Granny healers of Latin America: delve into the magical healing of the tropics with herbalist.

My Abuelita was the most industrious and wise woman I ever knew. For as long as I remember she was a crone, deeply wrinkled and creased with magical green eyes dancing off her bronze skin. My granny always knew what do when someone got sick. Her pantry was an overflowing apothecary, filled with jars of colorful flowers and roots. Her small courtyard garden was filled with her favorite healing weeds. Her altar resembled that of the most devout Catholic with healing trinkets and charms and a beautiful candlelit tribute to La Virgin de Guadalupe.

My Abuelita was a granny healer, a curandera (one who cures) to her own, a tribute to women's wisdom and empowerment over their family's state of health. With 89 grandchildren and 36 great grandchildren, her practice and expertise in such matters was as valid as any medical school graduate I know of.

It is typical for families in Latin America to have a granny healer, a woman who has raised a brood of children healing their common ailments using home remedies and prayer. The granny healer looks out not only for the physical health of the family's children but also for their spiritual well being, for in this folk culture it is believed that one's health and well being is a reflection of the vitality of the soul. Dis-ease in the Latin American culture is often thought to stem from spiritual illness. Encounters with susto (fright), tristeza or pesar (sadness or grief), invidia (envy), and anal ojo (evil eye) are considered negative energies that can deplete the vitality of the soul. Depleted soul, or soul loss, can result in deficient immunity, sluggish digestion, and exhausted nerves, often giving rise to headaches, nightmares, weakness, and serious chronic conditions.

Wise grannies recognize these conditions and often respond first through prayer. In Latin America, to receive a blessing or to be prayed upon by a wise old woman is considered a serious and powerful protective gift. Often, in the midst of an ailment, the granny will hustle and bustle around gathering her herbs from the garden or the pantry, praying all the while, using her wisdom and intuition to choose the right plants, asking for spiritual guidance, even talking to, thanking, and acknowledging the wisdom of the plants. In the daily routine, she delicately nurtures the family alter and assumes an authoritative position with the grandchildren on matters of faith.

Elena Avila, author of Woman Who Glows in the Dark, puts it most succinctly, "In Western medicine, the body goes to the hospital, the mind to the psychiatrist, and the spirit to church. In curanderismo (Latin folk healing), the healing takes place .under one roof." To the outsider, this may seem a culture of healing entrenched in superstition, mysticism, and maybe a little voodoo magic, but to my abuelita, it was simply the way of life.

In this country, it is well known in medical circles that Mexican-American families don't tend to utilize mental health care with the same frequency as other groups. Many theories have surfaced as to why this is. Some speculate that the family structure of the Mexican is one that lends itself to an emotionally supportive environment. It is common for Mexican families to be large and rather communal. The Granny matriarch of the family is highly revered, honored, and respected within this unit, and decisions within the family are never made without the input and blessing of the esteemed Grand Mother. Seldom does a Latin American Granny spend her golden years in a nursing or retirement home. Rather, Latin American grandmas live with their extended families in a way that allows them to nurture and play a dominant role in the childrearing of the grandchildren

Perhaps, the most impressionable incident I experienced with my Grandma occurred one day in my Granny's home town. Mexico City, where my mom, my sister and I spent a day of shopping at the local mercado, an outdoor market full of the bustle of life and abundant with the most colorful array of fruits and vegetables you've ever seen. My little sister was adorable as usual, with huge dark eyes and superlong curly lashes and rich dark flowing hair in sweet little pig tails. She always caught the attention of admirers with her little round cheeks and pouty mouth.

As we walked the market that day, my sister suddenly and inexplicably went pale and broke into a sweat. falling to her knees and passing out. We couldn't wake her, so in a panic we carried her running all the way home. When we got back to Granny's house, my abuelita was confident: "Tiene mal ojo." ... She has gotten the "evil eve." My grandma shifted immediately into her role as healer. She took out a fresh egg and chanted in prayer while rubbing it all over my sister's lifeless body. She then cracked the egg into a glass of water ... and this is where the most unusual thing happened. The center of the yolk popped out forming the image of an eyeball with a pupil sticking out. This confirmed my Granny's suspicion, and based on this test, her diagnosis was confirmed. Within minutes my sister awoke as if nothing had happened. The egg absorbed the negative energies that had permeated her, explained my abuela.

Taking this on faith, I never questioned what I observed that day until my own path took me into the realm of healing through herbs. In a fascinating conversation over dinner last year with Rosita Arvigo, proclaimed author and expert on Mayan healing practices, I learned that "mal ojo" is a very common childhood affliction in Latin America. It is believed that it is caused by excessive affection. "Your sister must've been quite beautiful." acknowledged Rosita. For if a woman or a man sees a child with physical attributes which he admires, he must touch the child and invoke God's protection so that the baby will not suffer from the-evil eve. The intention of the onlooker is not always malicious and can stem from simple admiration over a young child, whose soul energy is very susceptible. The cure is simple. Either a ritual cleanse must take place with a fluid-filled object, most commonly an egg, or better yet, the onlooker must touch the child to reabsorb his/her penetrative energy. In our case. we were safe in my granny healer's hands. Her prayers, her ritual, her knowledge was the spark that re-lit my sister's soul that day in Mexico.

The Blessings of Cinnamon

Cinnamon, known as canela in Spanish, is used for a variety of ailments. It is said to be soothing to the digestion with its soft demulcent properties. Its gentle astringent action makes it ideal for children's diarrhea and for irritated respiratory tissues. A nice infusion of cinnamon is a favorite remedy for menstrual cramps accompanied by nausea and is considered a warming remedy for colds and flus. Cinnamon demonstrates both anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties and it is often used as a household antiseptic and room freshener. All grandchildren favor granny's most nurturing treat, Abuelita's famous hot chocolate with cinnamon!

I remember always trying to recreate my grandma's special hot chocolate with cinnamon and never really getting it just right. That is because I was using the wrong cinnamon!! The cinnamon popular in the United States is actually Cassia (Cinnamomum aromatic, synonym cassia). This cinnamon, appealing to the American palate is bold and spicy, dark and firm. The cinnamon favored in Mexico is true Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum, synonym zeylanicum). It is delicate and aromatic, lighter and flakier. True cinnamon is just divine. Although both species are imported into the US, most of the true cinnamon is then re-exported into Mexico. It is highly recommended to go in search of this fine cinnamon as it can be found locally if you look hard enough. After all, if explorers before us could voyage the seas in search of such sweet spice, why shouldn't you?

Resources: Cuellar and Schnee (1987)

Mal Ojo (The Evil Eye)

It is though that the concept of the evil eye was brought over to the New World by Spanish European conquerors influenced by the Moors and Middle Eastern culture. Often referred to by scholars as a Semitic and Indo-European belief, the notion of the evil eye is mentioned in the bible (as ayin ha'ra) several times.

To this day still, many modern cultures seek protection from the evil eye. It is common for some Jewish people to trust in a red cord tied around the baby's wrist to protect their babies from affliction. In Naples, attaching a sprig of me (which has eye shaped fruits) to the child's garment is often considered a protective measure against the eye." Many cultures employ the ritual burning of herbs and incenses such as rosemary and resins to cleanse the household from negative energies.

El Jardin Medicinal (The Medicinal Garden)

Lemongrass--A natural insect repellant, lemongrass is also a natural antiseptic, astringent and anti-fungal, and it can be applied as a poultice to relieve various skin conditions. Drunk as a tea, lemongrass helps relieve menstrual aches and is useful to aid digestion. The beautiful fragrance of lemongrass is said to possess spiritually cleansing properties.

Prickly Pear Cactus (Nopal)--Applied directly as a whole leaf poultice (scraped of its spines and cut open) for headaches and joint pain, the gel is said to absorb the heat of inflammation. Prickly pear cactus is also used to help lower blood sugar, improve the immunity, and nourish the kidneys. Cactus is also a mainstay of the Mexican diet.

Chamomile--Known as manzanilla in Spanish, chamomile infusion is given to young children for upset tummies and colic. A teabag of chamomile is often applied directly to the eyes to help relieve eye irritation and to pull out styes. Chamomile makes a soothing and relaxing tea to add to a bath for any kind of itchy skin ailments.

Epazote--This herb is so revered in Mexico that it is sometimes referred to as the Yerba de Santa Maria (St. Mary's Herb). Thrown into the bean pot, it decreases the likelihood that the beans will cause gassiness. Its seeds have been used by the Aztec Indians and are still used today to expel parasites from the body. An infusion of the leaves applied topically is a common remedy in the Peruvian Amazon for hemorrhoids, bruises, wounds, contusions and fractures.

Tomatoes--Indigenous to Latin America, every Granny's garden had quite an assortment of tomato plants. Tomato slices were applied directly to burns, wounds, or to red, irritated eyes. Granny's remedy is now backed up by research indicating that the lycopene and other carotenoids in tomatoes have been found to enhance the healing of burns and that the Vitamin C and flavonoids present in tomatoes strengthen blood vessels.

Chocolate--The plant's botanical name, Theobroma cacao, literally means "food of the gods." Chocolate was said to have been gifted to the people by Quetzalcoatl, a god of Aztec mythology who was believed to have acquired universal knowledge and wisdom by eating its fruit. In Aztec society, chocolate was considered too intoxicating for consumption by women or children, and too precious for any but nobility. Today, Granny healers recognize chocolate as ideal for women needing nourishing support around the menses.

More on chocolate: http://www.mythinglinks.org/ip~cacao.html

Books on Latin American Folk Healthy

Woman Who Glows in the Dark, by Etena Avila

Earth and Spirit: Medicinal Plants and Healing Lore from Puerto Rico, by Maria Benedetti

Sastun, by Rosita Arvigo

Plant Spirit Medicine, by Eliot Cowan

Our Lady of Guadalupe: Faith and Empowerment among Mexican-American Women, by Jeanette Rodriguez

Mimi Middleton, MS is the Director of the Mountain Spirit School of Herbalism (NC School of Natural Healing www.ncsnh.com), offering courses in Herbs for Massage, Foundations of Herbalism, and Advanced Herbal Science. Mimi is Secretary of the NC American Herbalist Guild and Vice President of the NC Herb Association. She will present "Granny Healers of Latin America" at the Southeast Women's Herbal Conference in September. For info on herbal education or health consultations, contact [e-mail] or 828-252-7086 ext. 305.