Description
Book SynopsisMexican
American folk and religious healing, often referred to as curanderismo, has been a vital part of life in the Mexico-U.S.
border region for centuries. A hybrid tradition made up primarily of indigenous
and Iberian Catholic pharmacopeias, rituals, and notions of the self, curanderismo treats the sick person with
a variety of healing modalities including herbal remedies, intercessory prayer,
body massage, and energy manipulation. Curanderos,
healers, embrace a holistic understanding of the patient, including body,
soul, and community.
Border Medicine examines the ongoing
evolution of Mexican American religious healing from the end of the nineteenth
century to the present. Illuminating the ways in which curanderismo has had an impact not only on the health and culture
of the borderlands but also far beyond, the book tracks its expansion from Mexican
American communities to Anglo and multiethnic context
Trade Review
A powerful and beautifully written ethno-historical study of curanderismo in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. Brett Hendrickson deftly refuses to romanticize curanderos, their healing practices, or the men and women who go to them for help and guidance. He situates the complex religious and cultural realities of the historic and contemporary American Southwest, and shows how Mexican American lived borderlands religion fits within American religious history. Hendricksons portrayal of the rich and complex hybrid practice of Mexican American religious healing sets the new standard for how we will view healing, religious exchange, and hybridization among the U.S.-Mexico borderlands and beyond. -- Kristy Nabhan-Warren,author of The Virgin of El Barrio: Marian Apparitions, Catholic Evangelizing, and Mexican America
Provides an important approach to the study of religions and healing, offering a history of Mexican American healing in conversation with some Anglo `new age religious healing. Difficult, yes, but splendidly handled by this author. Hendrickson advances discussions of religions, medicines, and healing, looking at these topics with new eyes; the book itself a conversation starter that I highly recommend. -- Stephanie Mitchem,University of South Carolina
Overall, Hendrickson offers a good general introduction geared to readers completely unfamiliar with this topic. * Oral History Review *
The bookpresents substantial historiographical analysis and epistemic reasoning on Mexican American curanderismo (traditional healing) and is particularly attractive for readers since the key arguments draw heavily from the authors first-hand knowledge. * Social Anthropology *
Table of Contents
Contents Preface ix Acknowledgments xv Introduction 1 Part I. Contact and Combination 1. Hybrid Healing in the U.S.-Mexico Border Region 19 2. American Metaphysical Religion and the West 37 Part II. Saints and Spirits 3. Curanderismo in the United States 61 4. Channels of Healing 86 Part III. New Directions in Curanderismo 5. Mexican American Healing and the American 113 Spiritual Marketplace 6. Reclaiming the Past and Redefining the Present 140 7. Curanderismo as Transcultural Religious Healing Tradition: 172 Problems and Possibilities Conclusion 195 Glossary 199 Notes 203 Bibliography 217 Index 229 About the Author 233
