The Kallawaya, the doctors of nature
When I read the different volumes that Bastien and Rösing, researchers of recognized academic prestige, wrote about the Kallawaya doctors, I felt deeply connected to their healing methods. With his amazing knowledge of plants and natural remedies to heal and cure all types of physical, psychological, mental illnesses, etc.
I felt an immediate connection, especially because of his holistic and spiritual vision of the sick and healing. I was greatly inspired by the devotion and respect they showed in each phase of their work towards the natural elements they used, whether plants, stones, clay or animals. They deeply thanked each one of them for their existence and Mother Earth their Pachamama for being the giver of all life. This permanent connection and respect for all forms of life transformed me . This is how the desire to organize a trip to Bolivia to connect with Los Médicos Kallawayas was born from my heart.
Bolivia is an impressive country... I remember that as soon as I landed in La Paz, I began to notice that I was lacking oxygen. The luck is that anywhere a tourist can visit, there is a bottle of oxygen and tea or coca leaves to chew and overcome altitude sickness.
We had only one idea in our mind, to find a guide who could take us to connect with the Kallawaya and be able to learn in situ about their good practices and way of collecting and dealing with Nature. It was incredible the day that, through a Travel Agency in La Paz, they called us to tell us that they had finally found the person who could accompany us and take us to contact a group of Kallawayas who lived in the Charazani area and its surroundings. .
The practice of Kallawaya ancestral medicine, its knowledge of the use of a wide variety of native medicinal plants, more than 900 species according to Girault, make the Kallawaya pharmacopoeia one of the richest in the world. Combining this knowledge with the rituals and energetic work they carry out to heal the sick, in which the energetic and Spiritual part of the person is one of the most priority elements to treat, because according to their beliefs, every illness begins in the invisible. It is an alteration of the soul or fright as they refer to diseases such as depression and symptoms of mental imbalance.
Being with these doctors and seeing the respect and awareness they have about the Natural Kingdom has been one of the most beautiful and enriching experiences I have had in my life. I can assure without a doubt that they are the human beings with the most knowledge about healing and natural remedies that I have ever met .
The devotion when watching them collect, they ask permission before cutting the plant and explain why they do it and who their remedy is directed to, they ask the plant for permission to heal and then they thank it for its help to human beings. This ritual is repeated with each and every one of the collections they make. Incredible and worthy of being learned and imitated by our society.
Their extraordinary and miraculous cures of Cancer, Depression and a variety of diseases considered incurable, have caused the Authorities of their country to grant this Tribe the title of doctors of nature . Because with their practices they remind us and demonstrate each person's place in this World.
My most sincere tribute and recognition to these extraordinary human beings who practice ancient holistic medicine and who preserve such valuable and powerful ritual knowledge and healing medical practices for humanity. Thank you thank you thank you.
Lola Sorribes