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Curanderismo

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Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion

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Origins

Curanderismo is a healing system that is prevalent throughout Latin America. Although reliance on this system of care by individuals of various Latino heritages in the United States has been documented, the prevalence of its use is unclear. This approach to healing has often been referred to somewhat disparagingly as “folk medicine” or “folk healing.”

Healing activities within the tradition of curanderismo are performed by (male) curanderos and (female) curanderas; all three terms derive from the Spanish verb curar, meaning to heal. (The remainder of this discussion will utilize the term curandero to refer to both male and female healers in this tradition.) Curanderos are to be distinguished from parteras, women who serve as midwives, although they are most frequently not registered as such; yerberos, who heal exclusively through the use of herbs; sobadores, practitioners who devote their attention to sprains and muscle aches; and hueseros, or bone-setters. Individuals who...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Department of Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44106-4976, USA

    Sana Loue

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  1. Sana Loue
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Correspondence to Sana Loue .

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  1. University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA

    David A. Leeming (Emeritus Professor) (Emeritus Professor)

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Loue, S. (2014). Curanderismo. In: Leeming, D.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6086-2_831

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6086-2_831

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6085-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6086-2

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