moved to the back left side of PabloÕs head, wrapped hair around her finger, pressed down with her left hand, and "pop" again. Daniela quickly moved back to the right side of PabloÕs head, just in front of the last section pulled. She wrapped the dark long hair around her finger and pulled. His head "popped" again, for the last time. Daniela needs only to perform the chucaque until three pops; that is all that is required to cure it.

Chucaque is a result of public shame or embarrassment. It often occurs when one is the "butt of a joke" at their own expense and they feel uncomfortable. Generally, when an individual becomes embarrassed the heat rises to their head and they flush or blush. The bad energy that is transferred is the spiritual response of the illness. The physical response is the transfer of energy and/or the rising of heat that manifests itself is a flush. Therefore, chucaque is a perfect example of an illness where the physical and spiritual are interconnected. The symptoms are initially a headache and later the stomach pains begin. Daniela cures chucaque three different ways. The first is pulling it out of the head, by "popping" the hair. The second method is more physically strenuous. The patient sits on the floor and the healer kneels behind them. With one knee pressing into the middle section of the back of the patient, the healer pulls the shoulders towards them with their hands while forcing their knee into the back of the patient. Essentially, this method is performed until a "crack" sound is made indicating that chucaque was pulled out. The third method Daniela uses for curing chucaque contains a potato and salt. When the temples of the patient begin to hurt, Daniela puts salt on a potato and places one on each temple. The water that is drawn out indicates the curing of chucaque.

Mal Aire

Daniela told me a story of when she was younger while visiting her family in Chiclayo. She and her cousin were taking the trash out around 10:30 p.m. one dark night. The next morning, her uncle noticed that both Daniela and her cousin were shivering so badly from the cold that he decided to give them each a limpia with a cuy. When DanielaÕs cuy was passed over her head it died immediately. The mal aire was so terrible that the cuyÕs death indicated the bad case of evil air.

Jessica* visited Se–ora Dora, a local tarot card reader, because she had been feeling unusually tired and fatigued lately. After reading her cards, Sra. Dora revealed to Jessica that she was feeling ill as a result of bad energy. She indicated that if she had visited the "huacas": lately (which she had, just the week prior to the reading), she could have gotten mal aire from the tombs and the spirits of the people who lay there. Sra. Dora instructed Jessica to inquire about a limpia in order for her to be cleansed from the illness.

Amy was in need of a cleanse. Daniela instructed me to buy a live cuy and she would perform a limpia to heal her. I took the cuy to DanielaÕs house and the cleansing ritual began. With a mouth-full of Agua Florida and the cuy in hand, Daniela blew the water over the animalÕs squirming body. She then held the cuy on AmyÕs head for about one minute. Daniela moved the cuy in downward motions over AmyÕs head and held it in place over her neck. The cuy squirmed and squealed as she passed it down her back and legs. Then Daniela moved to AmyÕs face and chest. She held the limp animal tightly around itÕs neck and hind legs- it had died during the cleansing ritual. She continued to pass the animal over her chest, stomach, and legs. Repeatedly, Daniela held the dead cuy over AmyÕs head for a few minutes. AmyÕs clothing was covered with hair that had shed from the animal; Daniela said that this was unusual for this type of limpia; it indicated mal aire.

A large, blue bucket full of water sat on the table next to Daniela, and she set the carcass on the table next to it. With a kitchen knife she cut with a through itÕs skin and back. She ripped the skin and hair off the animal and proceeded to cut a large incision on itÕs stomach. As she did so, the entire contents of the cuy seeped out and hung there. Daniela opened the rib cage of the cuy and inspected itÕs bloody internal organs. She said the blood all over the cavity was another sign of bad air. The cuy also twitched - another indication of this illness. She continued to examine the animal and told Amy that she must have gotten mal aire from walking around too much late at night or early in the morning. Daniela told me these are the times of day when bad spirits are more likely to be in the air. Although Amy was suffering from mal aire, the cuy did not die right away Ð a good indication that she had not been too bad off.

Mal aire translates to evil air. It is a result of the bad energy that is felt from the air and can make an individual ill. Several of the different types of limpiezas can be used to cure mal aire including cuy, egg, potato and salt, etc. Herbs are oftentimes used in Peru to help cleanse the air of bad energy. Some of these Peruvian grown herbs include: Aloe Vera, Ruda, Laurel, Romero, Ishpingo, and Nuez Moscada, etc.

Casa/Negocio Limpia

Regular ritualistic cleansings of the house and business are not uncommon practices in Peru. Lucia demonstrated a negocio limpia at her restaurant when I went to her local business at 6:30 p.m. on a Tuesday night. She instructed me to come into the kitchen where she would show me a limpia in the dim lighting. I entered the small, high-ceiling, dark green room and sat at a small table directly in front of the door. On the square table there was an eight-inch pot lid turned upright and filled with dried herbs. It contained whole, dry eucalyptus leaves, palo santo, mirra (myrrh), and azufre (sulfur); all of which are herbs from the sacred lagoons located in northern Peru. Lucia held a lighter stick in her right hand as she tried to light the leaves on fire. She tried several times lighting, then blowing, and lighting again. She was trying to make the herbs smoke enough to cleanse her house. It was very quiet in the dark kitchen and Lucia told me that a limpia is better when things are "tranquilo". The herbs were not lighting and she repeatedly stated, "Look, it doesnÕt want to light!"

Finally she got the herbs to smoke enough and she stood up and walked towards the door. She walked from the door to the right and then to the left, moving the smoking herbs up and down throughout the kitchen. While she moved, she prayed to God and (Catholic) Saints to cleanse; to help rid the business of the evil spirits and bad energy. She concentrated carefully on the limpia as she moved into the cooking area. She bent down under the stove and made certain that the smoke had been blown to completely cover the area. After she had cleansed the entire space one time, she dropped a small tablespoon full of sugar over the herbs; she said it is to sweeten the air. Once she had finished burning all of the herbs in the lid, she emptied the contents onto a piece of newspaper. She then carefully folded up the newspaper and threw it in the trash can. She finished by telling me that the best days to cleanse are Tuesdays and Fridays in the 6 oÕclock and 12 midnight hours of the day. Lucia regularly practices the limpiar casa for one month, the next month off, and the next month on, and so on. She said if you cleanse too often it will "tire the spirits".

Tarot Card Diagnosis

In Peru, tarot card readings are a widely used diagnostic tool for healers, curandero/as, and patients. It is used like a check-up or an exam that a physician might give to check the physical health of their patients. Similarly, a tarot card reader cannot only see physical ailments one may be suffering from, they are also able to see energies and spiritual entities as well.

I visited Se–ora Dora, the same infamous tarot card reader that Jessica visited, early on Saturday morning. By the time I got to her Trujillo business at 9:30 a.m., seven others were already in line before me. I was informed that she would arrive about 10:00 a.m. Finally, at 10:30 a.m., Dora and her daughter walked through the small, rectangular room of waiting clients. About 12:30 p.m. it was my turn to go in.

She was an old woman with graying hair that falls to both sides of her large forehead. She has large eyes painted with shiny-blue eye shadow that was spread across her eyelids. She had rosy cheeks, a protruding jaw, a large, wide mouth with large-sized teeth, and a slight lisp when she spoke. The small, square room was filled with several objects that covered the entire surface area of the countertops. The objects were of all sizes and shapes and had no apparent relation to one or the other. Dora sat at a desk directly in front of and facing the entrance. In front of her desk was a small space with two chairs for clients to sit. A Peruvian friend of mine accompanied me and spoke quickly with Dora as if they were old friends. Very abruptly Dora smacked down a deck of worn, blue, laminated plastic tarot cards on her desk. She instructed me to split the deck in half with my left hand. She put the deck back together and left one card with an image of a woman and the number ten on the desk; this card represented me. She smacked the entire deck of cards on the desk, circling around the card in the center.

Before I knew what was happening the conversation speed went from quick to an unbelievable speed as Dora began to spout out words, fragments, and sentences all regarding my life. She held the deck in her left hand and pulled each card out with her right hand. She tossed each card lightly onto the table in an unsystematic fashion. Her lips moved fast and her hands moved faster. It was as if she were in a trance; a constant flow of words (none of which did I understand) came from her mouth. I sat staring quietly, unsure what to think, and hoping that my health, love, and future were all in one piece. Before I knew it my six minutes were up and Dora was beginning on the next. Fortunately, Dora did not detect illness or suffering in my future. This is the typical process many individuals including healers and curandero/as use in order to initially diagnose a patient.

CONCLUSIONS

In the short amount of time that I have been able to conduct research I have realized I need more time. I do not feel that I have adequately been able to cover all the bases, but I hope that this research provides a sufficient start to healing in Peru. Peru is the ideal location for studying folkloric medicine and healing traditions. There is a lot of spiritual magic and faith involved when healing, and I can only hope the people here embrace their traditions and continue to believe and practice the way they do. When learning about culture-bound illnesses (especially those I have learned about in Peru) I am fascinated with the differences of the illnesses themselves as well as the treatment methods people utilize to cure. After researching mal ojo, susto, chuchaque, and mal aire, etc. I can only recommend to those who follow to come with an open mind and a willingness to believe.