Adventures in Health: Consulting with a Cuban Santeria Priestess

A goal of a recent trip to Cuba was to learn about local traditional medicine. I assumed that this was especially important given the decades of trade embargoes and its impact on the incorporation of Western Medicine into health management systems. So just as I had done in my earlier research on traditional medicine translations in the Amazon Rainforest I was keen to learn about local botanicals, and how they are used for health management.

So whom do I turn to start this new educational process? Well why not a Santeria Priestess, and in the case it was Gisela Toledano Martinez. For those unfamiliar with Santeria it is a religion that has its origins in the Yolunda religion of West Africa, who brought these traditions when enslaved and transported to the Caribbean. Over time it has merged with Catholicism & local Caribbean faiths, with the term Santeria reflecting “worship of saints”. So the Santeria health practice has a clear spiritual & faith-based tone to it, but the resources are still local botanicals.

Before I describe some recommendations from Santera Martinez let me provide some background and caveats. Firstly, my Spanish language skills are minimal with no formal training; rather acquisition is largely via travel. Additionally, while a local was translating for me, the dialogue was rapid, almost at a frenetic pace and the form was less conversational and more lecturing. So I announce unabashedly that there may be errors in interpretation and transcribing the technical details. If there are, please accept my apologies.

Step into my Consulting Office

Now let me describe the office where this encounter took place. Well I thought I may be taken to some sort of store/consulting room, but it was actually a stoop on the sidewalk. Actually during my discussions with Santera Martinez’s there were numerous people who walked by and purchased several botanicals for their specific needs. These customers were very polite with my domination of the Priestess’ time, and after a short consult got what they needed. Some of them simply wanted cigars. Now some may consider that tobacco does not fall into the top categories of health maintenance, and I agree, but let’s shelve that thought for the time being after all it is a botanical that has clear impacts on body functions.

So Santera Martinez sits on her stoop as customers walk down the street. There are a few small bottles of extracts and oils next to her, as well as an assortment of cigars and sponges. These are the quick every day sale items. In a short corridor behind her lies a chest of botanicals and an assortment of herbs that the husband is sorting, organizing & bundling. Also out front are several roots & branches that are in boxes on the sidewalk. I assumed that these are important or top sellers given their upfront positioning.

So I ask Santera Martinez what is the name of the primary plant boxed on the sidewalk, and what is it used for. I was informed that it is Palo Caja and it is good for diabetes. She said that diabetes is a significant problem and that may account for its prominent position on the sidewalk. Indeed later I find in the validation of this account in Spanish language documentation, as well as its Cuban origins.

Following the approach I used in my many thousands of conversations in the Amazon Rainforest with their herbal markets I had some ideas about preparation. Usually, when presented with the straight botanical it is going to be used to make a decoction or a tea. So the “actives” (this is my pharmacology medical language here) are extracted by hot water. On the other hand if the “actives” are more lipid or fat soluble then hot water is not the ideal solvent, and alcohol is used. In this case the provider usually does the extraction, and small bottles of the alcohol extracts are the commercial form. One could consider this value added sales but it does also control quality and dosages.

So seeing the box of palo caja sticks I already assumed that it was to be used as a decoction and the tea is the consumable. These dried botanical looked like some sticks that my dog would happily fetch and crunch on. That is part of the skill set is knowing what plants to use, what part to use (root leaf, branch etc.) and how. Santera Martinez confirmed my assumptions and the sticks of palo caja are indeed used to make a tea. Then I asked where does she gets these and the other botanicals and I get a terse reply of in the countryside as if I was about to plunder her supplies. When I tried to ask about dosing issues the conversation started to dry up.

Things are going downhill now. While initially appreciative of the interaction, the Priestess is now becoming short in the answers and then said she has already said too much. This was not a censorship comment i.e., governmental restrictions. What I had lost track that the stoop was her office, and for health consultations there is a fee. I was confusing the store and the office, even though they were one and the same.

Negotiations can be Tricky

My reply and next approach was erroneous. Silly me. I adopted the completely wrong strategy. I tried to approach it as a peer-to-peer conversation and cited my work in the Amazon Rainforest and said we were just interesting in exchanging information. That is when I got the “hairy eyeball”. One simply does not ignore the hairy eyeball, especially when it is delivered to you from a Santeria Priestess! If you do not correct one’s behavior chances are you may leave with a curse upon oneself.

Clearly as I was on her home turf there was absolutely no way that Santera Martinez considered me a peer. Indeed, she thought I should be paying her for a consultation like everyone else. In actuality she was correct. This is her practice and her livelihood. So the conversation stopped until we negotiated the price for continuing our chat. I respect that so now it comes down to agreeing on a price. Her first offer was a tad expensive and so I tried to counter. This is when I ran into complications with my wife who was accompanying me. She was in the midst of a fiscal exchange with the husband for coconut oil bars and cigars. Neither of us smoke, but we have friends that do and wanted us to bring back cigars for them, of course. These commercial exchanges were interfering with my clumsy attempts to establish a rapport and a fiscally acceptable consultation.

Nevertheless, money was exchanged, and after some tension we acknowledged that if they kept the change, about the equivalent of $10, then we could continue with the consultation. And then the information flowed like a river, but it was at a superficial level - name of plant and what it was used for – and not a more detailed exchange.

Options for Health Management

Here are some of the medicinal plants that were offered by Santera Martinez

·     Caisimon of anise (star anise) for lymphatic, swelling and inflammation

·     American mint for stomach upset

·     Cundiamor for intestinal parasites (drink to tea twice a day & do not add sugar)

·     Mangle Rojo for ulcers and boils

·     Romererillo for sore throats and colds

·     Hoja de Leveyaba for upset stomach and diarrhea

·     Guacamaya francesa for skin infections

·     Albaca for stress

·     Plantanillo de Cuba for kidneys

Not to mention that in every culture where I have had these exchanges there are ALWAYS products for male libido and erectile dysfunction. Cuba and Santeria was no exception.

·     Garanon

·     Alamo – la Herbs de shango which as I understood it were a variety of herbs from the saints that make you a hot lover. Santera Martinez was smirking at me during this part of the conversation but I desperately clung to the sides of previous plant discussions because I was getting rather nervous with her giddy, detailed descriptions of their benefits.

At this stage I have no way to gauge if these recommendations and traditional plants actually work and help the conditions for which they are recommended. That would require more work, conversations and experiments. Suffice to say however Santera Martinez had a steady clientele engaging with her. Also it is important to note that there are similarities here with other cultures in that the symptoms and problems that are being addressed are all have clear presentations. In my experience you virtually never find traditional medicines recommended for silent disorders like atherosclerosis or cardiovascular disease. They tend to focus on gastrointestinal problems, parasites and infections with very obvious outcomes. In contrast to these acute problems, the chronic disorders are rarely approached. I think that is because there is a lack of ways to assess both the problem and potential solution.

While we were discussing these medicinal plants I was busy taking photos.  As an aside It is interesting to note that Santera Martinez wanted to review each photo, and if she did not like it then I was to reshoot the photo. Hey, even a Priestess wants to look her best.

Western Healthcare

It was not easy to assess the status of the western medicine while I was there. Although buying health insurance was mandatory for USA based tourists and is part of the airline ticket price. Although I did chuckle over an unusual site of a woman walking down the street wither her lower abdominal x-ray. Maybe she was taking the results from a radiologist to here primary care doctor. Pharmacies possessed a small inventory that was largely generics or over the counter drugs. This is a very similar pattern that I have seen around the Caribbean and Latin America. Hospitals may well be different but my focus here was on health solutions from nature-derived sources, so we will leave the commentary focused on the task at hand.

Summary

I had a lovely albeit somewhat scary discussion with my Cuban Santeria Priestess, Gisela Tolefano Martinez. I certainly respect the knowledge that she has and the role that she plays in health management. One should not forget the importance of the faith component as well as the nature connection. There may well be gems that West has looked past or ignored within these herbal approaches. I hope there is, just as I know there are more gems that we have yet to leverage that reside in the Amazon Rainforest. However, our approach should account for the ethnomedical knowledge rather than start from scratch as the Biotech & Pharmaceutical companies do, placing their faith in screening templates. We should utilize and learn from the knowledge base residing in these local health care practitioners. Their experience is invaluable.

And to Gisela Tolefano Martinez hope you like the pictures and please do not put a curse on me, I have enough issues to deal with. With gratitude, Doc Miller