TRADICIÓN
Curanderismo
El corpus trae la palabra por un solo lugar, y el lugar tiene nombre. Douglas Sharon, que firma el capítulo del volumen de Furst, parte de una literatura creciente sobre la cura popular, «As a result there is a growing body of literature ¢ on a widespread system of therapy that represents a blend of prehispanic Indian, Western, Eastern, and idiosyncratic beliefs and» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 144», y cuenta cómo llegó a ella en el norte del Perú: «It was discovered that, for trips considered hazardous, the only way to secure the services of guides and porters was to hire a curandero, or folk healer,* to accompany the expedition» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 146». La palabra inglesa, dice en nota, no le alcanza: «The English term hardly begins to convey the pervasive role that these modern shamans play in their communities as spiritual mentors and guardians of traditional lore—functions that include, but are not restricted to, medical therapy» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 146». Y declara el carácter del conjunto: «As will soon be apparent, contemporary folk-healing practices in northern Peru are syncretic in nature, combining many Christian elements with older beliefs surviving from pre-European times. In this respect they strongly resemble the sacred mushroom cult as it is practiced today in Oaxaca, Mexico (see Wasson, pp. 185-200, below» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 146». Schultes y Hofmann ponen la palabra en el epígrafe del capítulo del San Pedro, con su glosa entre corchetes: «San Pedro has a special symbolism in curanderismo [folk healing] for a reason: San Pedro is always in tune with • . . the powers of animals, of strong personages or beings, of serious beings, of beings that have supernatural power.» «Schultes, Hofmann y Rätsch — Plants of the Gods (2001), ed. inglés 2001 · p. 166». Rätsch la acota con el mismo adjetivo de lugar, «In northern Peruvian curanderismo, a variety of club mosses are used by folk healers as medicinal plants, amulets, and additives to the San Pedro drink» «Rätsch — The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants (2005) · p. 1732», y la usa para el mal de los aires: «In the curanderismo of the folk healers (curanderos), they are an important ingredient in a medicine for treating “evil winds” (aires), i.e., illnesses of a psychosomatic or psychological nature» «Rätsch — The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants (2005) · p. 1831». Ott la trae en otro sentido y en otra historia, la de la iglesia de la ayahuasca, como una de las cosas que una ley ilegalizaba: «ayahuasca church, which adopted ever more elements of Christianity, in an effort to avoid persecution under an 1890 federal law which illegalized practice of medicine withouta license, curanderismo, and “poisonous substances” (i.e. ayahuascaand other shamanic inebriants» «Ott — Pharmacotheon (1996), ed. inglés 1996 · p. 269»; en esa misma plana llama curandero al fundador: «Mestre Irineu became a famous curandero and around 1930 began to call ayahuasca “Daime” from invocations such as “Da-me amor, luz, forga” (“grant me love, light, pow» «Ott — Pharmacotheon (1996), ed. inglés 1996 · p. 269».
La voz de dentro llega grabada y traducida por Sharon, y con dueño. Sharon dice en nota a quién la debe: «Since this was written, I returned to Peru (in the summer of 1971) for another season's research with the same curandero. By then his confidence in me had progressed to the point of permitting me to use his real name, Eduardo Calderén Palomino, in my published reports. He also agreed to accept me as full-fledged assistant in his curing rituals» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 147», y con qué método se acercó: «This paper is the result of an exploratory study undertaken to familiarize myself with the curandero’s application of his art and to ‘gain membership” to the curandero community by following the approach of Slotkin (1955-56) and Castaneda (1969)» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 146». El curandero dice del cacto: «San Pedro has a special symbolism in curanderismo, for a reason: San Pedro is always in tune with (‘‘accounted” with) the saints, with the powers of animals, of strong personages or beings, of serious beings, of beings that have supernatural power» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 151». De las hierbas y de la sesión: «According to my evaluation as a curandero, the herbs have their spirits, because they speak [and] direct the activities in the realm of curanderismo during the nocturnal session. .. . Their spirits are susceptible to the curandero who manipulates them. They can advise or warn him» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 152», y de lo que el que cura hace con ellas: «The curandero or brujo [sorcerer], upon invoking the power of the plants within his curative power, also influences them. He imposes his personal spiritual force over the plants . . . giving them that magic power which becomes, let us say, the power that plants contain as a result of having been rooted in the earth and partaken of its magnetic force» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 153». De a quiénes llama: «I always invoke the ancients, brujos, curanderos who have died [and] who are alive, calling their spirits, their personalities. They attend and deliver ideas that can bring one out of trance, out of the wrong path that he may be following. Therefore I [also] call on St. Augustine, Moses, Solomon, St. Cyprian, St. Paul, for advice, for help in moments of doubt» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 154». De la tarea del oficio: «The subconscious is a superior part (of man) ...a kind of bag where the individual has stored all his memories, all his valuations. . . . One must try . to make the individual “jump out” of his conscious mind. That is the principal task of curanderismo. By means of the magical plants and the chants and the search for the roots of the problem, the subconscious of the individual is opened like a flower, and it releases these blockages. All by itself it tells things. A very practical manner . .. which was known to the ancients [of Peru]» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 161». De por qué los de fuera no ven lo que ven los suyos: «That perhaps is due to the geographic position or the cultural heritage of the raza. For example, the raza of Peru is rooted in the very origin of the universe, it is one with the universe and its beginnings. And all the characteristics of our ancestors—race, blood, religion, intellectuality, culture—these are to be taken into account in an ambiente such as curanderismo. Possibly in Europe also, in antiquity, there was this [art], but it is according to one’s geographic position» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 165». Y de lo que da por primero en estas operaciones: «And I also claim that exercise is primal in these operations. The more one practices the more one enters into the power. That is to say that all exercise is equal to the gain, to the appreciation of the ambiente in which one wants to introduce himself, in which one desires to live» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 165».
La mesa y el San Pedro son los dos ejes con que Sharon describe la sesión. De la primera: «Every curandero has his mesa, which, as mentioned, is a collection of numerous power objects laid out on the ground in altar-like fashion for the curing sessions» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 153», «The mesa symbolizes the duality of the world of man and nature and of the spiritual realm, as manifested in the struggle between good and evil. The opposites among the power objects are complementary rather than irreconcilable, rather like two sides of a coin» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 153»; de sus campos, el de la izquierda, «This zone is governed by Satan, whose negative powers are concentrated in three staffs—called Satan’s Bayonet, Owl Staff, and the Staff of the Single Woman—placed upright in the ground behind the artifacts of the Campo Ganadero» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 155», el de la derecha, «This zone is governed by Christ, whose positive powers are focused in eight staffs—called, respectively, Swordfish Beak Staff, Eagle Staff, Greyhound Staff, Hummingbird Staff, Staff of the Virgin of Mercy, Sword of St. Paul, Sabre of St. Michael the Archangel, and Sword of St. James the Elder—positioned behind the artifacts» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 155», y el del medio, «This zone is governed by St. Cyprian (a powerful magician who was converted to Christianity), whose neutral powers are focused in a Serpent Staff» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 155». Del segundo: «San Pedro is the catalyst that activates all the complex forces at work in a folk-healing session, especially the visionary and divinatory powers of the curandero himself» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 147», con la antigüedad que le da, «The ritual and symbolic importance in northern Peru of the hallucinogenic San Pedro (or a columnar cactus closely related to it) has recently been demonstrated to date back at least three thousand years, on the basis of its association with jaguars and spirit beings on ceremonial pottery and painted textiles of the Chavin horizon» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 146». Rätsch dice lo mismo de la mesa por otro camino: «The mesa (Spanish, “table”) is an altar with numerous objects (sticks, shells, ceramics, images of saints, et cetera) whose structure dates back to pre-Hispanic times and represents a visionary map» «Rätsch — The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants (2005) · p. 1552». Furst, en nota del editor, coteja el rito con el de otro practicante: «The fact that other observations of the San Pedro curing ritual conform in their major features to those reported by Sharon suggests a shared tradition, though with some idiosyncratic variations or innovations. Another anthropologist, Scott Robinson (personal communication), for example, had much the same experience with another San Pedro practitioner as did Sharon with Galvaez» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 159».
Lo que el curanderismo es, las voces de fuera lo componen de maneras que no casan, y esta ficha no las concilia. Sharon lo lee como chamánico en su núcleo: «it is correct to say that the core of the folk-healing system in Peru (as in Mexico) is shamanistic, and that the curandero himself is more of a shaman, in the traditional meaning of that term, than anything else —the various modern or folk-Catholic elements of contemporary curanderismo notwithstanding. The shamanistic component is especially apparent in the attitude toward, and use of, the hallucinogenic cactus» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 147», y a la vez como fusión: «The whole concept of the mesa with its numerous power objects typifies the fusion of European-Christian and traditional Indian symbolism in contemporary curanderismo. All shamans have power objects, and many of those owned by Galvaez are characteristic of shamans in many cultures, as 1s the manner in which they are obtained. Saints, Christ, Satan, the Virgin, etc., of course are Christian, but their functions are very similar to those of negative and positive forces in aboriginal shamanism; duality, or the complementary nature of opposites, likewise is characteristic of many indigenous symbolic systems» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 157». Furst, en nota del editor, lo da por chamánico en sus rasgos: «Here the pre-European shamanistic tradition is again obvious. Such trance experiences as visits to sacred lakes or water holes which belong exclusively to the supernatural practitioners (see, for example, Wilbert’s account of the supernatural initiatory journey of the shaman of the Venezuelan Warao), entering the earth or hills, spirit projection, physical combat against disease demons and ferocious animals doing the bidding of sorcerers, foreign objects magically introduced into the body to cause illness, assistance from dead shamans and benevolent supernaturals, etc., all are typically shamanistic» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 162». Schultes y Hofmann llaman chamánico el rito, «The shaman may take the drug himself or give it only to the patient, or both may take it. The aim of this shamanic curing ritual is to make the patient "bloom" during the night ceremony, to make his subconscious "open like a flower," even like the night-blooming Trichocereus itself.» «Schultes, Hofmann y Rätsch — Plants of the Gods (2001), ed. inglés 2001 · p. 169», y sincrética la mesa: «Above: The view of the mesa gives a clear impression of the syncretic cosmology of the modern healer. Gods and deities from different cultures lay next to snail shells, archaeological objects, and perfume bottles.» «Schultes, Hofmann y Rätsch — Plants of the Gods (2001), ed. inglés 2001 · p. 169». Rätsch dice lo contrario del presente: «The use of the San Pedro drink among Peruvian folk healers is no longer truly shamanic but has taken on a more symbolic form. At the mesa rituals, the dosage that is now usually taken is not large enough to elicit psychoactive effects» «Rätsch — The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants (2005) · p. 1555», y trae el testimonio de Andritzky, «Based on my observations of numerous mesa rituals in Lima and Huancabamba, the achuma drink does not have a hallucinogenic effect. Even in the curandero and his helpers (rastreadores), no signs of an altered state of consciousness could be noticed» «Rätsch — The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants (2005) · p. 1555», con lo que los propios curanderos declaran según ese testimonio: «According to their statements, the achuma strengthens the visionary/diagnostic sensitivity, animates the objects on the mesa, and allows the souls of the patients to “blossom.” But true hallucinogenic visions were not reported at any mesa» «Rätsch — The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants (2005) · p. 1555». Sharon, que tomó el cacto en tres sesiones, consigna de la segunda lo que vieron los demás: «Everyone else, it seemed, was seeing a monster of some sort pulling his hair and trying to abduct him. From the participants’ comments during the session and their obvious state of panic, it appeared that all except myself were sharing this perception together and at the same moment» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 164», y lo explica por la cultura: «These expectations, reinforced by the long history of curanderismo in the north and the traditional shamanistic beliefs and practices in which it is rooted, would tend to determine the way in which neutral sense impressions produced by the action of San Pedro are processed—i.e., perceived—by northern Peruvians. I, on the other hand, would perceive these ‘“‘neutral” impressions according to my own cultural conditioning—1.e., as the sympathetic but “objective” observer» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 164», sin ocultar su propio límite: «During my field work in 1970, I was able to participate in only three curing sessions as more than an observer. Thus there was insufficient time for me to develop even the beginning of “‘vision,’’ as understood by Galvaez, or to make an adequate analysis of the process» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 163». Del curandero mismo, Sharon no dice que se declare de otra tradición, sino que vive en dos a la vez: «capacity to inhabit, with apparent ease, two religious worlds at once, one traditional, the other Roman Catholic; his faith in the power of the “‘ancients” and the hallucinogenic San Pedro cactus is as absolute as his belief in Christ, the Virgin, and the saints» «Furst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990), ed. inglés 1990 · p. 154».
La palabra suelta, curandero o curandera, sale del Perú y el corpus la usa también en Oaxaca, pero sin el -ismo. Los Wasson no le hallan traducción: «We have found no English word that renders curandero. Medicine man, shaman, witch doctor, sorcererall are misleading. The curandero heals with herbs and engages in divination. Curandero is the respectful designation of which brujo is the pejorative counterpart» «Valentina Pavlovna Wasson y R. Gordon Wasson — Mushrooms, Russia and History (Pantheon, 1957), ed. inglés 1957 · p. 335». Hofmann le busca una: «Curandero can best be translated into English as “healing priest,” for his function is that of a physician as well as that of a priest, both being found only rarely in these remote regions. In the Mazatec language the healing priest is called co-ta-ci-ne, which means “one who knows.”» «Hofmann — LSD: My Problem Child (2009) · p. 148». Con ella nombran a María Sabina los Wasson, «a curandera de primera categoria, a cumndera of the first class, Maria Sabina by name» «Valentina Pavlovna Wasson y R. Gordon Wasson — Mushrooms, Russia and History (Pantheon, 1957), ed. inglés 1957 · p. 381», Hofmann, «A day later we made our formal visit to the curandera Maria Sabina, a woman made famous by the Wassons’ publications.» «Hofmann — LSD: My Problem Child (2009) · p. 174», y Muraresku, «In the heart of the Sierra Mazateca, a traditional healer or curandera by the name of Maria Sabina had agreed to guide Wasson on a healing journey, an initiation no outsider had ever attempted.» «Muraresku — The Immortality Key (2020), ed. inglés 2020 · p. 52»; Hofmann consigna el verbo con que ella nombra lo que hace, «The old curandera had an intelligent face, exceptionally changeable in expression. She was obviously impressed when it was explained that we had managed to confine the spirit of the mushrooms in pills, and she at once declared herself ready to “serve us” with these, that is, to grant us a consultation.» «Hofmann — LSD: My Problem Child (2009) · p. 175». Los Wasson recogen de otra practicante, la curandera nahua de San Pedro Nexapa, que la palabra no es suya: «Marina never used the word curandero. He who knows how to use the mushrooms is a trabajador del cielo, a heavenly worker» «Valentina Pavlovna Wasson y R. Gordon Wasson — Mushrooms, Russia and History (Pantheon, 1957), ed. inglés 1957 · p. 404». Y Schultes y Hofmann en Plants of the Gods, igual que Rätsch, la llaman con otro nombre: «Thus does the famous Mazatec shaman Maria Sabina reverently describe the god-given powers of the intoxicating mushrooms that she uses in her ceremony, which has come down from ages past.» «Schultes, Hofmann y Rätsch — Plants of the Gods (2001), ed. inglés 2001 · p. 156»; «the sacred use of mushrooms was forced underground. It was not rediscovered until the 1950s, when the Mazatec shaman María Sabina initiated the Wassons into the nocturnal cult» «Rätsch — The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants (2005) · p. 1864». Ninguna de estas obras llama curanderismo a lo que hacen María Sabina o Marina.
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cómo la define cada obra, con su pasajeFurst (ed.) — Flesh of the Gods (1972; reimpresión de 1990)
Rätsch — The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants (2005)
Schultes, Hofmann y Rätsch — Plants of the Gods (2001)
Afirmaciones
148 entradas«A ceramic vessel of the Chavin culture (1200-600 B.c.) depicting a jaguar in close association with columnar cactus. This suggests that the hallucinogen San Pedro played an important ritual and magical role in northern Peru at least 3,000 years ago» — el pie de figura del vaso chavín que Sharon usa para fechar el San Pedro, con un jaguar asociado al cacto columnar.
«As a result there is a growing body of literature ¢ on a widespread system of therapy that represents a blend of prehispanic Indian, Western, Eastern, and idiosyncratic beliefs and» — cómo caracteriza Sharon ese sistema terapéutico: mezcla de creencias prehispánicas, occidentales, orientales e idiosincrásicas. La frase se corta antes de la llamada de nota y sigue en la plana 146.
«Gillin (1945) was the first investigator to observe and record the role of the hallucinogenic cactus known as San Pedro (Trichocereus pachanoi), which contains mescaline as its active ingredient» — a quién le adjudica Sharon el primer registro del cacto San Pedro en la cura popular del norte peruano.
«The ritual and symbolic importance in northern Peru of the hallucinogenic San Pedro (or a columnar cactus closely related to it) has recently been demonstrated to date back at least three thousand years, on the basis of its association with jaguars and spirit beings on ceremonial pottery and painted textiles of the Chavin horizon» — la antigüedad que Sharon le da al San Pedro en el norte peruano, por su asociación con jaguares y seres espíritu en la cerámica y los textiles chavín.
«As Furst has noted, the identification of Trichocereus pachanoi or a related species on ritual burial ceramics and weavings of the Chavin period makes this the second hallucinogen for which we have very ancient evidence, the first being snuff. For the latter, there is even earlier archaeological proof in the form of snuffing paraphernalia almost four thousand years old, from the site of Huaca Prieta on the Peruvian coast» — lo que Sharon toma de Furst: el San Pedro es el segundo alucinógeno con evidencia arqueológica muy antigua, tras el rapé de Huaca Prieta.
«It was discovered that, for trips considered hazardous, the only way to secure the services of guides and porters was to hire a curandero, or folk healer,* to accompany the expedition» — cómo llegó Sharon al asunto: en expediciones arqueológicas riesgosas, solo se conseguían guías y cargadores contratando a un curandero.
«This paper is the result of an exploratory study undertaken to familiarize myself with the curandero’s application of his art and to ‘gain membership” to the curandero community by following the approach of Slotkin (1955-56) and Castaneda (1969)» — el método declarado de Sharon: estudio exploratorio para ganar membresía en la comunidad de curanderos, siguiendo a Slotkin y a Castaneda.
«The English term hardly begins to convey the pervasive role that these modern shamans play in their communities as spiritual mentors and guardians of traditional lore—functions that include, but are not restricted to, medical therapy» — la reserva terminológica que Sharon pone en nota: la palabra inglesa no alcanza al papel de estos chamanes modernos como mentores espirituales y guardianes de la tradición.
«As will soon be apparent, contemporary folk-healing practices in northern Peru are syncretic in nature, combining many Christian elements with older beliefs surviving from pre-European times. In this respect they strongly resemble the sacred mushroom cult as it is practiced today in Oaxaca, Mexico (see Wasson, pp. 185-200, below» — el sincretismo que Sharon declara en la cura popular del norte peruano y con qué lo empareja: el culto oaxaqueño del hongo sagrado, con remisión al capítulo de Wasson.
«it is correct to say that the core of the folk-healing system in Peru (as in Mexico) is shamanistic, and that the curandero himself is more of a shaman, in the traditional meaning of that term, than anything else —the various modern or folk-Catholic elements of contemporary curanderismo notwithstanding. The shamanistic component is especially apparent in the attitude toward, and use of, the hallucinogenic cactus» — la tesis de Sharon sobre el fondo del sistema: chamánico, y el curandero más chamán que otra cosa pese al aparato católico popular.
«San Pedro is the catalyst that activates all the complex forces at work in a folk-healing session, especially the visionary and divinatory powers of the curandero himself» — la función que Sharon le asigna al cacto en la sesión: activa las fuerzas en juego, sobre todo los poderes visionarios y adivinatorios del curandero.
«On the other hand, the contrast between my experiences with San Pedro and those of the indigenous curandero should demonstrate that much more than the psychotropic cactus itself is at work in “learning to see,’’ which is the goal of every folk healer» — el contraste que Sharon anuncia entre su experiencia y la del curandero indígena: mucho más que el cacto obra en el aprender a ver, que es la meta de todo curandero.
«there was obviously nothing very Indian about Galvaez’ lifeway—on the contrary, he was a typical Mestizo, Spanish-speaking, literate, Catholic in religion, apparently with only the most tenuous ties to native Indian culture» — el perfil del curandero que Sharon subraya contra lo esperable: mestizo típico, hispanohablante, letrado y católico.
«However, throughout his long career in a variety of jobs, Galvaez the artist and family man was also evolving as Gdalvaez the curandero. His early interest in the priesthood had been an attempt to realize what he regarded as a “calling to serve humanity.’ He experienced dreams urging him to prepare himself and felt a deep and idealistic yearning to help alleviate human suffering» — cómo cuenta Sharon la vocación de su maestro: sueños que lo urgían a prepararse y un anhelo idealista de aliviar el sufrimiento.
«Then, aged only twenty-two, he suddenly fell il] with a mysterious ailment that failed to yield to modern medical treatment. Both of his grandfathers had been curanderos in the highlands, and so he decided to see if a folk healer might help where the doctors had failed. He underwent treatment and was cured. He did not understand what had happened but felt an urge to learn» — el episodio que Sharon pone en el origen del oficio: una dolencia que la medicina moderna no cedió y que un curandero curó.
«Galvaez’ experience is obviously akin to “sickness vocation,’ a common phenomenon in shamanism» — cómo encuadra Sharon ese episodio en nota: la vocación por enfermedad, fenómeno común en el chamanismo.
«It is interesting to note that the curandero with whom I worked is himself well aware of the antiquity of the San Pedro cactus in Peruvian ritual. He knew, for example, that the hallucinogenic cactus is depicted on burial ceramics of the Mochica culture, dating back some 1500 years and more, an identification also made by Friedberg (1963)» — lo que Sharon consigna en nota sobre el saber del propio curandero: sabe que el cacto está representado en la cerámica funeraria mochica de hace mil quinientos años.
«Since this was written, I returned to Peru (in the summer of 1971) for another season's research with the same curandero. By then his confidence in me had progressed to the point of permitting me to use his real name, Eduardo Calderén Palomino, in my published reports. He also agreed to accept me as full-fledged assistant in his curing rituals» — la nota en que Sharon consigna el cambio de trato con su maestro: la confianza ganada le permitió usar su nombre real, Eduardo Calderón Palomino, y ser aceptado como ayudante.
«His second wife had an uncle who was noted as a curandero working with hallucinogens and a mesa (literally table, a kind of altar containing numerous standardized and idiosyncratic ‘power objects» — la mesa que Sharon define al presentar al maestro de su maestro: una especie de altar con objetos de poder estandarizados e idiosincrásicos.
«between voyages he gained sufficient experience to serve as rastreador (literally ‘“‘tracker,’ one who helps the curandero “see’’ during the curing session» — el oficio intermedio que Sharon describe: el rastreador, el que ayuda al curandero a ver durante la sesión.
«When he remained in Trujillo he had enough time to develop his powers to the point where, during one momentous session, he suddenly felt that the “Christ of the mesa’ had chosen him to effect a part of the curing ritual» — el momento que Sharon señala como decisivo en la carrera de su maestro: sentir que el Cristo de la mesa lo había elegido.
«In gratitude to God, Gdalvaez made a vow never to abuse his powers and to work only for good in the service of humanity» — el voto que Sharon le atribuye a su maestro al fundar su propia mesa.
«San Pedro, a smooth, relatively thin, often spineless, columnar cactus of the Cereus family, was first described and classified as Trichocereus pachanoi by Britton and Rose (1920), who gave the area of its distribution as Andean Ecuador, where it is also called agua-colla, giganton, and San Pedrillo. How and why it came to be called ‘Saint Peter” was not stated» — la clasificación botánica del San Pedro según Sharon y lo que la literatura no explica: por qué se llama San Pedro.
«According to Galvaez there are several types of San Pedro, distinguished by the number of longitudinal ribs. The kind most often used by curanderos has seven ribs. Four-ribbed cacti are very rare and are considered to have special curative properties. ‘Ihe varieties found in the Andean highlands are said to be the most potent, whatever the number of ribs, because of the higher mineral content of the soil» — la clasificación indígena del cacto que Sharon recoge de su maestro: por número de costillas, con las de cuatro por raras y curativas.
«The preparation of San Pedro for use in the folk-healing session is a very simple process. At noon on the day of the session, four short cacti (the thinnest cacti are believed to make the best brew) are sliced like loaves of bread, placed in a five-gallon can of water, and boiled for seven hours» — la preparación del brebaje según Sharon: cuatro cactos delgados rebanados como pan y hervidos siete horas.
«However, in cases of illness caused by a sorcerer’s magic concoction, such as powdered bones, cemetery dust, or dust from archaeological ruins, certain botanically unidentified plants, known as hornamo blanco, hornamo amarillo, hornamo morado, hornamo cuti, hornamo caballo, and condor purga, are boiled separately for addition to the portions of San Pedro served to the patient» — los aditivos reservados para el daño de hechicería según Sharon, con los nombres locales de plantas sin identificar botánicamente.
«Many curanderos in the Chiclayo area add Floripondio or Flortpondium (Datura arborea)—one of the numerous muishas, or Daturas— to San Pedro, but Galvaez does not. He was initiated by healers who used these potent plants and is aware of their toxic properties and adverse effects on many patients. He does not feel that such drastic shock therapy is necessary to alleviate the ailments of those seeking his services» — la diferencia que Sharon consigna entre curanderos: su maestro fue iniciado por quienes añaden Datura y no lo hace, por no creer necesaria esa terapia de choque.
«San Pedro, Huando Hermoso, Cardo, Huachuma [are] various names applied to this cactus. . . . It is medicinal. It is applied, for example, to cutaneous infections. It is diuretic.* It is utilized in general for cases of healing and witchcraft. . . . It is used . . . for both [types of] magic—white and black» — los nombres del cacto y sus usos en la voz del curandero que Sharon cita: sirve igual para la magia blanca y para la negra.
«It is always recommended that after taking San Pedro one must follow a diet: not eat any food that contains hot peppers, salt, animal fat or grease, or anything that “entangles,” for example, foods that grow on climbing vines, such as beans, peas, lentils, etc» — la dieta que el curandero prescribe tras tomar el cacto, en su propia voz: nada que enrede, como lo que crece en enredaderas.
«San Pedro has a special symbolism in curanderismo, for a reason: San Pedro is always in tune with (‘‘accounted” with) the saints, with the powers of animals, of strong personages or beings, of serious beings, of beings that have supernatural power» — cómo explica el curandero el simbolismo del cacto: está siempre acordado con los santos y con los poderes de animales y de seres de poder sobrenatural.
«The symbolism of San Pedro is to locate in all the regions of the territory the elemental thought and potentiality of man» — la fórmula con que el curandero cierra ese simbolismo, tal como Sharon la traduce.
«It cares for the house . . . as if it were a dog. It is accounted for [in the curanderismo traditions], it is in tune [with the curandero’s own powers and with his other magical artifacts and herbs], and it is raised* with tabaco in the proper manner. Then it cares for the house. It serves as guardian» — el poder de guarda que el curandero le atribuye al cacto plantado en la casa.
«In the night it appears to strangers who want to enter as a man in white, wearing a hat. Or else it whistles. It whistles with a peculiar sound so that anyone who enters who is not of the household . . . comes out at top speed, like a bullet» — cómo se manifiesta esa guarda en la voz del curandero: se aparece al extraño como un hombre de blanco con sombrero, o silba.
«The great majority of magical plants are herbs collected on the hillsides of sacred lagoons in the Andes at altitudes of 12,000 to 13,000 feet above sea level. There are several areas in the northern highlands where such lagoons are found, but the most important, called collectively Las Huaringas, are found above the town of Huancabamba near the border between Peru and Ecuador» — de dónde vienen las plantas mágicas según Sharon: laderas de lagunas sagradas andinas a gran altura, y sobre todo Las Huaringas.
«The herbs are then placed in the curandero’s seguro, a special glass jar, where they are kept in a state of preservation by several perfumes accompanying them. Ihe seguro is one of the focal points of the curandero’s attention during the curing division of a session» — el seguro que Sharon describe: frasco de vidrio con hierbas conservadas en perfumes, foco de atención del curandero en la sesión.
«these plants, once activated by the ceremonial part of a session and by the drinking of San Pedro, “talk’’ to him when he is concentrating on the seguro. Some merely indicate representative symbols of the curing art and the causes of a patient's ailment during diagnosis, while others, which have both symbolic and medicinal value, indicate what herb or herbs should be used in the cure during treatment» — lo que el curandero sostiene de esas plantas según Sharon: activadas por la ceremonia y por el San Pedro, le hablan cuando se concentra en el seguro.
«According to my evaluation as a curandero, the herbs have their spirits, because they speak [and] direct the activities in the realm of curanderismo during the nocturnal session. .. . Their spirits are susceptible to the curandero who manipulates them. They can advise or warn him» — la fórmula del curandero en su propia voz: las hierbas tienen sus espíritus, porque hablan y dirigen la sesión.
«If one does not drink San Pedro, there is nothing. ... The herbs. . . have power to manifest themselves. It seems that possibly they have a spirit that is matched with the power of San Pedro and the intellectual power of the curandero» — el papel que el curandero le da al cacto frente a las hierbas: sin él no hay nada, y el espíritu de las hierbas casa con su poder y con la inteligencia del curandero.
«The curandero or brujo [sorcerer], upon invoking the power of the plants within his curative power, also influences them. He imposes his personal spiritual force over the plants . . . giving them that magic power which becomes, let us say, the power that plants contain as a result of having been rooted in the earth and partaken of its magnetic force» — la reciprocidad que el curandero describe: impone su fuerza espiritual sobre las plantas y estas devuelven la influencia.
«And, since man is an element of the earth, with the power of his intelligence . . . he emits this potentiality over the plants. The plants receive this influence and return it toward man, toward the individual in the moment when he invokes» — cómo cierra el curandero esa reciprocidad en su propia voz: el hombre emite su potencialidad sobre la planta y la planta se la devuelve al invocar.
«It would seem, then, that once the inner power of the curandero is activated by the hallucinogenic San Pedro cactus, the magic plants provide a medium by which his contact with the earth is renewed in a reciprocal flow of energy» — la lectura que Sharon propone de esa doctrina: activado el poder interno por el cacto, las plantas mágicas son el medio por el que se renueva el contacto con la tierra.
«Every curandero has his mesa, which, as mentioned, is a collection of numerous power objects laid out on the ground in altar-like fashion for the curing sessions» — la mesa que Sharon define: colección de objetos de poder dispuestos en el suelo a manera de altar.
«The mesa symbolizes the duality of the world of man and nature and of the spiritual realm, as manifested in the struggle between good and evil. The opposites among the power objects are complementary rather than irreconcilable, rather like two sides of a coin» — lo que la mesa simboliza según Sharon, con la precisión que no se debe pasar por alto: los opuestos son complementarios y no irreconciliables.
«To the curandero, the existence of opposite forces does not mean splitting the world in two (the “sacred” and ‘profane’ or establishing a rigid dichotomy between “this” world of matter and the “other” world of spirit. On the contrary, the curandero seeks to perceive unity in the dynamic interaction between the forces of good and evil through the attainment of» — la negativa que Sharon le atribuye al curandero: no hay dicotomía rígida entre sagrado y profano ni entre materia y espíritu, sino unidad buscada en la interacción dinámica.
«Such a view of the world is very flexible and adaptable; it leaves room for the acceptance of new symbols and ideas and allows competing elements to enter into one’s structuring of reality and the behavior determined by such structuring» — lo que Sharon le reconoce a esa manera de ver: deja sitio para símbolos nuevos y para elementos en competencia.
«I salute the ancients, the powerful ones, men who have lived in antiquity . . . for their intellectual force, their power, their magnificence, and the saints for . their intellect, their personality . . . their great power as philosophers, writers, poets . . . [so] that they will help me intellectually in search of these» — la invocación del curandero en su propia voz: saluda a los antiguos por su fuerza intelectual y a los santos por su intelecto y su poder de filósofos, escritores y poetas.
«I always invoke the ancients, brujos, curanderos who have died [and] who are alive, calling their spirits, their personalities. They attend and deliver ideas that can bring one out of trance, out of the wrong path that he may be following. Therefore I [also] call on St. Augustine, Moses, Solomon, St. Cyprian, St. Paul, for advice, for help in moments of doubt» — a quiénes llama el curandero según su propia enumeración: brujos y curanderos muertos y vivos, y San Agustín, Moisés, Salomón, San Cipriano y San Pablo.
«Similarly, Galvaez sees no contradiction between modern medicine and traditional curing and, depending on the situation and his diagnosis, readily employs pharmaceutical products in his work» — la falta de contradicción que Sharon consigna en su maestro entre medicina moderna y cura tradicional.
«capacity to inhabit, with apparent ease, two religious worlds at once, one traditional, the other Roman Catholic; his faith in the power of the “‘ancients” and the hallucinogenic San Pedro cactus is as absolute as his belief in Christ, the Virgin, and the saints» — cómo describe Sharon la doble pertenencia religiosa de su maestro: habita dos mundos religiosos a la vez, y la fe en los antiguos y en el cacto es tan absoluta como la fe en Cristo, la Virgen y los santos.
«To return to the mesa: in accordance with the concept of complementary opposites, the mesa is divided into two major (though unequal) zones, called campos (fields) or bancos (benches), which are kept apart by a “neutral” area. The left and smaller side of the oblong mesa is called the Campo Ganadero (Field of the Sly Dealer, Satan). It contains artifacts associated with the forces of evil, the underworld, and negative magic, mainly fragments of ancient ceramics and stones from archaeological ruins, along with cane alcohol, a deer foot, and a triton shell» — la división de la mesa según Sharon: dos campos desiguales separados por una zona neutra, y el de la izquierda con los objetos de las fuerzas del mal.
«This zone is governed by Satan, whose negative powers are concentrated in three staffs—called Satan’s Bayonet, Owl Staff, and the Staff of the Single Woman—placed upright in the ground behind the artifacts of the Campo Ganadero» — quién gobierna ese campo y en qué se concentra su poder según Sharon: tres bastones plantados detrás de los objetos.
«A witch or sorcerer would use this negative zone for sorcery or curing for lucrative gain; a benevolent curer like Galvaez needs it for consultation in cases of witchcraft, adverse love magic, or bad luck, since this is the realm responsible for such evils and consequently capable of revealing their sources» — para qué necesita ese campo un curandero benévolo según Sharon: para consultar en casos de brujería, pues es el reino que los causa y por eso puede revelarlos.
«The right and larger side of the mesa, called the Campo Justiciero (Field of the Divine Judge or Divine Justice), contains artifacts related to the forces of good or positive magic—including images of saints, positive power objects such as stones, shells, bowls, a glass, a dagger, and a rattle, and certain substances, including three perfumes, holy water, tobacco, sugar, lime, and a five-gallon can of San Pedro infusion» — el campo derecho de la mesa según Sharon, con los objetos y sustancias de la magia positiva.
«This zone is governed by Christ, whose positive powers are focused in eight staffs—called, respectively, Swordfish Beak Staff, Eagle Staff, Greyhound Staff, Hummingbird Staff, Staff of the Virgin of Mercy, Sword of St. Paul, Sabre of St. Michael the Archangel, and Sword of St. James the Elder—positioned behind the artifacts» — quién gobierna el campo derecho y los ocho bastones en que se enfoca su poder según Sharon; *Greyhound* sale de la unión del guion de fin de renglón, que el impreso trae como *Grey-hound*.
«This zone is governed by St. Cyprian (a powerful magician who was converted to Christianity), whose neutral powers are focused in a Serpent Staff» — quién gobierna el campo del medio según Sharon: San Cipriano, mago poderoso convertido al cristianismo, con su bastón de la serpiente.
«These are symbolic of forces in nature and the world of man that can be used for good or for evil, depending on the intention of the individual. This part of the mesa is the focal point of the curandero’s “vision.” Because of its neutral quality, it is considered capable of reflecting the case under consideration without distortion, usually in the glass jar of magic herbs or in the crystal mirror» — por qué el campo del medio es el foco de la visión según Sharon: por neutro, refleja el caso sin distorsión, en el frasco de hierbas o en el espejo de cristal.
«The artifacts of the mesa are not just a random collection of standard objects. Rather, they are gradually accumulated over the years of a curandero’s practice» — cómo se forma una mesa según Sharon: por acumulación a lo largo de los años de práctica, no por colección estándar.
«Each was carefully selected and acquired under special circumstances, and each has unique personal significance to the curandero, along with its own cuenta, or “account,” which is activated by the catalyst San Pedro» — lo que cada objeto de la mesa lleva según Sharon: circunstancia de adquisición, significado personal y su cuenta propia, que el cacto activa.
«Obviously, within the standard symbolic framework passed on from curandero to initiate, there is room for personal elaboration, once mastery has been gained over the curing art» — el margen que Sharon señala dentro del marco simbólico transmitido: hay lugar para la elaboración personal una vez ganada la maestría.
«The same is true of the curandero’s tarjos, or chants. He learns the traditional rhythms and song cycles but, as with the various power objects, he elaborates on the basic complex with his own particular talents and according to the inspiration he receives from a variety of extrapersonal and supernatural sources» — el mismo margen en los cantos del curandero según Sharon: aprende los ritmos y ciclos tradicionales y elabora sobre ellos.
«In my case I have some talismans that I prepared by means of my own ideas and illuminations that I have had in my dreams. The cat plays a principal role in witchcraft and its glance has great power» — el talismán del gato en la voz del curandero, preparado según sus propias ideas e iluminaciones en sueños.
«When a cat dies . . . the eyes remain open. Then there is reflected all concerning the tragedy that has happened in the hour of its death. And it carries in its pupils the moment of» — lo que el curandero sostiene de los ojos del gato muerto: reflejan la tragedia de su hora y llevan en las pupilas el momento del rapto hacia la tumba.
«I use it on a block of crystal. This block of crystal is like a mirror, and the cat sees what moves in this mirror. For whatever [disturbance] it is there, looking. The eyes light up as if they were light bulbs. This is one of the talismans purposely prepared by us in accordance with the idea that one has, or the inspiration of a dream, or the intuition of each one» — cómo obra el talismán según el curandero: el gato ve lo que se mueve en el bloque de cristal y los ojos se encienden como bombillas.
«The whole concept of the mesa with its numerous power objects typifies the fusion of European-Christian and traditional Indian symbolism in contemporary curanderismo. All shamans have power objects, and many of those owned by Galvaez are characteristic of shamans in many cultures, as 1s the manner in which they are obtained. Saints, Christ, Satan, the Virgin, etc., of course are Christian, but their functions are very similar to those of negative and positive forces in aboriginal shamanism; duality, or the complementary nature of opposites, likewise is characteristic of many indigenous symbolic systems» — la lectura de Sharon sobre la mesa: fusión de simbolismo cristiano europeo e indígena, con funciones muy semejantes a las fuerzas positivas y negativas del chamanismo.
«To understand how the artifacts function it is important to remember that to the curandero they are not lifeless objects. Each is a focal point of a particular force» — la regla que Sharon enuncia para entender los objetos: para el curandero no son cosas sin vida, cada una es foco de una fuerza.
«Collectively, they are a projection of his own inner spiritual power, which becomes activated whenever the mesa is manipulated in conjunction with the drinking of the hallucinogenic San Pedro infusion» — qué son los objetos en conjunto según Sharon: proyección del poder espiritual interno del curandero, activado al manipular la mesa con el cacto.
«I took it in order “to track” (rastrear), to see what type it was. As a result these artifacts rebelled. Rare animals and monstrous beasts issued forth with hunger and desire to seize people. Then, when I placed the kit on my mesa, everything was distorted and turned black. The artifacts began bleeding. Several personages with huge fangs gushing blood came forth» — el episodio del estuche de hechicero antiguo en la voz del curandero: los objetos se rebelaron, todo se ennegreció y sangró.
«Therefore, I purposely prepared this talisman. I grabbed a cat and killed it and drank the blood three times. I sucked the blood from the neck of the animal three times and then I took out the eyes. After I took out the eyes I cut off its right paw, the right claw. And this I gathered together and placed in a receptacle with agua cananga (dark perfume) during one complete cycle of the moon» — la fabricación del talismán en la voz del curandero: la sangre bebida tres veces, los ojos y la garra derecha puestos en perfume por un ciclo lunar completo.
«After that I added agua florida (scented water, another perfume). And after the agua florida I added cane alcohol at the end in order to give this feline bravery and power to intoxicate with his glance. Those eyes I sewed together with green and red silk thread and tied them to a flint arrowhead that I found in an ancient archaeological tomb» — el resto de la receta en la voz del curandero: el alcohol de caña para dar al felino bravura y poder de embriagar con la mirada, y los ojos cosidos a una punta de flecha de tumba antigua.
«This talisman I carry with me and I use it at night when I want to countercheck the power of a cat, of a feline, of some exterior spirit attack of a sorcerer who wants to attack or» — para qué usa ese talismán el curandero, en su propia voz: contrarrestar de noche el ataque exterior de un hechicero. La frase se corta en el cambio de plana.
«I purified the kit with holy water and burned it because the day that I brought it home there had also begun a noise on my roof like the galloping of wild beasts. And they didn’t leave me alone until I made cabalistic thrusts with my swords to countercheck these influences» — cómo se deshizo el curandero del estuche antiguo, en su propia voz: agua bendita, fuego y estocadas cabalísticas con sus espadas.
«That is, this was used in witchcraft . . . in remote ancestral times by the Mochica or Chimu peoples . to destroy farms, crops, [human] organs» — a qué atribuye el curandero ese estuche: brujería de tiempos ancestrales mochica o chimú, para destruir sembradíos, cosechas y órganos.
«When accounted, the object absorbs the potentiality, let us say, the intellectual potentiality of the man who manipulates it and remains impregnated forever» — la doctrina del curandero sobre cómo un objeto guarda el mal por siglos: al ser acordado absorbe la potencialidad de quien lo manipula y queda impregnado para siempre.
«Once the curandero has set up his mesa he is ready to begin the curing session. There are two parts to this: (1) ceremonial acts, and (2) curing acts. The ceremonial part lasts generally from about 10 P.M. until midnight; diagnosis and/or treatment lasts from midnight until about 4 a.M.» — las dos partes de la sesión y sus horarios según Sharon: lo ceremonial hasta medianoche y la cura hasta las cuatro de la mañana.
«The entire session takes place in the open, usually in an area enclosed by a wall or fence, and can be performed any night of the week except Monday, the “day of the spirits,’ when dead souls from purgatory are supposed to be roaming about» — dónde y cuándo se hace la sesión según Sharon, con el lunes excluido por ser el día de los espíritus.
«The ceremonial part consists of prayers, invocations, and chants (accompanied by the rhythmic beat of the traditional shamanic rattle) addressed to all the supernaturals of the aboriginal and Roman Catholic faiths» — de qué consta la parte ceremonial según Sharon: rezos, invocaciones y cantos con sonaja dirigidos a todos los sobrenaturales de ambas religiones.
«Finally, at midnight, when the ceremonial acts have been completed, all present must drink one cup of the hallucinogenic cactus brew, after which they are ceremonially ‘“cleansed’’ by the curandero. The ritual drinking of San Pedro is initiated by the curandero, who takes the first cupful, and concluded by his two assistants, who are the last to drink» — el orden del beber ritual según Sharon: el curandero abre y sus dos ayudantes cierran.
«Thus, through elaborate ceremony, music, perfumes, brews, and symbolic contact, the curing session stimulates the five senses of the patient in a familiar cultural environment. In addition, during his turn before the mesa, everyone present gives attention to the patient and his problem in a supportive fashion. All this, added to the hallucinogenic nature of the San Pedro infusion, is intended to render the patient susceptible to therapy» — cómo explica Sharon el dispositivo entero de la sesión: estimula los cinco sentidos en un entorno cultural familiar y suma la atención del grupo al paciente.
«Because it 1s near certain motor nerves that transmit it to the brain. There it touches these olfactory papillae that go directly to the brain. Then its power is more rapid» — por qué se toma por la nariz según el curandero, en su propia explicación fisiológica.
«What emerges from many hours of taped conversation with Galvaez and participation in his curing sessions is that the hallucinogenic San Pedro cactus is experienced as the catalyst that enables the curandero to transcend the limitations placed on ordinary mortals: to activate all his senses; project his spirit or soul; ascend and descend into the supernatural realms; identify and do battle with the sources of illness, witchcraft, and misfortune; confront and vanquish ferocious animals and demons of disease and sorcerers who direct them; “jump over” barriers of time, space, and matter; divine the past, present, and future —in short, to attain vision» — lo que Sharon concluye de muchas horas de cinta y de sesiones: el cacto es el catalizador que permite al curandero trascender los límites del mortal común.
«And “seeing,” in the sense in which this word is used by the curandero, is very different from» — la distinción que Sharon subraya entre ver y mirar en boca del curandero.
«are first a slight dizziness that one hardly notices. And then a great vision, a Clearing of all the faculties of the individual. It produces a light numbness in the body and afterward a tranquility. And then comes a detachment, a type of visual force in the individual inclusive of all the senses: seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, etc.—all the senses, including the sixth sense, the telepathic sense of transmitting oneself across time and matter» — el efecto del cacto en la voz del curandero: mareo leve, gran visión, desapego y una fuerza visual que incluye el sexto sentido de transmitirse a través del tiempo y la materia.
«San Pedro has great power .. . as it is “accounted” with the saints» — cómo formula el curandero el poder del cacto: está acordado con los santos, los cerros, las huacas, las lagunas y los arroyos.
«Then San Pedro tends to manifest itself [in the patient] in the form of vomiting, perspiration , sometimes in dancing. At times during diagnosis a patient automatically starts to dance alone, or to throw himself writhing on the ground» — cómo se manifiesta el cacto en el paciente según el curandero: vómito, sudor, a veces danza involuntaria.
«It penetrates the blood . . . rises to, let us say, the intellectual nervous system. Then it “visualizes” and opens up a sixth sense» — la fisiología que el curandero le atribuye al cacto: penetra la sangre, sube al sistema nervioso intelectual y abre un sexto sentido.
«The subconscious is a superior part (of man) ...a kind of bag where the individual has stored all his memories, all his valuations. . . . One must try . to make the individual “jump out” of his conscious mind. That is the principal task of curanderismo. By means of the magical plants and the chants and the search for the roots of the problem, the subconscious of the individual is opened like a flower, and it releases these blockages. All by itself it tells things. A very practical manner . .. which was known to the ancients [of Peru]» — qué entiende el curandero por subconsciente y cuál dice que es la tarea principal del oficio: hacer saltar al individuo fuera de su mente consciente.
«Pure tobacco (sayri or huaman tabaco—the famous falcon, as the ancients called it) gives power to “visualize”... and very rapid sight, mind, and imagination. It is for this reason that in ancient times they used rapé made from ground tobacco to ‘‘clear” the mind» — para qué sirve el tabaco en la mezcla según el curandero: da poder de visualizar y rapidez de vista, mente e imaginación, como el rapé de los antiguos.
«I called certain saints, hills, ancient shrines; and I disappeared. There was an unfolding of my personality. .. . I was no longer at the mesa. . . . That is to say, my personality had departed to other places» — el desdoblamiento que el curandero describe en su propia voz: llamó a santos, cerros y huacas y dejó de estar en la mesa.
«He also told me that the curanderos of northern Peru had their own sacred lagoons, called Las Huaringas, where one traveled to bathe and to learn about all thé magical plants that grow there—“those for good and those for evil.” I asked him if he had ever personally visited these sacred lagoons. Physically, no, he said, but supernaturally, yes, through the agency of his jar of magical herbs» — lo que Sharon consigna sin corregirlo: su maestro no visitó físicamente las lagunas sagradas, sino sobrenaturalmente, por el frasco de hierbas.
«That this cultural syndrome is recognized as a separate and legitimate category which is shared with the patient and not simply as another psychological ailment, as it is often characterized by Western psychology, may give curanderismo great therapeutic value and may explain its persistence. Our knowledge of the extent to which culture influences psychological disturbances is weak, to say the least. Can we deny witchcraft the status of a separate, legitimate category in contemporary Latin American culture when great numbers of people accept it as such and act accordingly?» — la nota de Sharon sobre el estatuto de la brujería como categoría propia: pregunta si puede negársele legitimidad cuando mucha gente la acepta y obra en consecuencia.
«comes to look for what it is lacking. A light in the form of a firefly blinks on and off and comes looking for its “bone,” which the sorcerer has introduced into the patient’s stomach, killing him, consuming him. And until the patient throws up that element, the firefly is there, circling» — cómo describe el curandero el espíritu del brebaje del hechicero: una luciérnaga que busca su hueso dentro del paciente hasta que este lo vomita.
«In certain serious cases, the illness-causing forces are believed to be powerful enough to attack the patient during the actual curing session, in an effort to thwart the curandero’s therapeutic measures. This is extremely critical and requires vigorous emergency action» — el ataque en plena sesión que Sharon describe: las fuerzas causantes del mal se vuelven contra el paciente para frustrar la cura.
«The curandero seizes one of the swords of his mesa and charges into the open, beyond the mesa and the patients. Here he conducts a ferocious battle with the attacking forces (which only he can see in his San Pedro trance vision), violently thrusting and slicing the air with his blade. Then he performs seven somersaults in the form of a cross, while grasping the sword in both hands with the sharp edge held forward. This is intended to drive off the attacking spirits and shock the sorcerer who is directing them» — la respuesta de emergencia: el curandero sale con la espada, pelea con fuerzas que solo él ve y da siete volteretas en forma de cruz.
«In certain trances, on paths closed to most men, rare beasts have confronted me with harmful intentions. And the presence of the Lord and His powerful light have helped me out of these places unharmed. And I always get out unharmed because there are beings in the other “mansion” [realm] such as great curanderos. . . . [By] calling these spirits via the prayers that I know, they come and assist in any trance» — cómo dice el curandero salir ileso cuando lo atacan a él: la luz del Señor y los grandes curanderos de la otra mansión, llamados con sus oraciones.
«By means of San Pedro the curer awakens all of his senses, including a vital sixth sense, and by their interaction attains “vision’’--the true focus of the curing session and the supreme achieve» — la definición de la visión que Sharon da: despertados todos los sentidos y un sexto vital, su interacción da el foco verdadero de la sesión.
«During my field work in 1970, I was able to participate in only three curing sessions as more than an observer. Thus there was insufficient time for me to develop even the beginning of “‘vision,’’ as understood by Galvaez, or to make an adequate analysis of the process» — el límite que Sharon declara de su propia experiencia: tres sesiones no bastaron para desarrollar nada parecido a la visión.
«The problem was aggravated by the trappings of my anthropological subculture: tape recorder, notebook, and a felt need to collect ethnographic data on a phenomenon about which little had been written by trained observers» — el estorbo que Sharon reconoce en su propio oficio: grabadora, libreta y la necesidad de recoger datos etnográficos.
«However, this very paucity may prove useful, in that it illustrates the role of cultural factors in the “psychedelic” experience» — lo que Sharon le saca a esa pobreza de contenido: ilustra el papel de los factores culturales en la experiencia psicodélica.
«In the first session, the San Pedro infusion produced no observable effect whatever. I taped the ceremonial phase of the session until midnight. After drinking the infusion and taping the tarjo addressed to the first patient, I put the tape recorder away and began to participate in the curing phase. I did not notice any effects on myself, nor did I “see” any of the dogs, rats, or stars that the curandero and others present seemed to be perceiving together» — el resultado nulo de la primera sesión de Sharon, frente a lo que curandero y asistentes decían estar viendo juntos.
«Finally had some results with San Pedro. Felt warm and relaxed. At 3 A.M. began to see what Galvaez calls a remolino, a whirlpool of red and yellow light spinning inward before my eyes and lightly printed on everything I looked at» — lo que Sharon anotó al despertar tras la segunda sesión: el remolino de luz roja y amarilla girando hacia dentro.
«Still don’t see what everyone else sees, but did notice patients under ‘‘attack,’’ leaning crazily backwards as if pulled by some force. Noticed a white ghostlike outline around each patient as each took his turn before the mesa out in the darkness. Also the outline of one patient seemed to melt around the edges Galvaez said this patient was in a state of indecision!» — la negativa que Sharon no oculta de su segunda sesión, junto a lo que sí notó: el contorno blanco y fantasmal en torno a cada paciente.
«Actually saw one of the twelve staffs ‘‘vibrate’’ while the others remained stationary, On two occasions. Both times these were the staffs given to the particular patient taking his turn before the mesa» — el dato que Sharon consigna de la prueba de los bastones: vio vibrar dos veces el que se le había dado al paciente en turno.
«When we returned home and I finally got to bed (5 a.m.), as I began to doze off all kinds of designs in every color imaginable unfolded before my eyes» — lo que Sharon vio al dormirse: un caleidoscopio de patrones y diseños en todos los colores, con los ojos abiertos o cerrados.
«From this it would follow that the objective sensory impressions triggered by San Pedro might be fairly standard for all users no matter what their culture. Culture influences how these objective impressions are conceptualized or processed» — la tesis que Sharon deriva del remolino: las impresiones sensoriales serían bastante uniformes y la cultura decide cómo se conceptualizan.
«Everyone else, it seemed, was seeing a monster of some sort pulling his hair and trying to abduct him. From the participants’ comments during the session and their obvious state of panic, it appeared that all except myself were sharing this perception together and at the same moment» — lo que Sharon consigna del contraste: todos menos él compartían la misma percepción y en el mismo momento.
«Later I discovered that, as in my own case, this was only the second time these patients had used San Pedro. Yet they had experienced something together that had completely escaped me. Thus it cannot be that they were physiologically more susceptible than I to the effects of mescaline through longer use» — el control que Sharon aplica a su propia hipótesis: los pacientes tampoco tenían experiencia previa, así que no era costumbre fisiológica.
«Rather, it seems more likely that the degree of their susceptibility and their common vision were due to culture—that, unlike myself, they were culturally conditioned to certain experiential expectations under the influence of San Pedro, within the context of a curing session» — la explicación que Sharon prefiere: el condicionamiento cultural hacia ciertas expectativas de experiencia bajo el cacto.
«These expectations, reinforced by the long history of curanderismo in the north and the traditional shamanistic beliefs and practices in which it is rooted, would tend to determine the way in which neutral sense impressions produced by the action of San Pedro are processed—i.e., perceived—by northern Peruvians. I, on the other hand, would perceive these ‘“‘neutral” impressions according to my own cultural conditioning—1.e., as the sympathetic but “objective” observer» — cómo completa Sharon esa explicación, incluyéndose a sí mismo: él procesaría las mismas impresiones según su propio condicionamiento, el del observador objetivo.
«Galvaez—wise man!—said later that my second session had been more successful (in the sense that the effects of San Pedro had been stronger) because my conscious mind had been occupied with the mechanical processes of taping and so had been kept out of the way, allowing my _ subconscious to take over completely» — la explicación que el curandero le da a Sharon de su mejor sesión: la mente consciente ocupada en grabar dejó paso al subconsciente.
«The Peruvian patients, by contrast, backed by their cultural heritage, had simply relaxed, allowing San Pedro and the curandero to take hold of them completely» — el contraste con que Sharon cierra esa comparación: los pacientes peruanos simplemente se relajaron y se dejaron tomar.
«That perhaps is due to the geographic position or the cultural heritage of the raza. For example, the raza of Peru is rooted in the very origin of the universe, it is one with the universe and its beginnings. And all the characteristics of our ancestors—race, blood, religion, intellectuality, culture—these are to be taken into account in an ambiente such as curanderismo. Possibly in Europe also, in antiquity, there was this [art], but it is according to one’s geographic position» — la explicación del propio curandero sobre por qué los de otras culturas no ven lo que ven los suyos, con la conjetura de que también en la Europa antigua hubo este arte.
«And I also claim that exercise is primal in these operations. The more one practices the more one enters into the power. That is to say that all exercise is equal to the gain, to the appreciation of the ambiente in which one wants to introduce himself, in which one desires to live» — lo que el curandero da por primordial en estas operaciones: el ejercicio, porque cuanto más se practica más se entra en el poder.
«The fact that other observations of the San Pedro curing ritual conform in their major features to those reported by Sharon suggests a shared tradition, though with some idiosyncratic variations or innovations. Another anthropologist, Scott Robinson (personal communication), for example, had much the same experience with another San Pedro practitioner as did Sharon with Galvaez» — nota del editor dentro del capítulo de Sharon: Furst coteja el rito descrito con el que otro antropólogo, Scott Robinson, observó con otro curandero, y lo lee como tradición compartida con variaciones.
«Here the pre-European shamanistic tradition is again obvious. Such trance experiences as visits to sacred lakes or water holes which belong exclusively to the supernatural practitioners (see, for example, Wilbert’s account of the supernatural initiatory journey of the shaman of the Venezuelan Warao), entering the earth or hills, spirit projection, physical combat against disease demons and ferocious animals doing the bidding of sorcerers, foreign objects magically introduced into the body to cause illness, assistance from dead shamans and benevolent supernaturals, etc., all are typically shamanistic» — nota del editor dentro del capítulo de Sharon: Furst enumera los rasgos del rito que da por típicamente chamánicos, con remisión al capítulo de Wilbert sobre el warao.
«Somersaulting also is a not uncommon shamanistic phenomenon, utilized especially for purposes of transformation. In neighboring Bolivia, for example, shamans of the Tacana perform somersaults in one direction to turn themselves into jaguars (their alter egos) and in the opposite direction to reassume human form» — el resto de esa nota del editor: las volteretas como fenómeno chamánico de transformación, con el ejemplo tacana de volverse jaguar y volver a hombre. La nota cierra con la firma *Eb.*.
«Raza: literally race, but here meaning a people sharing a common cultural and genetic heritage. Ambiente is difficult to render into English; it is used to refer to a socio-cultural environment or milieu. Compadre, a ritual kinship term, literally “‘cofather,” defining a relationship usually established at the baptism of a child» — nota del editor al cierre del capítulo de Sharon: Furst glosa los tres términos españoles que quedan sin traducir, raza, ambiente y compadre; *cofather* sale de la unión del guion de fin de renglón, que el impreso trae como *co-father*.
«San Pedro has a special symbolism in curanderismo [folk healing] for a reason: San Pedro is always in tune with • . . the powers of animals, of strong personages or beings, of serious beings, of beings that have supernatural power.» — epígrafe del capítulo del San Pedro, con la sintonía del cacto y los poderes sobrenaturales dicha desde dentro del curanderismo.
«The shaman may take the drug himself or give it only to the patient, or both may take it. The aim of this shamanic curing ritual is to make the patient "bloom" during the night ceremony, to make his subconscious "open like a flower," even like the night-blooming Trichocereus itself.» — los autores describen el fin del rito con la metáfora que usan los propios curanderos: hacer florecer al enfermo.
«Above: The view of the mesa gives a clear impression of the syncretic cosmology of the modern healer. Gods and deities from different cultures lay next to snail shells, archaeological objects, and perfume bottles.» — pie de lámina, y el volumen llama sincrética a la cosmología del curandero por lo que hay sobre su mesa.
«Thus does the famous Mazatec shaman Maria Sabina reverently describe the god-given powers of the intoxicating mushrooms that she uses in her ceremony, which has come down from ages past.» — los autores nombran a María Sabina y sitúan su ceremonia en una cadena antigua.
«Northern Peruvian folk healers (curanderos) sometimes set up crosses of reeds when making the San Pedro drink (see Trichocereus pachanoi) so that the brew will not boil over. Otherwise, it will not bring good fortune» — y el uso ritual peruano: los curanderos ponen cruces de caña al preparar la bebida de San Pedro para que el cocimiento no se derrame, porque si lo hace no traerá fortuna.
«Northern Peruvian curanderos (folk healers) drink a decoction of the leaves to induce a clairvoyant trance» — el uso peruano que registra: los curanderos beben la decocción de las hojas para inducir un trance clarividente.
«The folk healers (curanderos) of northern Peru add the leaves and flowers to their San Pedro drinks (cf. Trichocereus pachanoi) so that they may “see» — el uso de los curanderos del norte del Perú: hojas y flores añadidas a la bebida de San Pedro para ver mejor, y tallos leñosos para las varas mágicas de la mesa; el tramo se corta antes de las comillas de la fuente.
«The folk healers (curanderos) of northern Peru use an Iochroma species known as contrahechizo (“anti-magic”) as an additive to the San Pedro drink (cf. Trichocereus pachanoi) and as a purgative remedy for treating diseases caused by harmful magic. The plant is said to induce vomiting and diarrhea, thereby cleansing the body of all poisons and negative influences» — el uso peruano que registra: los curanderos del norte echan una *Iochroma* llamada *contrahechizo* al San Pedro y la usan como purgante contra las enfermedades de magia dañina, porque el vómito y la diarrea limpiarían el cuerpo de venenos e influencias negativas.
«The curanderos believe that the plant is especially powerful in this area because it absorbs the water of the sacred lake» — la razón émica que los curanderos dan de la potencia de esa planta en Las Huaringas: absorbe el agua del lago sagrado.
«Folk healers of the San Pedro cult (see Trichocereus pachanoi) use its fleshy leaves in herbal amulets (known as seguros, “insurances”), especially for love magic» — el uso peruano que registra: los curanderos del culto de San Pedro usan las hojas carnosas de una *Mesembryanthemum* en amuletos de hierbas llamados *seguros*, sobre todo para magia amorosa.
«In pre-Hispanic times, the cactus played a ritual role in oracles, sexual magic, and shamanism (Andritsky 1989; Burger 1992; Dobkin de Rios 1982). Although the ritual use appears to date back to very ancient times, no precise pre-Columbian rituals have been documented» — el uso ritual prehispánico que Rätsch registra junto con su vacío: el cacto tuvo papel en oráculos, magia sexual y chamanismo, y aunque ese uso parece antiquísimo no se ha documentado ningún rito precolombino preciso.
«The mesa (Spanish, “table”) is an altar with numerous objects (sticks, shells, ceramics, images of saints, et cetera) whose structure dates back to pre-Hispanic times and represents a visionary map» — el artefacto ritual que describe: la *mesa* es un altar con muchos objetos, palos, conchas, cerámicas e imágenes de santos, cuya estructura viene de tiempos prehispánicos y representa un mapa visionario.
«The use of the San Pedro drink among Peruvian folk healers is no longer truly shamanic but has taken on a more symbolic form. At the mesa rituals, the dosage that is now usually taken is not large enough to elicit psychoactive effects» — la enmienda que Rätsch hace al presente peruano: el uso del San Pedro entre los curanderos ya no es propiamente chamánico sino más simbólico, y en los ritos de mesa la dosis que se toma no basta para producir efectos psicoactivos.
«Based on my observations of numerous mesa rituals in Lima and Huancabamba, the achuma drink does not have a hallucinogenic effect. Even in the curandero and his helpers (rastreadores), no signs of an altered state of consciousness could be noticed» — el testimonio de Andritzky que el libro cita: tras observar muchos ritos de mesa, la bebida de *achuma* no tiene efecto alucinógeno y ni en el curandero ni en sus ayudantes pudo notarse señal alguna de estado alterado de consciencia.
«According to their statements, the achuma strengthens the visionary/diagnostic sensitivity, animates the objects on the mesa, and allows the souls of the patients to “blossom.” But true hallucinogenic visions were not reported at any mesa» — y lo que ellos mismos declaran según ese testimonio: la *achuma* fortalece la sensibilidad visionaria y diagnóstica, anima los objetos de la mesa y hace florecer las almas de los pacientes, pero en ninguna mesa se informaron visiones alucinógenas verdaderas.
«According to the curandero teachings, there are different types of the San Pedro cactus that can be distinguished on the basis of the number of their longitudinal ribs. Four-ribbed cacti, like four-leaved clovers, are considered to be very rare and very lucky» — la voz de Douglas Sharon que el libro cita en recuadro: según la enseñanza de los curanderos los tipos de San Pedro se distinguen por el número de costillas, y los de cuatro, como los tréboles de cuatro hojas, se tienen por muy raros y de mucha suerte.
«They are attributed with special healing properties because they correspond to the ‘four winds’ and the ‘four roads,’ supernatural powers associated with the cardinal directions that are invoked during the healing rituals» — y la razón que ese mismo testimonio da: se les atribuyen propiedades curativas especiales porque corresponden a los cuatro vientos y los cuatro caminos, poderes sobrenaturales de los rumbos que se invocan en los ritos de curación.
«They use the herbage to prepare a bath additive (baño) that they use to wash patients suffering from allergic reactions. I was unable to learn of any psychoactive use there» — Rätsch en primera persona con una negativa de campo: en Las Huaringas, los curanderos usan la hierba en baños contra las alergias y él no pudo averiguar allí ningún uso psicoactivo.
«In northern Peruvian curanderismo, a variety of club mosses are used by folk healers as medicinal plants, amulets, and additives to the San Pedro drink» — el triple papel que los licopodios tienen en el curanderismo del norte peruano: planta medicinal, amuleto y aditivo de la bebida de San Pedro.
«When condorillo or cóndor misha is added to the San Pedro drink, the plant spirit appears to the curandero as a condor. At the behest of the healer, the condor can go on astral journeys and fulfill small tasks. As a result, he can remedy harmful magic and bring the lost soul back to a patient suffering from susto» — la mecánica ritual que registra: añadido el *condorillo* a la bebida, el espíritu de la planta se le aparece al curandero como cóndor, y a su mandato el cóndor hace viajes astrales, deshace la magia dañina y devuelve el alma perdida del enfermo de susto.
«The addition of this plant is said to give the drink “more power”; the spirit of the plant appears to the healer in the form of a bull» — otra correspondencia entre planta y espíritu que el curanderismo del norte peruano declara: el *toro-maique* da más poder a la bebida de San Pedro y su espíritu se le aparece al curandero como toro.
«In the curanderismo of the folk healers (curanderos), they are an important ingredient in a medicine for treating “evil winds” (aires), i.e., illnesses of a psychosomatic or psychological nature» — el lugar de la cabalonga en el curanderismo del norte peruano: ingrediente de la medicina contra los *aires*, males de orden psicosomático o psicológico.
«the sacred use of mushrooms was forced underground. It was not rediscovered until the 1950s, when the Mazatec shaman María Sabina initiated the Wassons into the nocturnal cult» — la historia de represión y redescubrimiento que traza: prohibido el uso religioso de plantas psicoactivas por la Iglesia y las Inquisiciones de México y del Perú, el uso sagrado de los hongos pasó a la clandestinidad hasta que en los años cincuenta la chamana mazateca María Sabina inició a los Wasson.
«ayahuasca church, which adopted ever more elements of Christianity, in an effort to avoid persecution under an 1890 federal law which illegalized practice of medicine withouta license, curanderismo, and “poisonous substances” (i.e. ayahuascaand other shamanic inebriants» — la razón que Ott da para la cristianización de la iglesia de la ayahuasca: evitar la persecución bajo una ley federal de 1890 que ilegalizaba el ejercicio de la medicina sin licencia, el curanderismo y las sustancias venenosas.
«Mestre Irineu became a famous curandero and around 1930 began to call ayahuasca “Daime” from invocations such as “Da-me amor, luz, forga” (“grant me love, light, pow» — y el nombre que la poción tomó: hacia 1930 Mestre Irineu empezó a llamar a la ayahuasca *Daime* por invocaciones del tipo dame amor, luz y fuerza.
«We have found no English word that renders curandero. Medicine man, shaman, witch doctor, sorcererall are misleading. The curandero heals with herbs and engages in divination. Curandero is the respectful designation of which brujo is the pejorative counterpart» — la nota donde el libro rechaza cuatro traducciones inglesas por engañosas y define el término que conserva: el curandero cura con hierbas y adivina, y es la designación respetuosa frente a su contrapartida peyorativa; el troceo parte *sorcerer-all* en el salto de renglón y la extracción por programa devuelve la forma fundida *sorcererall*
«a curandera de primera categoria, a cumndera of the first class, Maria Sabina by name» — cómo el libro nombra por primera vez a la curandera que da su centro al segundo viaje
«Marina never used the word curandero. He who knows how to use the mushrooms is a trabajador del cielo, a heavenly worker» — el término que la curandera nahua usaba en lugar del corriente: trabajador del cielo
«Curandero can best be translated into English as “healing priest,” for his function is that of a physician as well as that of a priest, both being found only rarely in these remote regions. In the Mazatec language the healing priest is called co-ta-ci-ne, which means “one who knows.”» — las dos traducciones que Hofmann propone para el oficio, y el término mazateco que recoge
«A day later we made our formal visit to the curandera Maria Sabina, a woman made famous by the Wassons’ publications.» — quién es María Sabina en el relato de Hofmann; la frase sigue diciendo que en su choza Wasson fue el primer blanco en probar los hongos sagrados, en una ceremonia nocturna del verano de 1955, y se corta aquí porque el límite de chunk parte la plana
«The old curandera had an intelligent face, exceptionally changeable in expression. She was obviously impressed when it was explained that we had managed to confine the spirit of the mushrooms in pills, and she at once declared herself ready to “serve us” with these, that is, to grant us a consultation.» — cómo presenta Hofmann a María Sabina y el término con que ella nombra lo que hace, servir, no curar
«In the heart of the Sierra Mazateca, a traditional healer or curandera by the name of Maria Sabina had agreed to guide Wasson on a healing journey, an initiation no outsider had ever attempted.» — Muraresku sitúa la iniciación de Wasson con la curandera María Sabina en la Sierra Mazateca