Border Medicine: A Transcultural History of Mexican American Curanderismo

Mexican

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 contexts. While many healers treat Mexican and Mexican

American clientele, a significant number of curanderos

have worked with patients from other ethnic groups as well, especially those

involved in North American metaphysical religions like spiritualism, mesmerism,

New Thought, New Age, and energy-based alternative medicines. Hendrickson

explores this point of contact as an experience of transcultural exchange.

Drawing

on historical archives, colonial-era medical texts and accounts, early

ethnographies of the region, newspaper articles, memoirs, and contemporary

healing guidebooks as well as interviews with contemporary healers, Border Medicine demonstrates the notable

and ongoing influence of Mexican Americans on cultural and religious practices

in the United States, especially in the American West.