|
Indigenous
Healers Journey to Hidden Worlds
by Chitra Gunderson
My frustration
taking herbal supplements has grown over the
years…they just weren’t having a fast enough
effect. When I am not feeling well I want
quick results…a magic pill. After all life
keeps me very busy – I don’t have time to
get sick. I was about ready to give up and
revert to relying on allopathic medicine
when I came into contact with herbs from the
Amazon Rainforest. I began to feel a
difference in my health right away – there
was potency in the Amazon Rainforest’s wild
plants that seemed almost magical.
I sensed that
the Amazonian herbs were much more than
“wild plants growing in virgin soil,” they
held a deeper connectedness to the earth, an
ancient tradition and innate knowingness
that offered a healing power unlike anything
I had ever experienced. So, I began my
journey to discover the soul of the
rainforest’s healing powers.
My curious mind
has a habit of becoming easily distracted
always seeking knowledge…sometimes to a
fault. However, this time my mind served me
well as I uncovered the Peruvian shamans or
curanderos (medicine men and women) healing
tradition using plant gifts from Panchamama,
Mother Earth.
Respecting
Mother Earth as an important source of
energy and healing power, indigenous healers
of Peru use the Earth’s plant energy to
treat their patients, whether the health
issue is physical, emotional, mental, love
sick, bad luck or problems of the soul.
“Every tree,
every plant has a spirit,” says Alberto,
third generation Peruvian curandero. “Plants
are live beings with their own character. A
plant may not talk but there is energy in it
that is conscious…that sees everything. It
is the spirit of the plant, its essence,
which makes it alive.”
In a tradition
passed down over generations, many
curandero’s receive training from childhood
to learn the healing potential of the
rainforest’s wild plants. Receiving healing
skills from plant teachers who have a mother
force that directs them in their journey to
become an accomplished healer. The magic of
the story is how the spirit-sensitive
curanderos receive knowledge from the plants
about their healing properties.
“The most
important role for a curandero,” explains
Alberto “is to travel between different
states of consciousness and to see clearly
through our visions.”
In a ritual
using a special plant drink or sound
vibration to induce meditative trance, the
curandero enters an altered state of
consciousness allowing him or her to journey
to hidden worlds to communicate with plant
spirits and learn their specific healing
properties. While in altered consciousness,
the curandero sees visions of design
messages from the plant spirits in the form
of geometric patterns of energy which emerge
through the curandero into a song or chant (icaro).
The sound vibration of the icaros are
transferred into patterns which are then
painted and embroidered on faces, clothing,
and pottery to protect the community and use
in healing practices.
Because
indigenous tradition respects that all
things have life, a spirit force, an
important step before cutting any plant is
to ask permission to cut their branches or
leaves and release their healing energies.
Prayerfully, Icaros are sung in
communication with the plant teachers for
blessings in healing and to bring good luck.
Cutting the plant without requesting
permission, may cause distress to the plant
spirit.
Alberto tells a
story…“A group of Shipibo men cut an old
ayahuasca branch late one evening. After
cutting the branch, the men suddenly saw a
70 year old man appear in front of them
looking for his grandfather. He moved toward
the cut branch and vanished before their
eyes…they understood that it was the spirit
of the branch looking for its roots.”
Alberto continues, “This story reminds us
that you must respect the plants and take
the right action. You must believe that
plants are special with unique healing
energy.”
Using not only
their visions of design messages from plant
spirits, curanderos also look at the shape
and qualities of a plant to learn its
medicinal use, more commonly referred to as
the Doctrine of Signatures.
“Doctrine of Signatures is the concept
formulated by early herbalists that the
shape and qualities of a plant tell us of
its medicinal use,” writes Jane Cicchetti,
RSHom (NA), CCH in her article “The
Rainforest Herbalist” published in the
Naturopathic Physician, N.M.D, May/June
2002.
For instance, Sangre de Drago (“Dragon’s
Blood” in Spanish) is a fast growing tree in
the South American Amazon. When the tree is
cut it bleeds a dark red sap that looks like
blood. Amazingly, when the tree sap is
applied to wounds it stops bleeding and pain
of wounds, reduces inflammation and speeds
healing.
In Herbal
Secrets of the Rainforest, Leslie Taylor
writes, “For centuries, the sap has been
painted on wounds to staunch bleeding, to
accelerate healing, and to seal and protect
injuries from infection. The sap dries
quickly and forms a barrier, much like a
"second skin." It is used externally by
indigenous tribes and local people in Peru
for wounds, fractures, and hemorrhoids,
internally for intestinal and stomach
ulcers, and as a douche for vaginal
discharge. Other indigenous uses include
treating intestinal fevers and inflamed or
infected gums, in vaginal baths before and
after childbirth, for hemorrhaging after
childbirth, and for skin disorders.”
Heart shaped
leaves are another indication that Sangre de
Drago tree may also be effective for
improving heart health. Searching further I
discovered that science has confirmed what
Mother Nature already knew; Sangre de Drago
contains one of the most powerful
antioxidants known to help support cardio
vascular health. In fact, the dried Sangre
de Drago sap is almost 90% pure antioxidant,
proanthocynanidin or pycnogenol.
Experiencing the
effects of Sangre de Drago first hand,
Bonnie Butwin shares, “In April I was
diagnosed with periodontal disease by just
one tooth (same location as diagnosed years
ago). The hygienist said I'd need gum
surgery. I started flossing three times a
day followed by brushing with Sangre de
Drago. 34 days later I returned to my
dentist and the gum tissue had improved so
much that I no longer needed surgery. I
continue to brush with Sangre de Drago every
day.”
Peruvian
medicine men and women have kept their
communities thriving over hundreds or
thousands of years using ancestral healing
traditions. In traditions that defy western
medicine and science, spirit sensitive
curanderos directly communicate with plants
to learn their healing powers. Using the
power and energy of the Amazon Rainforest’s
wild plants, Mother Nature has provided
everything we need for our health and
well-being we only have to tap into her
resources with respect and trust that
“Mother Earth knows best.” |
