Koo-run-DARE-uh. You gotta make sure and trill the "R" sound for the appropriate effect. One of my favorite words for healer. It's a Spanish name, still in use today in Latin America and describing local native healers, all of whom incorporate herbal medicine in their art.

I've been fortunate enough to meet a curendera by the name of Francisco from near the Mexico-US border in Arizona. He spoke to us (I was with a group of student herbalists) via a translator and healer in her own right, Mimi Kamp of Bisbee, AZ. A truly amazing journey, where we learned of his craft as we walked through the desert.

I recently read a story on the origin of the word. In Costa Rica there is a volcano called Rincon de la Vieja, or Old Woman's Place. Many many moons ago the area was ruled by a chief named Curubande. The chief had a daughter, Princess Curubanda (think Victor and Victoria,) who was madly in love with a prince from an enemy tribe.

Failing to keep their affair secret, the chief captured the prince, whisked him off to the top of the volcano and tossed him over the side. Insane with grief (and slightly budding of child), the princess abandoned her former life and went to live near the last spot her dead lover walked the earth. When the baby was born she sacrificed the child to the volcano, wanting the child to be with it's dead father.

Nuts as she was, she became a great healer, using the healing mud and ash from the volcano and the plants that grew around the mountain to heal the sick. People from all around the land would come to consult with the princess, who simply became known as "the curendera."