Eduardo The Healer

Eduardo the Healer was produced in 1979. It was sponsored by The Drug Abuse Council of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Eduardo is extremely well read and is educated as a healer in his small coastal Peruvian community near the city of Trujillo. The documentary is very interesting. It shows Eduardo diagnosing patients via a guinea pig. Guinea pigs are very plentiful in this region and are used frequently. Aside from interesting diagnostic practices, Eduardo is seen with his family, at the market buying materials for ritual healings, and treating patients in a unique ritual that is both supernatural and inspiring.

calderon-08aa.jpgEduardo uses the San Pedro cactus which has hallucinogenic properties. Both the patient and Eduardo ingest the cactus during the ritual healing. The film can appear quite dramatic to those unfamiliar with the understanding that illness and disease are culturally defined concepts. With that understanding, Eduardo the Healer is one of the most powerful documentaries from the field of Medical Anthropology to date.

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Eduardo the Healer can be purchased from Media Sales of Penn State University.

 

 

 

 

 
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