Borderlands Curanderos

Would you describe Seman’s work as a micro-history? Why or why not?

I would describe Semans work as a micro-history because while reading we read about Don Pedrito who lived along the border. Seman gets into detail of how Don went through his practices in his life. There is a focus on a specific individual and the impact on a community. It gives us a better understanding of the themes of the culture and religion with the healing practices and the borderlands. This can be micro-history because it provides a deep examination of a specific person and the roles in historical context.

What specific insights about faith, healing, culture, and society in the borderlands do the life stories of Santa Teresa and Don Pedrito provide to us as we look back on their lives from our moment in time?

The life story of Teresa and Pedrito in Borderlands Curandero shows us a valuable perspective of faith, healing, culture and society. These two healers practiced their crafts with in the borderlands. This was happening between the United States and Mexico during the 19th and 20th centuries. The insight that we look into is the complexity between the spiritual, traditional healing, cultural identity, and social norms. The life story of Teresa and Pedrito show us faith and the healing in the borderlands. Both of them were often very religious and used their healing abilities as if it was a gift from god or the spiritual leaders. The combination of prayer and rituals helped the focus of their healing. The difference of the spiritual traditions that reflect the diverse the cultual borderlands. People with different backgrounds and beliefs can often blend both together to come together. Teresa and Pedrito reveal the complexity of the relationship between culture and the society within the borderlands. Both Teresa and Pedrito faced many challenges and barriers.

To what extent do their stories provide windows into larger issues in the borderlands during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century?

The stories provide different perspectives on the borderlands during this time. While reading about the traditional healers we are provided with larger issues that were prevalent. These issues include changes with the landscape of the borderlands. As the United States expanded the borders the indigenous communities started to displace the traditional ways of their lives was being threatened. We read about the struggle and challenges that are faced by the communities, the experiences of the curanderos are the healers and spiritual leaders for the communities.

In what ways are their stories not illustrative of the larger trends and issues of their day?

Semans focus on the experiences of curanderos. The United States and Mexico borderlands may not reflect the experiences of healers and the other regions. There is a distinctive focus on their individual experiences as well as their personal struggles. There are some critics that could argue that many of these stories are not accurately represented with these larger trends and the issues of their days.