La Limpia

Traditional indigenous medicinal practices have always fascinated me. How did people figure out that X plant lowers blood pressure or that if you wrapped X leaf around a wound that it would heal it? It must have been a doozy of trial and error mishaps and successes that brought them to where they are today. Down in Mexico, I was privileged enough to experience some of that traditional Mexican medicine on my own ~ and NO, it wasn't just in the form of tequila! Sheesh, in Oaxaca, they drink Mezcal, which is good for clearing the lungs, helping you sleep, making you feel more handsome/pretty and in general, the perfect tonic for what ails you.

As I wandered the roads of Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico, it was clear to me that traditional medicine continues to play a huge part in Mexican culture. Up in the Sierra Juarez mountains of Oaxaca lies beautiful "pueblo magico" ~ Spanish for magical town. Pueblos Magicos were created by the secretary of tourism of Mexico to promote tourism to other magical and special destinations within Mexico outside of the usual tourist hot spots.

A "Magical Village" is a place with symbolism, legends, history, important events, day-to-day life – in other words, "magic" in its social and cultural manifestations, with great opportunities for tourism.[1]

Pueblo Magico, Capulapam, Oaxaca

Anyhoo, I was introduced to the Pueblo Magico of Capulapam, Oaxaca. Capulapam is a beautiful town with brightly colored homes, clay roofs, the usual cathedral in the middle of town where everything seems to happen. A grassy courtyard meant for social gatherings, band concerts, funerals, and everything in between lies next to the church with the ever present Sierra Juarez mountains serving as a majestic back drop. It's a great, super relaxed, family oriented town. There are no 7-11's here. . . no where to really go grab a quick bite to eat ~ a.k.a fast food. Nope...if you want that, you'll have to belly up to a local restaurant and eat what's on their menu ~ which is always good because after all, this is Oaxaca, and it's the gastronomy capitol of Mexico. I'm rambling . . . but I wanted to be sure to paint the picture of this magical town because behind the rod iron doors, colorful adobe houses and down the cobblestone roads lies more magic . . . 

 While walking down the narrow, windy, cobblestone roads, I was invited into the traditional medicine clinic, which by the way sat strategically across the street from the western medicine clinic. Traditional medicinal practices have been integral to the indigenous people of Mexico for hundreds and hundreds of years and is obvious that it is still relevant and valued in their lives today. The Doctor came in and gave us the low down on the clinic ~ what they treat, how they treat it, who they treat etc. Turns out that at the clinic, you can treat PTSD, digestive issues, depression, achey joints and a million other issues. The doctor will see you and with the aid of his assistants who are elderly women in the community who have been handed down traditional medicine practices from their ancestors, decide which treatment will be best for you. Ancestral knowledge is valued here in Mexico ~ the elders have the history necessary to keep the young ones alive and well. . . unlike in the U.S. where we house our elders in nursing homes and senior centers, far away from the rest of the world. Gads~ there's something so wrong with that. . . oops, personal interjection there . . . but it's true and it stinks.

One of the treatments done at this clinic was something called a "Limpia" ~ or a cleansing. I was offered up " una limpia" by the tiniest little lady I'd seen that day. I sat in the middle of the room, filled with an alter complete with Jesus, candles, a cross and flowers. Normally, the limpia is done standing up but because I was so much taller than her, I had to sit on a folding chair. She began by brushing off the bad vibes with a leaved branch of sorts, I thought she was going to hit me so I flinched a bit but once I realized that she was just skuffing off bad energy, I was able to get in the rhythm of things, close my eyes and wait for the magic to happen. I'm not going to go into every step of the limpia because you can see for yourself in the video exactly how it went down. Step by step, I stood there embracing her healing actions and  her cleansing of my vibes and after the egg rubbing, yes there was an egg rubbing, I was eager to find out what she would discover after reading the egg yoke. But before I get to my egg diagnosis, it's important to explain what you'll be seeing in the video when it looks like she is spitting on me. It doesn't only LOOK like she's spitting on me, she is ACTUALLY spitting on me. Not spit, per se, but she took a swig of Mezcal ~ good for whatever ails you ~  and spit it on my throat, the back of my neck, then proceeded to lift up my shirt and spit it on my belly and on my back. I was brushed again with the tree branch and then while  holding a bouquet of herbs, was told to put the herbs on the ground and stomp on them . I'm assuming that killed any of the bad vibes that may have been lingering on them after having brushed them off of me. . . I don't really know but with a bit of force, I stomped on that bouquet ridding them of bad hoo doo voo doo.

It was time for the egg diagnosis of my "limpia" Truth be told, I was a bit nervous to find out what I had wrong with me. A bomb shell of " You're pregnant" or " You've been cursed" would have been a hard blow given that this limpia was in front of about 5 people and I'm not sure I would have been able to contain myself. She cracked the egg in the water, studied it, and told me this:

" You don't have an evil eye on you. You've got some stomach issues and you carry some worry with you but over all, you're good, no need to worry." This was my translation of her
Spanish words. She was pretty spot on regarding the stomach issues. . .I'd shoved myself full of tortillas for the last 3 days and I literally had no more room in the Inn for anything else. . .if you catch my drift, and to top it all off, I was anticipating menstruation which made everything so much better ~ insert sarcastic tone~. My matters of worry were validated but with the cleansing, those worries and tummy troubles were now to be a distant memory. With a sigh of relief,  I thanked the Senora for her "limpia" and went about the rest of my day feeling oddly refreshed and renewed. . . by the way,and this may be too much information but it IS relevant to the story,  the next day, I got my period and felt a million times better, which I consider to be a direct result of the limpia. 

I got to thinking about medicine in our country and our approach to illness, prevention, and overall treatment of patients. We're not about the person, well not if you go to a Western Medicine doctor ~ no, we're about medical billing and pushing medications. Here in Mexico, in the traditional medicine clinics, it's all about the person as well as preserving tradition. It's all about treating the whole person with remedies that have come from the earth. Remedies that have been trusted for centuries to preserve the wellness of  the communities from plagues, depression, viruses etc. It's damn cool is what it is. In the event that the traditional remedy doesn't work , they are a stones throw away from antibiotics and other western medicinal practices if they see fit. 

As I walked down the streets of Mexico and was offered everything from asparagus spears - promised to lower my cholesterol ~ jelly candies guaranteed to stop a cough I may have had ~ I never once questioned the authenticity of their claims, after all, this is what they've been using for ions and ions and from the large numbers of strong and hardy elderly folks still beating the pavement in their every day efforts to walk the earth, I firmly believe that whatever they are doing must be working. My take away from this experience is that culture and tradition must be kept alive. In keeping the culture and traditions alive, the people flourish. They become richer and more cohesive. They create an identity for themselves that is impenetrable. As an outsider looking in, I realized that we have a lot to learn from our Mexican neighbors. They have a history much greater than ours, they know what they are doing .If you find yourself in Capulapam or another Mexican town, I encourage you to open your minds as well as your hearts and allow yourself to  be able to be a part of a living history that flourishes beneath the shadows of the Sierra Juarez mountains. It's not a coincidence that Capulapam is a magical town . . . it really truly is. 

Viva la Vida.