Belief In Cures

Chayo came over to visit on Saturday. She was worried about her young adult nephew who lives in the north. He has had headaches for a month and has not been able to work because of the pain. The young man's mother, Chayo's sister, had called to see if information about a cure could be found here in the village. This was a last resort for them following doctor visits and expensive prescriptions that did no good. If they could concoct a cure at home that would be great. If not they were thinking of coming back to the village so he could be treated by a healer in the village.

The healer that was consulted is doña Luisa. After a phone conversation a cure was suggested of bathing his head in a tea made from romero. By the time this information was passed back north Chayo's nephew had been scheduled for an MRI to rule out a tumor in the brain. Chayo believes it is best to follow every possible option to find a cure.

This conversation led to her telling us about other cures she has seen work. When she was a teenager the girls of the family had to carry water long distances to fill the needs of the family. She and her sister had made a trip to a pond with the large water buckets and were headed back home when her sister had an "attack." The girl fell on the ground and Chayo thought she was dying. After a few minutes she came back around and they went on home. In the next few weeks more attacks followed and the family sought a cure. The recommendation was to drink the blood from a male deer while it was still hot. This proved impossible, so blood was dried and later made into a tea. After drinking this concoction, Chayo reported, her sister was cured.

Chayo also knew another girl who had taken ill because she was afraid of dying after the untimely death of a friend. A curandera was called in and touched the girl in a certain way on her head and made washing motions in the air around her. Soon she found relief and was able to live fully afterward without fear.

With belief, with thoughtful hands and prayers, Chayo said, cures can be found for illnesses that pills and doctors can't remedy. (Here is where you read the disclaimer - don't try this at home without supervision, etc. This is the intercultural acceptance part of the story. People here believe in cures more than in doctors. People in the US believe in doctors more than cures. In your own life you get to choose a satisfying combination according to your beliefs.)