And Horns on the Toads Page: 36
238 p. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this book.
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AND HORNS ON THE TOADS
Pedro. It is possible that they may not have an image of the
Virgin there, but not to have an image of Don Pedro ... "Ay nol"
one says with pain in her voice, "Es imposiblel" One curan-
dera, a woman in this case, in South Texas has a special altar
for Don Pedro. She prays first to him and then to the Virgin.
Don Pedro's fame was made even more lasting and certain
when one of the members of the Texas Folklore Society, Pro-
fessor Frank Goodwyn, who knew Don Pedro personally, gave
certain characteristics of his to the curandero in his novel The
Magic of Limping John.
Don Pedro was without doubt the leading curandero of
South Texas during his time, but he was far from being alone
in the practice of recetando. Many lesser figures are successfully
practicing today. Among them are such names as Don Bazan,
Don Nicanor, and Dofia Mercedes. (The custom among the
Mexican people is to bestow upon curanderos the ancient title
of don or doiia, which in other ages was reserved for a member
of the nobility.) There is apparently no professional distinction
made between a man curandero and a woman curandera,
except that, as one man said recently, "The woman curandera
must be flat-chested and ugly."
Of course, each curandero is an individualist, and the recetas
(prescriptions) that each gives are of his own invention. Enough
may be seen, however, of a pattern about their methods to estab-
lish several general categories of curanderos. The Mexican
people express greatest admiration for those whose prescrip-
tions include herbs used in various ways. The prescriptions
direct the patient to drink such potions as teas made of orange
leaf (hoja de naranjo), sometimes a tea consumed internally
followed by a bath in a weaker solution of the same. Some
typical herbs used are the barba de chivato (billy-goat's beard),
lengua de vaca (cow's tongue), uia de gato (cat's claw), zapote
blanco (white sapodilla plum).
Dofia Graciela of San Antonio has a good reputation and is
well accepted among her clientele. Instead of using herbs, she86
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And Horns on the Toads (Book)
Volume of folk stories and tall tales about the horned toad and other Texas folklore. The index begins on page 235.
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Boatright, Mody Coggin. And Horns on the Toads, book, 1959; Dallas, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc38856/m1/49/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.