During my recent stay in a part of the Amazonian rainforest, my friend and I met a Peruvian anthropologist who was on her way to a tribal community. She works for both, their integration into western society and their right to keep a tribal life. It is a balance that we have little idea of and talking to her was most inspiring. I cannot even begin to understand the difficulties she has to deal with regarding bringing awareness to the community, to preserve their unique way of life and still prepare them for a modern life.
Her stories left me deeply impressed, especially when she explained how much they rely on help from the western world, as “their” government has not the slightest interest to help in any way. All they show, is interest in the value of the land for more palm oil, soya, or other such exploits.
This interaction allowed me to consider consuming palm oil or soya products more carefully, or any products that require these as base ingredients, like our meat production for example. I am not vegetarian, but I eat as little meat as possible.
One of her observations was interesting; she said that whenever there are international tribal gatherings, meetings with united nations or other important discussions involving other countries, it is always the male curanderos that go in to represent their tribe, wearing their most expressive outfits. Curanderos are the healers of these communities, there are hardly any women to be found taking up such positions and even if they exist, they make no effort to be seen. Still, if someone wants healing, people know where the nearest female curanderos are found.
Why is it that women seem to avoid the spotlight, avoid the stage, avoid to be seen? I am by no means comparing myself to the tribal curanderos, but even I needed about 60 years to show myself as a healer. Even I cannot answer my questions in a satisfying manner.
Ada, the Peruvian anthropologist is herself a curandera, a beautiful and strong woman, a real role model for me. I am always happy and grateful to meet such women. They seem to come up, just to confirm to me that it is worth to walk this path, to let me know that I am not alone and that what I do matters.
Later, toward the end of my stay in the Andean mountains I was invited to take a herbal bath, it came in the form of a huge pot of water with about 15 different herbs from the region, one of the most important being rosemary. I needed to pour the hot water with the herbs over my head, so that it could wash over my whole body. As the temperature outside was cold, the contrast provided by the hot bath was very welcome. When I was done with pouring the water over me, the curandera, Rosa, wrapped me up in warm sheets and a thick cover. She then started whispering to me, starting from the top of my head, leading down to my feet. I realized afterwards that I had fallen into a state in-between sleep and full consciousness after her first whisper. I was gone for around 90 minutes.
I have experienced female healing energy very early on in my life; my great-grandmother was a healer and people from all over came to her for her ability. I have had and still have teachers with healing energy, I even travelled to the Tuvinian shamans to experience their ways of healing. In Tuva the women are fierce and strong, heralding a lot of masculine energy. All of them beautiful in their own right.
Rosa was introduced to me as a mother; she takes care for her family and tends to the wonderful plants in her garden. When I experienced her energy together with her plants, it was the most intense feminine energy that I ever felt. She perfectly meets the description of Ada, the perceived invisible healer, until her prowess is called upon.
Peru is always full of surprises, even if there are many places that I want to re-visit, there are equally as many new pathways or new altars to discover. The discovery of this intense feminine energy, a deep sacred feminine healing potential, gave me a very new perspective and dimension to discover within myself.
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