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The Making of a Curandera Historian: Aurora Levins Morales Centro Journal, Vol Centro Journal ISSN: 1538-6279 [email protected] The City University of New York Estados Unidos Garcia, Elizabeth The making of a curandera historian: Aurora Levins Morales Centro Journal, vol. XVII, núm. 1, spring, 2005, pp. 184-201 The City University of New York New York, Estados Unidos Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=37717109 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative vins This Bridge Called Journal [ 185 ] historian: 7 spring 2005 ABSTRACT Volume xv1i Number 1 xv1i Number Volume CENTRO CENTRO . I explain her medicinal methodology and In her essay, “The Historian as Curandera,” Aurora as Curandera,” “The Historian her essay, In her own historical delineates Levins Morales for the compensate methodology in order to erasures of more traditional historical historical methodologies. She argues that the traumas of and people of color, oppression suffered by women, are further States the poor in United in by the invisibility of their experience perpetuated A narratives. historical narrative that is historical can heal the traumasinclusive of their experiences of this article, I trace oppression for the oppressed. In methodology medicinal historical Levins Morales’ throughout her literary beginning with her works, the seminal work, to contribution Back My analyze the ways in which she documents and the history in narrates Rican women of Puerto and essays.prose, poetry, [Keywords:Aurora Le history, women’s Rican history, Puerto Morales, diaspora] historiography, Rican literature, Puerto ARCIA G LIZABETH The making of a curandera Morales Levins Aurora E Garcia(v6).qxd 6/6/05 7:49 PM Page 184 3 Rican methodology orical She documents Puerto 1 grounded hist Her methodology heals not just the Her 2 [ 187 ] es a culturally (1983). In this paper I will explain her “medicinal history” (1983). In for my theoretical grounding in this analysis of her work. Guanina, whose life story resembles that of Pocahontas. She falls in love whose life storyGuanina, resembles that of Pocahontas. colmado cacica Evoking the tradition of Puerto Rican and Latina women’s roles as spiritual and Rican and Latina women’s the tradition of Puerto Evoking Creating a healing historyCreating question and requires that the curandera historian with a colonizer and dies beside him after her people kill him in battle. “The two and dies beside him after with a colonizer of Puerto are buried side by and the lilies of Spain entwine with wildflowers what wonders 1998b: 29). Levins Morales upon their graves”Rico (Levins Morales time of Guanina’s have context to happened given the historical was most likely asks the story was what would assume be if we that Guanina period. Levins Morales was and strategic. and her liaison with the colonizer intelligent not a naive woman “proposes another possible set of motives and reinterpretation Levins Morales’ medicinal healers, Levins Morales creat medicinal healers, Levins Morales In this manner I also apply the curandera historian’s methods, validating the knowledge this manner I also apply the curandera historian’s In of ideas, place the market “In states, As Levins Morales and felt. that is experienced chains that are replacing the tiny rural the supermarket are pushed toward we (Levinscolmado…” Morales 1998b: own 67). I therefore, shop in Levins Morales’ intellectual handbook The curandera handbook,” which lists fifteen provides what she calls a “curandera Levins Morales a medicinal history. produce must follow in order to the curandera historian steps areas, which appear repeatedly throughout five key into These can be condensed (a) giving agencyher work: (b) questioning and challenging and voice; definitions of perspectives; (d) local and global evidence; (c) showing multiple historical historical she is mostly with giving concerned and (e) crossing borders. First, contextualizing; This requires “telling agency those who have to been historically and voice silenced. 1998b: 26), particularly those of women. (Levins Morales stories” or undertold untold who at times have these women, been portrayed empower as goal here is to Her and asserts she illustrates Throughout her work the everydaymerely victims. ways themselves. empower Rican women in which Puerto sources evidence. She does this by using alternative challenge definitions of historical there Yet documentation, relying myths, and stories. written on oral histories, to are still those moments where very little evidence, whether traditional or alternative, these cases, the curandera is available on the history In Rican women. of Puerto of and gaps visible in her narrative, instead these absences must make historian Levins Morales One technique simply of these women. excluding the experiences suggests is using “what if” example, she discusses the story of the questions. For Taína women’s experiences, accounting for their cultural hybridity and multiplicity of accounting experiences, women’s class, along race, and gender lines. experiences traumas exclusion, and marginalization but also the burdens of disconnection of silence, documenting the and division by illustrating Rican identity, the fluidity of Puerto Rican from of being Puerto experience various racial, class, and gender multifaceted of the oppressed and in particular with histories concerns perspectives. Levins Morales’ from to Rican women that of Puerto both the island and mainland can be traced the groundbreaking anthology to her earliest writings, beginning with contributions Back This Bridge Called My throughout her literary the making of this curandera historian methods and trace works. literary (1990) approach to criticism, Diana Rebolledo’s Tey my analysis I employ In from themselves. the texts are taken critique the work where the theories used to to heal the wounds of historical oppression and silence. of historical heal the wounds to . curandera Levins Morales Levins (1998b), she explains that [ 186 ] Medicine Stories: History, Culture, and the Politics of Integrity of Integrity and the Politics Culture, History, Stories: Medicine Aurora The experiences of Puerto Ricans in the United States, although researched States, Ricans in the United of Puerto The experiences began graduate school and therapy within two weeks of each other. In her collection of In of each other. weeks school and therapy within two began graduate essays, while she was digging for her dissertation Rican women of Puerto through the histories she simultaneously of abuse and work, dug through her own personal experiences personal abuse at the between find commonalities This led her to subsequent trauma. hands of individual victimizers and the collective abuse of oppression at the hands a unique brand of historical As a result she creates a racist, sexist, and classist society. methodology that serves oppression and document and heal the traumas of historical to Rican historians, Through this methodology she (re)defines the role of Puerto silence. history silenced not only document the consistently Ricans in of Puerto to in particular, narratives that are healing. create but also to States, the United be absent from to most larger Rican scholars, continue by Puerto and documented argues that this continued narratives of the nation. Levins Morales historical Rican historysilencing of Puerto the oppression of Puerto further perpetuates the particular Rican invisibility of Puerto As a response to Ricans in this country. way of doing history an alternative she creates that gives voice experiences, women’s and heals what she claims are the of these women experience the historical to on trauma (1997) work Herman’s Judith traumasconsequent of such silencing. Using of both personal and collective abuse she argues that the perpetrators and recovery, of sexual abuse the same manner that perpetrators have In similar characteristics. them with further should they report violence their victims, threatening disempower of collective abuse, similarly institutions, as perpetrators their abuse, U.S. of those they experiences their subjects by silencing the historical disempower marginalize. One clear example appears throughout the various history textbooks, of the historywhich ignore or minimize the significance and of people color Loewen (1995) has analyzed history and has James textbooks his study, In women. about national history through these texts how the narratives told demonstrated and people of color. of women repeatedly exclude and marginalize the experiences as a healer therefore, (re)defines the role of historian Levins Morales, or Garcia(v6).qxd 6/6/05 7:49 PM Page 186 (Levins Morales 1998b: 37) Morales (Levins were also intended to heal the damage to also intended were [ 189 ] This collection arose from of color a need felt by women 4 . This Bridge Called My Back This Bridge Called My The writings in The role of the curandera historian is not just to heal others but also to heal heal others but also to is not just to The role of the curandera historian done by sexist, racist, homophobic, and classist oppressions. The contributors, The contributors, done by sexist, racist, homophobic, and classist oppressions. women’s dominated Anglo-American and the women in address white particular, to give voice to their experiences as historical and multiply as their experiences historical
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