It’s a sad fact that xenophobia is part of life, but the idealist in me always hopes that here – in the multiethnic and multicultural state in which I was born and raised – it will be less apparent.

And then I see something like this.

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While I am not a follower of a Judeo-Christian religion, I could not agree more with Ms. Burbery on this point. While the study of Curanderismo and other forms of alternative medicine is both historically and culturally significant, it should not be confused with science based medicine. This course would be better classified as an Anthropology, or Religious Studies course.

Kathy,

Opinions should to be expressed in a way thatfacilitate intelligent discussions rather than a demeaning manner that just comes across as ranting. If a certain subject is unclear to you just ask rather than insult. There are plenty of people who would enjoy a mature mutual discussion and/or offer information to enlighten you on this sacred tradition that is Curanderismo….

Sarah Lynn, you suggested that the course would “be better classified as Anthropology…”

Did you not read the response from Mr. Holmes?

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“The Internet is killing people’s reading comprehension skills!” Truer words were never spoken. I almost never read article comments because it’s just frustrating.

“So why should other spiritual streams be OK as medicine?” Eerrrrrmmm…because they are medicine?

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Curanderismo is a form of witchcraft, so this course should be canceled altogether. When I was a little boy in Mexico, my mother took my sister and me to a witch doctor(a curandero) on a regular basis, para que nos sobara(to “heal” us, supposedly). I didn’t fully understand what she was doing to us, but in my heart I had a very unsettling feeling that what she was doing was completely wrong. She burned some herbs and incense to create a mystical ambiance with lots of smoke, she waved some kind of branch over us, and then she spoke in a strange language. And then after that she would start massaging my back. I really wanted to get the hell out of there!

After having read about these sorts of people in the Holy Bible, now I KNOW that what they are doing is wrong. It’s strongly condemned throughout many parts of the Bible.

Mr. Saenz, if this was BYU, Notre Dame, Oral Roberts, or Liberty University, then yes; by all means, the curriculum should not include a course contrary to the teachings of the Bible.

But UNM is a publicly-funded state university. The state of New Mexico cannot violate the 1st Amendment by following scripture in deciding what courses to include.

Now that Andres has demonstrated the exact attitude that I was doing my best not to mention, I have no real qualms saying the following:

Andres, thank you for finally fully exposing yourself to us as a archaic-thinking superstitious individual with no grasp of history, culture, or common sense… or, for that matter, your own religion. I think the innate desire that we all have to ignore anything you say as being the uninformed rantings of a willfully blind and intentionally isolated intellect is now one that we are fully justified in entertaining.

My farts smell bad and I’m very concerned, however since medical doctors refuse to take my case I decided I’m going to see a curandero.

Eugene, you completely missed the point. Why teach people about devil worshippers? Are you trying to tell me that there are people out there that actually want to learn about curanderismo? Why bring that spiritual garbage into your life? Oh, just for the sake of preserving the 1st Amendment, but at the expense of degrading your own spiritual well-being.

Juan Carlos Holmes, I know exactly what I’m talking about. You cannot call me uninformed when I myself have lived through the consequences of experiencing curanderismo firsthand. You may call it “isolated intellect”, but I refuse to open my mind(and let alone my heart) to what I KNOW has Satanic origins. And I’m not a religious person because Christ is a REAL person not a little man-made statue that I have in my front yard. Your attempt to call me “superstitious” on the basis that I reject curanderismo is quite absurd.

I sat in a few of the lectures for the aforementioned class, and I’m not quite sure how it was academic. For a class that is cross-listed under anthropology, and taught at a government-funded, public research institution, I was very disappointed at the dearth of skepticism from the instructors. It is one thing to teach Curanderismo from an anthropological perspective (i.e., learning the history of Curanderismo, what types of individuals are most likely to become curanderos, the beliefs of curanderos, and then a critical analysis of the claims of curanderos…just like we would in ANY OTHER anthropology seminar), which is legitimate, but it is completely non-academic to teach a class on Curanderismo as IF it the metaphysical/unsubstantiated scientific claims were true. (I must confess, some of the statements on, for example, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis from the curanderos were patently absurd, and it boggles my mine that these ideas weren’t challenged by the instructor in the following class.)

The subject matter of the class is phenomenal, and it’s wonderful to learn about different systems of thought, but the teaching approach was extremely questionable. What would happen if the religious studies program at UNM began teaching their New Testament, Old Testament, and Qu’ran classes from priests and pastors…AND as IF everything written in these books is true…Thank, god, they don’t. Unfortunately, those that took the Curandero class (and those of us who sat in on it) were taught that the metaphysical claims of Curanderismo are true. Ah…

Curanderos and Curanderas are valuable in community health. In particular they are valuable when the application of western medicine is applied to undocumented aliens. They are an effective bridge between illegal immigrants who do not have experience with western medicine but will benefit from it. They can act as a liaison between physicians and nurses and allied health personnel and the individuals who are new western medicine. The curandero are experts at superstition and ways inveted to explain why things happen when individuals need explanations but do not have scientific resources to do so. Similar eents occur in the peasant population in East India as an example the belief that evil or good jinns can make trouble or good fortune befall someone.

However if the class is to teach and further the use of curandero medicine, then hey this is New Mexico and we have people pouring into the state on a daily basis that not only believe in this stuff but will pay good money for it. Plus we should not forget the “power of the mind” and the placebo medicine effect.

I can feel the ignorance flowing out of my computer monitor and into the room, and I don’t like it. Before I begin, I’d like to pose a question at the Daily Lobo: how could you let a piece of this nature receive a media with which to spread its propagandistic nonsense?
In a medical system dominated by expensive and not necessarily effective drugs, diagnostic equipment, and surgical procedures it is all too easy to lose sight of the fact that the easiest way to “make someone feel better” is to simply “make them feel better.” What I mean by this is that today we focus too much of our efforts and resources on making small adjustments to discrete physiological processes, or anatomical structures. We are increasingly ignoring sound scientific research that supports the assertion that mood has a profound impact on healing processes. Laughing, crying, singing, hugging, these are all things that allow for the release of dopamine, and handfuls of other mood enhancing chemicals in the brain. The scientific community is learning that in the high presence of these types of compounds the body actually is able to heal itself more efficiently (don’t believe me, look it up.) Curanderismo is not “black magic.” It is not “voo doo.” And it is certainly not “witchcraft.” It is simply an approach to healing that accounts for the many different component parts of an individual. Spirit, mind, and body are all considered in curanderismo. I would venture to say that in western medicine we explore only the body (that’s right, I chose to exclude even the mind.) As an alumnus of Dr. Torres’ (Cheo’s) class, my take on curanderismo is this: heal the soul and spirit, and treating those problems in the body becomes a lot easier. The most important tools a curandera or curandero has are there words. As is the case with this type of medicine, usually a treatment (limpia, sobada, etc.) is a plactica (or chat.) It is my opinion that this is where the majority of the healing occurs. Patients are asked to talk about what is going on in their lives. This type of verbal therapy, in combination with some aromatherapy from the oils and burnt herbs, and a massage will certainly leave a person feeling better (if nothing else more relaxed.)
Finally I leave the writer of this “letter” and her supporters with this: if funding is truly the issue being examined here why not turn your heads 90 degrees to the southwest from main campus to south campus where UNM’s two highest employees spend most of their time. I refer of course to the basketball coach and football coach.