6 Individual Healers

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6 Individual Healers

• Rels 120
• 19 sep 2006

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INDIVIDUAL HEALERS

• Eduardo Calderon Palomino
• curandero of Peru
• Baba
• Muslim pir
• Kau Dwa Wa Na
• Kung geiha

• Abba Wolde Tensae
• Ethiopian healer
• Maria Sabina
• Mazatec healer
• Don Pedro Jaramillo
• Mexican/Texan holy person

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A Curandero S. Am. Folk healer
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1 Eduardo Calderon PalominoWizard of the four
Winds

• curandero from Peru
• trained in theology as a Catholic priest
• artist, carver, potter
• honoured, important, respected man
• experienced serious illness, healed by herbal
  healer
• called to be a healer by Christ
• uses herbs, advice, seances, divination,
  hallucinogenic plants

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Eduardo (contd)

• mesa (altar) contains bones, stones, swords,
  statues, and a crucifix
• contacts the hostile spirits, struggles with
  them, to achieve healing for his patients
• Peruvian spirits or sorcerers North American
  economic misery, social malaise, inter-personal
  rivalries, envy

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• A Muslim pir,
• Wise elder/healer

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2 BABA, the pir of Patteshah

• Muslim mosque in Delhi
• Baba (father) is a pir, a wise elder
• most patients suffer from demon possession
  (primarily demons or spirits called jinns or
  balas)
• struggles with balas to overcome them, often in
  the context of dreams
• uses soul force - trained and cultivated gift
  from Allah
• Allah source of healing power

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ISLAMIC TRADITIONS

• Medical knowledge, like all knowledge, is
  regarded as part of the knowledge of God,
  revealed by Allah in the Quran.
• According to Islamic tradition, The study of
  Medicine entails the revealing of Gods signs in
  His creation
• The practice of Medicine brings Gods mercy unto
  His subjects.

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Islamic Tradition (contd)

• Medical practice is therefore an act of worship
  and charity on top of being a career.
• According to Islam, Muhammad said,
• Seek treatment, for God has created a cure for
  every illness some already known and others yet
  to be known.

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• Kalahari Kung healer

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3 KAU DWA WA NACompletely Learned Kung
Healers

• every person has latent healing energy - called
  num
• some persons are more accomplished in healing -
  have developed and matured their healing powers
• some exercise a spiritual discipline
• healing often a communal event in which the
  healing energy is available to all present

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Kung (contd)

• loss of num loss of personal health and
  vitality for healer
• num is given and increased by God
• healer sees sickness, sees spirits
• healing dances dietary restrictions
• dance as a healing ritual

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HEALING RITUALSe.g. dance

• rituals do 2 things
• control renew patterns of life
• ie. achieve healing
• makes assertions about reality
• ie. makes invisible realities of the cosmos
  visible
• raise num (healing power)
• enter kia (altered state of spiritual
  consciousness)

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RITUALS (contd)

• e.g. masks, sacrifices, rites of passage, peace
  pipe
• healing rituals in Christianity
• prayer
• annointing with oil
• eucharist
• healing power of prayer
• one study

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Healing from a zar spirit
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4 Abba Wolde TensaiEthiopian healer

• specializes in curing people afflicted by zar
  spirits
• people come from afar for healing
• undertake a pilgrimage his village became a
  pilgrimage centre
• ordained as priest in Ethiopian Orthodox Church
• inherited healing powers from father
• also holy man/priest of church

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Abba Wolde Tensae (contd)

• Performs healing rituals 200 - 300 people 10 -
  20 healed
• clerical garb - robe, sash, cap, glasses cross,
  holy water
• paternal and authoritarian
• concern for patients
• expected respect obedience
• most patients diagnosed with spirit-inflicted
  diseases
• engaged in dialogue with zar spirit

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Dialogue with spirit

• asks spirit, what is your name?
• asks spirit, what kind of devil are you?
• asks, why did you enter this woman?
• response because she did something wrong in
  caring for her baby
• commands spirit to leave woman howl and leave
  her
• woman stops struggling falls to floor

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Maria Sabina, a Mazatec healer
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5 MARIA SABINAMAZATEC HEALER

• Mexican shamanic healer
• from a family of healers
• used sacred mushroom teonanacatl to induce
  visions - seek advice from spirits
• visions used to diagnose source of illness,
  identify antidote
• experienced a cosmic vision of God, the earth
  the universe
• learned from a book, tho she could not
  previously read

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SACRED MUSHROOM

• cult of sacred mushroom predates Christianity in
  Mexico
• healing rituals have mixed in Christian elements
  with traditional elements
• eucharistic elements of eating the sacred
  mushroom
• achieving contact with spirit-world
• receiving healing knowledge from it

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• Don Pedro Jaramillo,
• Benefactor of humanity

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6 Don Pedro JaramilloBenefactor of Humanity

• southern Texas
• pilgrimages for healing
• hundreds each day
• also travelled to see sick people
• Don Pedro experienced serious illness in his
  youth
• shamanic also wounded healer
• received gift of healing from God

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Don Pedro (contd)

• used water in healing rituals and prescriptions
• insight into source of illness
• many healed by his presence alone
• It is the power of God released through your
  faith which heals you.
• servant of God - holy person