curandero

American  

[koo-rahn-de-raw, koor-uhn-dair-oh] / ˌku rɑnˈdɛ rɔ, ˌkʊər ənˈdɛər oʊ /

noun

Spanish.

plural

curanderos

1. a folk healer or medicine man who uses herbs or hallucinogenic plants, magic, and spiritualism to treat illness, induce visions, impart traditional wisdom, etc.

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Example Sentences

It wasn’t until her 40s that she was ready to begin her apprenticeship with a curandero in Tecate, Baja California, and understand how to heal a whole person.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 8, 2023

It tells the story of her grandfather Rafael Contreras Alfonso, or Nono, a Colombian curandero, or healer, who had magical gifts that he passed down to Rojas Contreras and her mother.

From Washington Post • Aug. 11, 2022

“I’m working on the movie La Llorona and am looking for a curandero to do limpias before my movie screenings,” publicist Nahir Wold wrote San Diego-based curandera Grace Sesma in an email.

From Washington Times • Apr. 19, 2019

“Or somebody who has very bad luck in love or business … they would go to a curandero who will take the ayahuasca, give the patient ritual baths and energy, and protect them.”

From The Guardian • Jun. 7, 2016

The contents of Abuelita’s bulto looked like it may have belonged to El Niño Fidencio, the famous curandero of olden times, and I watched in awe as she sorted the ingredients for Pita’s treatment.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall