Although his family did not think it a good
choice, he went to Lima to attend fine art
school. However, he realized that school was
not what he expected it to be. Eduardo left
school in the first year, and bought clay to
make his own figures. For inspiration he went
to the local museums, and he said the
museums became his school. During the day,
he would work as s brick layer’s assistant in
Lima and in the evening’s “study” art (Cowan,
Richard, 1979). Unfortunately he was unable
to make ends meet and decided to return to
his home in Las Delicias, Peru when he was
about 21 years old. He then chose to try
fishing, a skill he had started to pick up and
enjoy while in Lima. Eduardo did well as a
fisherman back home, but also continued his
art sculpting. He
was also asked to
help restore ruins
and worked on
that project for 6
years.
He
described a time
when he was very
sick from a love
hex, and Doña
Laura, the local
curandera, cured Eduardo Calderon, Eduardo the
him. It was at this Healer, 1 9 79 .
time he became
interested in healing, and his interest
continued to grow little by little (Cowan,
Richard, 1979). He began watching some
other healers and wanted to learn more. He
recalls the case of a sick friend who he
accompanied to visit a great sorcerer. During
the ceremony Eduardo got to be the assistant,
and he described how he drank misha for the
first time mixed with San Pedro and he began
to “see” (Cowan, Richard, 1979). The sorcerer
asked Eduardo to work for him but Eduardo
never went back. Eduardo did soon after
begin working with another older healer.
While this healer was working on Eduardo
one day, he was thrown in a pit then suddenly
he flew into the air. The old healer “cleaned”
By, Chava Sevigne
In western medicine, when a person
decides to become a nurse, physician’s
assistant, or doctor, they begin by studying
vigorously in school. Their education
continues in medical and nursing schools and
residency programs. However in cultures all
over the world, there are healers wh o follow
very different paths to the call of healing the
ill or injured. In South American countries,
healers known as curanderas relieve the
suffering of individual people as well as entire
communities. In Native American cultures
such as the Navajo, medicine men or women
are highly regarded for necessary cures and
rituals. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the
herbalist and acupuncturist provide remedies
for people in distress. This article follows the
path of becoming the healer in these
alternative forms of healing.
The movie “Eduardo the Healer”
features the Peruvian curandero Eduardo
Calderon. Eduardo’s path to becoming a
healer was anything but a straightforward one.
During the movie Eduardo talks about how as
a young man he wanted to be a sculptor.
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