curandera

American  

[koo-rahn-de-rah, koor-uhn-dair-uh] / ˌku rɑnˈdɛ rɑ, ˌkʊər ənˈdɛər ə /

noun

Spanish.

curanderas plural

1. a female folk healer or medicine woman who uses herbs or psychoactive plants, magic, and spiritualism to treat illness, induce visions, impart traditional wisdom, etc.; a female shaman.

---

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• curanderas
  plural

Example Sentences

Use the form below to tell us about a time that a curandera or a traditional healer from another cultural tradition has helped you.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2022

Gallo also said his grandmother, who was Yaqui indian, was a curandera — a neighborhood healer — who treated family members with native plants growing in her backyard.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2019

“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

When Bri Luna started her website, the Hoodwitch, she intended to carry on the legacy of her grandmother, who was a curandera: a traditional spiritual healer from Mexico.

From New York Times • Sep. 16, 2015

“I am cured. A curandera took care of me. She discovered I had been hexed.”

From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez