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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 2 



in California. This was the usual reaction of 

 other curers who, although less suspicious and 

 more good-natured, simply refused to go 

 further, advising McCorkle to go to a Mexican 

 doctor. 



When McCorkle insisted doctors had done 

 him no good and that he had a persistent pain 

 in the stomach, the curer suggested it was 

 indigestion and would go away, asking Agustin 

 privately if McCorkle was not making fun of 

 them. Agustin replied that the curer knew 

 how to tell fortunes so why did she not discover 

 for herself whether McCorkle was sincere. 

 The customary fee of 25 centavos was now 

 offered and the curer and her husband at this 

 point evidently decided that McCorkle could 

 be exploited. 



The symptoms recounted to the curer were 

 a sudden pain in the stomach, sometimes after 

 meals, sometimes before breakfast or at other 

 odd times, and poor sleep. The curer asked 

 how long the patient had been in Mexico and 

 where he had slept the first night in Mexico. 

 The curer now unwrapped a deck of cards from 

 a dirty cloth. She shuffled the cards, picked 

 out one, and declared the disease was maloficbia, 

 an affliction not reported by any other source. 

 Someone had given the patient something to 

 drink so he would have a stomach ache all the 

 time. 



The remedy suggested was to take a purge 

 to be bought at the drug store. When asked 

 to recommend a purge, the curer and her hus- 

 band decided they could capitalize on the 

 situation and said they could get a very superior 

 purge at an old drug store in Purepero for 

 $5.00. When this price was demurred at, the 

 curer finally decided that if the patient was not 

 difficult to purge, $2.50 would secure enough of 

 the purge. The first day after taking the 

 purge, the patient was to stay in bed, as he 

 would sweat ; the second day he could get out of 

 bed but should not do heavy work and should 

 eat only toasted white bread ^and milk. The 

 third day the patient should stay home and on 

 the fourth day come back to the curer and be 

 massaged. During this time the patient could 

 smoke but not drink liquor. A case was cited 

 of a man who violated this prohibition and died 

 shortly afterward. 



On McCorkle's return to get the purge, an 

 effort was made to raise the price. When this 

 had been successfully countered, McCorkle 

 asked if the curer could find out who caused the 

 pains. This was said to be difficult because 

 McCorkle had stopped in a hotel instead of with 

 friends on his first night in Mexico. Finally, 

 after consultation of the cards, it was stated 

 that a tall woman with blue eyes had caused the 

 illness "just for fun." This was a person v/hom 

 McCorkle had "liked very much" in the hotel. 

 At this point they asked Agu.stin in an aside if 

 McCorkle was "church married" to his wife. 



The purge proved to be a packet of herbs 

 and a bottle of oil. New directions were now 

 given for the treatment. Half the tea was to 

 be boiled, sugar added, and the mixture allowed 

 to become lukewarm. The oil, about an ounce 

 and a half, was all to be taken, then the tea. 

 The patient would purge about five times. He 

 should not eat meat, chile, or beans, but could 

 eat cheese, milk, and toasted white bread. The 

 medicine should be taken in the morning and 

 the patient should stay in bed 3 days and not 

 drink water. The patient should not bathe for 

 6 days. The instructions were somewhat con- 

 fused because the curer and her husband some- 

 times simultaneously produced variant instruc- 

 tions, for example, one stating that the patient 

 should return in 4 days, v/hile the other said 6. 



A few notes were secured by Rendon in other 

 towns. In San Juan Parangaricutiro the fat of 

 animals mixed with ground river crawfish is 

 rubbed on the body to cause a sweat in cases 

 of pneumonia. Headaches are treated with 

 "patches" covered with melted copal, kurik^unda, 

 placed on the temples. 



In nearby Paricutin the leaves of the flori- 

 pondio (Datura sp.?) are placed on the body 

 to cure pains. 



In Capacuaro attacks of "air" may be either 

 hot or cold. If cold, the urine of the patient 

 is mixed with aguardiente and rubbed on the 

 joints. When the "air" is hot, the joints are 

 rubbed with ashes. Pains are cured by rub- 

 bing the joints with edible oil. Another treat- 

 ment used in a variety of illnesses is to "take 

 out," sacudir. The patient's arms are placed 

 behind his neck and two persons pull on them 

 "until the veins thunder." This is done when 

 the person feels pain over the entire body. The 



