The book "Borderlands Curanderos" by Jennifer Koshatka Seman was a great look into what role folk healers played in the early borderlands. Due to the economic misfortune in the borderlands the people were often forced to rely on the curanderos. #hist416
Noah Johnson
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@arrichavez We risk losing new perspectives, when people are allowed to come to their own conclusions they are able to think outside of the box. With a centralized thinking it can pigeonhole or box in a discussion. #Hist416
@cjoshua2118 The borderlands I do not think were faith operated. I think that instead the people in the borderlands had very little to rely on and when they had something they latched on to it. #Hist416
@arrichavez I think that they down played Teresa's power out of fear and misunderstanding of her methods. The understanding for others was that she had "mystical powers" when she truly had an understanding of how to help people. #Hist416
@cjoshua2118 To me Seman's reliance on outsider sources made the curanderos seem more like legends. The unofficial nature leads to people describing the curanderos as more mythical and embellish their accomplishments. #Hist416
@arrichavez I enjoyed how both science and faith were used by the curanderos. The evolution of medicine and non "official" methods of healing was interesting to say the least. Without these folk healers I firmly believe that medicine would not have progressed as fast. #Hist416
I think that Gloria Anzaldua's poem perfectly illustrates the nature of the border, and it still rings true to this day. The United states often exploits Mexico because often Mexico cannot push back against the United states effectively. #Hist416
The stigma around Don Pedrito was overly harsh, calling him a brujo or witch is unfair to him. The term also undermines his medical knowledge by attributing his healing as magical. Yes, his medicine was not purely founded in science, but it also worked which in my opinion earned him some respect. #Hist416
The curanderos seemed to be people who were given the name without them asking for it. With them being folk healers, not all were given respect however because some were said to use "black magic". This only further increased the stigma against and for these curanderos #Hist416
The mystique of Don Pedrito was not just in his healing powers, but also in how you got to him. There were many legends surrounding him, with even rich people viewing him as a god. His medical knowledge impressing even those who could afford the best medical professionals. #Hist416