The Everlasting Struggle of BIENESTAR

Introduction:

My autonomous study learning experience was led by my initial curiosity and fascination in healing practices present in Oaxaca.  
My original goal was quite broad; to focus on the traditional medical practices in Oaxaca.  I planned to explore the ideas of homeopathic medicine, and how practicers value their health and bodies.  I wanted to discover the traditional rituals and also everyday practice.  I was interested in focusing on how the idea of health is integrated into daily life.  I am fascinated by the way people care for themselves and treat their bodies, especially in a new cultural setting.  I envisioned using the idea of health as a vehicle to uncover secrets of magical Oaxacan culture.  Observing a curandera and the idea of “limpia” (cleansing one’s body) was one goal to experience.  I planned to visit medicinal gardens and learn the uses of various plants.  How do Oaxacans practicing traditional homeopathic medicine define health?

Overarching Ideas

I have always been interested in the way humans care for themselves.  There is an innate drive to nurture oneself, but within the last decade, I think our society has put too much faith in modern healthcare, which emphasizes profit rather than healthfulness.  I have studied sociology in medicine, and I would like to use all that I learn here to share new ideas of self-care at home.  I would like to learn how to cultivate a simple medicinal garden, and discover the many uses.  Essentially, I would like to learn about alternative health care, exploring the numerous different traditional homeopathic health approaches offered in Oaxaca.  I strongly believe in the importance of the Western medical model, however I also passionately believe people should gain a stronger connection with their personal health.    

What do traditional healing rituals reveal about the view of the human body and the significance of health here in Oaxaca?  My curiousity to explore the process of finding a connection with the human body proved to lead my studies.  How is health valued?  Traditionally, how is health defined?  I began with numerous overarching questions of this sort.  I bounced around, finding inspirational starting points in many parts of the traditional medical system, but never finding one topic that could tie in my interests.  After beginning the research process, I narrowed down all of my questions to center around ritualistic healing.  Studying these rituals, I planned to explore medicinal herbs, the process of preparing for and performing rituals, and the entire culture around the idea of wholeness.  

Another concept that has resonated with me throughout my time in Oaxaca is the idea of “bienestar” rather than “salud.”  Salud, simply defined as “health,” is often substituted by bienester, which can be defined as “well-being.”  Discovering this simple vocabulary switch felt like a key into the medical model.  In sociology in medicine, there is a theory called the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis.  This states that if we want to change the way our society values something, we must change the way we speak about it and the vocabulary we use.  The application of bienester, which incorporates the entire way of life, rather than simply physical health, encapsulates the value of health in this culture.  I am infatuated by the idea of health encompassing the idea of wholeness, a factor foreign to modern medicine.  How is wholeness achieved? 

Overall, the idea that intrigues me is the spiritual connection between wholeness and the human body.  I want to meet with people and read the works of people who are passionate about this aspect of wellness.  One goal in particular is that I would like to study and experience the temazcal (a type of ritualistic and herbal sweat lodge).  I’d like to learn how to make some remedies and learn skills that are applicable to life in Burlington.  I feel that the spiritual aspect of healing is far over-looked in the common world of healthcare in the US and it is something I am excited to explore.  

I found myself returning to my first conversation I had with Gustavo.  I went into the conversation with what I considered a fair understanding of what I planned to study.  Looking back, it was as naive as Gustavo made me feel, which is interesting.  He lent me Medical Nemesis, by Ivan Ilich to further explore the flaws and mistrust of modern medicine.  We discussed the issues of the Western medical model.  Reading Medical Nemesis provoked questions and raised my belief that there should be alternative healthcare options and we should all increase our personal awareness of our bodies.  Priorities of healthcare are off due to capitalism, discussions about health have become backwards.  Medical Nemesis has helped me develop my beliefs that everything is relative, which will surely help as I continue my studies.    I felt as if I was leaving with a significantly lesser understanding than I walked in with, which frustrated me.  However, as I forged ahead on the project, and my entire experience in Oaxaca, it quickly became clear that the more I would learn, the less I would understand.  Coming to peace with this idea, cemented my ability to further my explorations.

Temazcal: My vehicle to understanding

I decided to use the temazcal as the particular ritual to bring me to the next level of investigation.  The temazcal is a ancient pre-hispanic healing ritual.  The closest English description would be a vapor bath.  It is meant to partly represent the re-entering the womb.  It is also believed to connect the person to the infermundo (world of gods and dead).  Water mixed with various herbs (depending on the desired cure) are poured over extremely hot stones to create vapor in a small igloo like hut.  There is a very important Mixteca ritual with the temazcal and child birth.  It is very important for pregnant women to utilize the temazcal in order to recuperate the body after childbirth.  It is also important for the new born baby to go in the temazcal as well to ease the process into the world.  There is another ritual of burying the placenta in the tierra, returning it to it's place of origin.  All of this reinforces the idea of health and it's connection the natural world.  

While in Teotitlán, I had the opportunity to experience a temazcal.  We spent over twenty four hours preparing for this, it was quite the event.  An important factor to remember while recounting my experience is that there are no strict rules, the entire process is about what works well for individuals.  The entire family and many other community members were involved in the process of preparation.  The temazcal itself (which can be seen below), was constructed of adobe and dung by a UVM group two years prior.   Beginning at 5am, we began the search for specific herbs and agua virgen.  The plants we used are called cancho de venado (deer horn).  These are used to line the bottom of the temazcal for comfort, and also to make bouquets of them to use in the temazcal.  Four hours before the actual process of the healing ritual, you must put wood on fire on the stones so that they become red hot.  The temazcal fills with smoke, but you must do it four hours prior so that there is time for the smoke to leave the hut.  When the time came, we all de-robed inside of the temazcal.  It was a wonderfully natural and clean scent.  We used hot water and soap to wash our entire bodies, pouring water over one another to begin the vapor bath.  Once we were soaped, we laid down, each with our own bouquet of cancho de venado.  As Patrona (the woman leading the bath) poured water over the rocks, we took turns hitting one another with the branches, bringing the heat down to the body.  The heat was overwhelming but magical.  We continued this process for approximately thirty minutes.  The ritual that follows is what I found most interesting.  The intense switch of climate between the temazcal and air is seen as potentially dangerous, so you must be wrapped in multiple blankets so that no skin shows (especially not your head).  I stood, feeling extremely faint and nauseous, and was led to my bed, where I lay for an hour, in a strange physical and mental state.  I was truly, physically and mentally, exhausted.  I was instructed to stay covered until I stopped sweating.  For the following twenty-four hours, it was very important to not over-exert one's body and to stay in moderately warm climate.  After this intense process, it is believed that your body is vulnerable.  We were strongly encouraged to avoid any extreme temperatures, for the stomach is sensitive.  Despite the advice, I awoke early the next morning to hike Picáchu in the brisk morning air.  I experienced some stomach discomfort, that could be attributed to the temperature change.  My experience in the temazcal was extremely beneficial to understanding the beauty of healing rituals. 

A temazcal constructed of material from the earth, Teotitlán del Valle

Various Health Happenings
I met with a women named Vic.  She is an ex-pat, and has been living in Tule for about twenty years.  She has worked with Doña Queta (Enriqueta Contreras),  a renowned curandera in Oaxaca.  She has spent a lot of time growing and studying medicinal herbs.  She began to explain  the process of exploring of traditional medicine here.  Over years, she has developed a relationship with Doña Queta, whom is a mentor and she continues to learn from regularly.  Only after a strong relationship was formed was her world opened to the magic of healing.     

In WELTE library, I fortunately met a young women studying different realms of traditional medicine in Oaxaca.  She has been studying here for eight years.  She is currently doing her anthropological phD research in Tlahuitoltepec, which is a Mixe community.  She also works at the Instituto Nacional Antropologia (INAH).  She is working with shamanic dreams in relation to the world perception of the Mixes.  She has come to this focus after years of studying healing in Oaxaca, and other parts of the world.  She has numerous connections with healers and a women in Nochixtlan who works with the Temazcal, who she thought would be a good connection for me.   Pamela recommended I take out a book that she was just returning: The Mixe of Oaxaca: Religion, Ritual, and Healing written by Frank Lipp.  This book explores the modern indigenous cultures in Mexico.  Lipp draws a deep connection between various aspects of cultural life, expressing the importance of healing in indigenous life.  Pamela is truly a wealth of knowledge and can continue to offer resources.  We talked for quite some time about her work and she shared a lot of information about the temezcal.  We talked a lot about the connection of emotions to illness.  

I will summarize our conversation.  Pamela explained the importance of the modern medical model in conjunction with traditional medicine.  She explained that in this day and age, many people go to the doctor first to get a "formal diagnosis" then to a curandero if it seems suitable.  She described the different types of traditional diagnosis.  These included:  interpreting and reading corn, looking and reading one’s eyes, cleansing using an egg (rub egg in shell over body, crack the egg in the water, and read the yoke), and also reading dreams.  Pamela explained the concept of espantos, or frights.  It is believed that when someone is severely frightened, their soul leaves the body and about two weeks later, they will become sick.  The curandera must return to the spot of the fright and find, reclaim, and fix the soul.  Another phenomenon that requires curing is mal aire, which is when the spirit of the dead visits.  She explained a different concept that I have heard very little about, which is called chipil.  This is a illness in children, when an older child becomes jealous of a newborn younger sibling.  This is considered serious and the child needs a cleaning to rid the body of bad energy.  This draws interesting paralals with cultural differences of child-rearing in our different cultures.  In every realm of healing that Pamela described, it appeared that the leading factor is the close contact with nature.  

I further questioned Pamela to discover more about the uses of temazcal.  She described temazcal as a pre-hispanic vapor bath that symbolizes the uterus.  There is a belief that the temezcal connects people in the living world to the infermundo, which is the world of Gods and the dead.  The temazcal has held reverence for thousands of years for many reasons, one being that it is a powerful ritual that uses very little water (important in a draught-ridden culture) and red hot rocks to create a vapor.  It is a resource-friendly ritual with big results.  Water with herbs (specific herbs dependent on the specific cure) are poured over the red-hot rocks, to create the vapor.  The temazcal is often used to cure mal aire, which is cold in the body, and you need something hot to achieve equilibrium the body.  The elements of hot and cold are extremely important in the world of traditional healing.  There is a massaging element that is important to the temazcal ritual as well.  Once inside the temezcal, chamiso (a ritualistic plant) is used to hit the body to bring heat and vapor to certain areas of the body to alleviate the body of bad energy.  The temazcal is extremely important for pregnant women and the time around child birth.  The temazcal, which represents the womb, is seen as a critical transition period in the entering of the world.  There also follows the ritual of burying the placenta in the earth to return it to it’s place of origin.  At birth, the baby is raw, and the temazcal eases the process into the world.  After twenty days of life in the living world, there is some sort of party as a rite of passage.  Twenty days marks the probability of survival for both the newborn and the mother.  I am fascinated by the idea of continuing a peaceful ritual to welcome the child, creating the warmth and comfort of the womb in the outside world.                

The symbol of Zapotec strength: Conversing with Pastora
I had the opportunity to meet with Pastora, an exemplary display of the strength of a Zapotec woman.  She leads Vida Nueva, a women’s co-op in Teotitlán.  Her mother and grandmother are both traditional healers, and she was raised in an atmosphere with traditional healer tightly integrated in her household and surrounding environment.  She explained that while modern medicine cures the body, traditional healing cures the soul and spirit.  At Vida Nueva, they have over one hundred plants, each with a different healing power.  

In her home in Teotitlán, she has a temazcal.  Many of her practices regarding the temazcal paralleled those previously explained by Pamela, however there were some differences as well.  Pastora explained the importance of the temazcal for the mother.  Childbirth takes a lot of force and energy, and it creates an intense tiredness in the body.  The temazcal can cure tiredness, aid sore muscles due to giving birth, and recuperate the body back to a state of health and calm for both the physical both and the spirit.  In the temazcal, pressure points of the mother are given special attention to aid the cure.

I asked Pastora, “when do you send someone to the clinic?”  Pastora used the example of pregnancy.  She has healed many bodies and has a very powerful touch.  When her hands touch a stomach, she can tell if it is pregnancy, no matter how early in the pregnancy.  She recommends pregnant women to go to the clinic to make sure the baby and mother are healthy.  She also said she sends people with any irregularity, such as a tumor, to the hospital.  She strongly believes in the importance of clinics and respects the work of doctors.  She will often send someone in need of curing to the clinic with specific notes from her point of view, and she believes her opinion is often respected by the doctor.  She is in full support of the integration between traditional healing and work in the clinic, especially when it comes to parteras (traditional midwives).   

Pastora explained the sadness she feels of how many people are sick these days.  She believes this is attributed to the different pace of life, and the excessive stress that is present these days.  Life used to be much slower with much less stress.  She attributes much of the stress to the economy, and the stress of money in relation to schooling.  She says now, people are too worried and their are too many things to worry about.

I was intrigued to ask her about her view on the power of hot and cold.  She explained the use of massages, oils, alcohol (specifically mezcal), and water (strictly virgin water, natural, and from the earth) to encourage the balance between the hot and cold.  Often a person becomes ill when their body is hot or cold, and to cure, the opposite temperature must be brought to the body.  Different foods carry temperatures (not necessarily what would seem like the obvious designated temperature).     

“The way people cure is the same way people make mole, tamale, tapetes, each person has their own way.”- Pastora

Life with a curandero in Teotitlán
I climbed into the bed of the camioneta, assisted by the grip of Patrona.  Her calloused hand would come to represent both the physical and mental strength of a self-determining and unconventional indigenous woman in Teotitlán.  The camioneta jerked as we drove off, sandwiched in the bed amongst my Zapotec “family”, my sweat paired with the dry bumpy road crippling my ability to sit still or comfortably.  My position was stiff, my legs at a ninety degree angle, resembling a seated Lego character.  My back was against the cab, when I suddenly became aware of the young girl talking at the back of my head through the sliding window.  I turned, she met my blank smile with a beaming slobbery mouth.  What were once baby teeth had been consumed by black decaying kernels, lining the edge of her swollen gums.  I gulped, this is all a part of cultural relativism, right?  I cringed, her lips were split with red sores.  I inhaled.  This inner dialogue would become my survival method for the next week.

The idea of health, for myself and those around me, deeply conflicted my stay in Teotitlán del Valle.  I saw my personal health diminish as sleeping hours battled the goat’s pleas outside of my window and the strange sleeping habits of my host family.  My stomach combated the water, but was later wildly defeated.  My eyes became increasingly sore, red, and swollen as I contracted double conjunctivitis.  With all of these changes, I did all that I could possibly do to match the discomfort... smile, nod, and swallow my fear and unease.  

The family dynamics were another source of wonder.  At the head of the family tree was Jazunte, a seventy-three year old curandero.  His leathery skin, aged by years of Oaxacan sun, is his shell, enveloping a vast knowledge of traditional medicinal knowledge and experience.  Jazunte, who was adoringly referred to as “abuelito,”  is a walking (shuffling...) illustration of an exemplary Zapotec grandfather.  His slightly senile mannerisms both allowed me to appreciate his ways, but simultaneously clouded my ability to respect his curative aptitude.  Regardless of my trust in his healing skills, one thing was undeniable: the passion.  

Little Milca

Reflection
My main goal was to open up my eyes to healing in a new culture, therefore from a new perspective.  Without vivid guidelines to my imminent studies, I wanted to keep an open mind and see what opportunities would arise.  This loose method had pro’s and con’s.  I was able to talk to amazing people and hear incredible stories, but often it was not exactly what I had in mind.  Going forth with this process, I simply observed  as much as I could about the broader aspect of traditional healing.  
One theme that I quickly realized was how healing practices differ within each community, within each healer.  The practices are integral parts of the beliefs of health, so it was often hard to have a conversation about this with users of traditional healing.  How can one identify specific healing practices, or the idea of health, something that is so tightly integrated into his or her culture and everyday lifestyle?  I could lead a conversation asking about specific practices or usage of herbs, but grasping the understanding of health (my original goal) proved to be a much more difficult process.  

Healing is a way of life, not an industry.  Every decision is altered to the body, the spirit, and the soul.  For example, the close connection between physical health and emotions has resonated with me.  An ailment that one suffers most likely has a deeper connection with a void in the spirit.  Gustavo shared a story with me of when he became diagnosed with a serious case of diabetes.  He was told, by a western doctor, that he needed immediate insulin injections to cure his body.  He read an abundance of literature on various treatments and visited healers, both traditional and modern.  Eventually, he created a precise diet with a traditional healer that he strictly followed for five years.  The healer observed that the way he channeled his emotions, and his anger manifested, was the root to his illness.  After five years of sticking to his diet and controlling his anger, Gustavo cured the “un-curable.”  I feel that fear associated with death and disease debilitate people, sending them into a submissive and vulnerable state.  By changing the values around death and illness, our culture could gain a more wholesome understanding of our bodies and well-being.
   
The idea of spirituality resonated through all of my readings, conversations, and observations.  Health and religion seemed to be very closely related.  I came in with an understanding of the connected between health and spirituality, but I could not grasp the place of Christianity in healing.  Then, after more research, I had a very obvious revelation.  Traditional healing is pre-hispanic, and with the arrival of European Conquistadores in 1519, Catholicism was imposed.  By integrating symbols of Catholicism into the traditional health rituals, they were able to appease the demands of the settlers.  Indigenous folk were killed for rejecting the Catholic beliefs, and practicing their sacred beliefs would surely be seen as reason for death.  By simply substituting their original symbols for Catholic symbols, they were able to compromise and continue to practice their religion.  These Catholic symbols were an artificial bumper against the church and to allow the continuance of their practices.    

At the end of all of my research, I have finally gained some understanding of what I originally sought after.  I now understand that I went about my research in an ambitious and not necessarily practical fashion.  It is impossible to understand health, the true meaning of well-being, through surface conversations about various practices.  In the future, because this is a topic I have genuine interest in and will continue to pursue, I would need to foster an honest and natural relationship with a healer.  I now feel a bit more comfortable opening a conversation, not an interview, to come closer to my original goal.  Maybe my goal of understand traditional health was unrealistic for my stay in Oaxaca, but it is a beautiful concept to carry with me as I forge into different chapters of life.