curandera

American  

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

noun

Spanish.

plural

curanderas

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.

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Example Sentences

Sesma, 65, is a Mexican and Yaqui curandera, or traditional healer.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 8, 2023

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

Tonita Gonzales, an internationally known curandera based in Albuquerque, called the promotion an “outrage and an appropriation” of Mexican American culture.

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

She told me that the dry contents of the bag contained a pinch of every plant she had ever gathered since she began her training as a curandera many years ago.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya