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La santisima Piedra Iman

To: alt.religion.orisha,alt.lucky.w,alt.magick.folk,alt.magick.tyagi,alt.paranormal.spells.hexes.magic
From: catherine yronwode 
Subject: Re: La santisima Piedra Iman (aka Loadstones)
Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2000 03:51:52 GMT

Eoghan wrote (re: DR. HERNANZEZ):
> 
> I don't know very much except that he dressed similar to the country
> doctor and looked suspiciously like Charlie Chaplan. He is popular 
> even with Puertoriqueña espiritistas here in Philadelphia. All that I 
> have ever heard however was to burn candles and pray to him. Fairly 
> textbook activities.

Okay, so this has been one of those major sunchronicity-city days. I
posted the Nino Fidencio lodestone prayer-spell late last night and this
morning you were mentioning Dr. Hernandez. I knew i had some stuff on
him, but forgot which drawer it was in and felt too lazy to check it
out, when

BINGO -- i got a phone call from a Latina women in Dallas, offering to
pick me up some goods in Mexico and Guatemala -- a complete stranger,
just someone who has seen my web pages -- so i asked her if she knew of
Nino Fidencio and she said "Si" -- and told me a LOT: 

     He was born in the 19th century but lived into the 
     20th century

     He performed miracle cures both medically and in 
     terms of court cases, "like Saint Jude, when hope 
     is lost."

     He is revered in Mexico, but also in Puerto Rico 
     and Colombia, where he is the saint most often 
     appealed to by coffee workers (she did not know why, 
     but was sure of this information, first hand). 

     He is said to help "illegals" in matters of the law 
     -- to avoid capture and to avoid deportation. "If
     you see a picture of Nino Fidencio in a house, either  
     someone is very sick or someone has no papers." 

In dealing with this woman on business matters, i had to make her some
colour photocopies of Mexican and Guatemalan items i want her to scout
out for me -- the sort of brujeria things i mentioned in my last post
about the differences between African-American and LAtin-American
spiritual supply shops -- and lo and behold, when i sent nagasiva to
pull things out of the collection in our house, he brought back a big
box labelled Los 7 Banos del Nino Fidencio -- which i had completely
forgotten i had! It was made in Mexico and is one of those boxed
seven-day bath outfits they use down there -- you probably are familiar
with them -- Exorcism of San Cipriano, Exorcism of San Miguel, 7 Banos
de la Cruz de la Caravaca, etcetera. Anyway, there's one for Nino
Fidencio, too, with the usualy sevewn bottles of coloured fluid in the
box. The image on the full-colour box lid shows him as a priest in a
field, with people worshipping, plus a close-up of his long, homely
profile. And inside, we get the FACTS, printed on a sheet of paper in
green ink, and no, i STILL don't know Spanish, but this is what i was
able to glean from it, using my High School Latin memories --

     Nino Fidencio was born October 17th, 1898 at 
     the Rancho de Las Cuevas, in Iramuco Guananjuato. 
     His father was Socorro Constantino and his 
     mother was Maria Transito Sintora. His full 
     name was Fidencio de Jesus Constantino. He did 
     something or other (unknown verb) at the Cenote 
     at Chichen Itza (the old Mayan shrine) involving 
     herbs and flowers where it was revealed that he 
     had Fantastic Powers. The 7 Baths of Nino Fidencio 
     are prepared from authentic recipes. They are 
     (and here's where my Spanish gave out)

     1 El Bano de Gobernadora (the bath of the 
     governor, the bath of governance?) taken 
     on Sunday, is for convalesence, business 
     negotionations, transactions, and 
     something something involving money

     2 El Banos de Hojase (the bath of leaves) 
     is taken on Monday, and it dissolves the 
     bad work of enemies, removes bad luck, etc. 

     3 El Bano de Cenizo (the bath of ashes, the
     ash-coloured bath?) is taken on Tuesday to 
     cure susto (the Mexican hysteriacal fright 
     disorder) and it also works against envy 
     that might affect work or business

     4 El Bano con Flores y hojas de Anacahuita 
     (the bath with the flowers and leaves of ... 
     well, Anacahuita looks like a Mayan word) 
     is taken on Wednesday to help with the marriage
     something about spouses and love ... and it
     also cures ailments involving the bronchiae 
     and lungs.

     5 Los Banos con hojas y fruitos de Pirul 
     (the leaves and fruits of ... what?) is 
     taken on Thursday to (lots of words here
     i really cannot follow) -- perhaps dissolve 
     badness, separation from the spouse or lover, 
     and infirmities that cause "Hinchazones" 
     (swellings? tumors?), inflammations and 
     chronic illness, and "entuilimientos"
     (numbness? stiffness?)

     6 Los Banos de Visbirinda (what is that?) 
     taken on Friday, something excessive sleeping, 
     Atontamiento (no clue), and insomnia and 
     intranqility during sleep, and tremors, 
     and bad character (!!!) (mental illnesses?)

     7 El Bano del Tomates Rojas (the Bath of Red 
     Tomatoes!), taken on Saturday, was used by 
     Nino Fidencio for the whole class of leprosies, 
     skin diseases, and fistulas. 

     Apply the baths all over the body, wash with 
     Genuine Soap of Nino Fidencio (not included 
     and i have never seen it) and use abundant 
     natural water. 

     On the 8th of February, 1928, the Constitutional 
     President of the Republic of Mexico, Sr. General 
     Don Plutarco Elias Calles, accompanied by del Gral. 
     Juan Andrew Almazen, the Governor of the State of 
     Nuevo Leon, with many other persons -- (verb 
     unknown) did something for El Nino Fidencio. 
     (visited him, gave him a medal or award, sorry, 
     i can't figure that one out)

     On the 18th of October, 1938 El Nino Fidencio found 
     his rest and on his tomb there is a cross and these 
     words are engaved on the stone:

     1 Treat the mighty as you would the humble 
     God knows something something your choice -- 
     Dedicated by Enrique Lozez de la Fuenta

     2 The Good Lord knows your heart and 
     something something a memorial always 
     beneficent -- the Dedication of Clemente Paras

     3 Do not distinguish between the poor and 
     the rich nor between nationals and foreigners, 
     and all something something are equal -- This 
     beneficence is dedicated as a memorial to his 
     eternal memory

There's more, but i give up. Remember, i am translating this as a person
with 3 years of Latin botanical taxonomy (35 years ago) as my only
guide! 

So -- does anyone want to volunteer to REALLY translate this for me? I
can send a photocopy or a fax. And i'll throw in a cool gift for whoever
does the translation, if it comes back in e-format so i don't have to
keyboard it in. 

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!

Eoghan, you had suggested that i compare Nino Fidencio to Dr. Hernandez,
and after finding more stuff about Fidencio than i was prepared to deal
with, i went back to work and i was helping siva place an order for Holy
Cards (yes, it has been one of THOSE days!) and i needed to find the
stock number on one of the odder English-language ones ("The Little
White Guest" -- don't ask!), so i opened my box of "unusual" holy cards
and lo and behold (again)! --

BINGO -- There was my Dr. Hernandez material -- one holy card and one
Novena booklet, both brought to me a few years ago from Honduras by my
darling daughter Althaea, who had gone there to work in a clinic (and
who is currently in Mongolia, delivering medical supplies and buying me
"mini-Durga statues," whatever those may be).  

So... on both the full-colour card and booklet, Dr. Jose Gregorio
Hernandez is shown standing in a suit and hat, in a valley with snow
capped mountains and a little red=roofed village in the disatnce and in
the middle-background there is a second image of him in his white
surgeon's gown, operating on a rather dead-looking man whose left arm is
hanging down onto the ground. The two pictures seem to be drawn from the
same source, but neither looks particularly "original." I assume they
are copies of an older painting. 

The prayer on the card is a seeming set of pleas to Our Lady of Mercy
and to Saint Francis of Assissi with the "servant Jose Gregorio" as
intercessor. The Spanish on this card is very formal and too difficult
for me to even attempt a translation, (I do much better with the simple,
semi-illiterate stuff, obviously). 

The Novena of Dr. Jose Gregorio Hernandez is dated (that is, it was
first published) May 19th, 1954, Caracas, Venezuela. The Novena prayers
are fairly standard ones, as far as i can see, calling on God, Our Lady
of Mercy, Christ the Redeemer, and so forth in the name of "your servant
Jose Gregorio." Toward the back of the booklet there is some
biographical information -- and again, my translation is very
approximate: 

     Jose Gregorio Hernandez was born on October 26, 
     1864 at Isnoto in Trujillo state. He graduated 
     as a Doctor of Medicine in Caracas and completed 
     his studies in Europe. He founded the Central 
     Universiy of Caracas's School of Normal and 
     Pathological Histology, Experimental Physiology, 
     and Bacteriology. He introduced the use of the 
     microscope and other scientific advances to 
     Venezuela. He lived a saintly life and took 
     daily communion. He practiced "Medicine for the 
     Poor" and made free visits to the sick. 

(Break while siva and i eat pineapple and ham pizza and drink coca colas
with half-and-half and listen to the Memphis Jug Band.) Continuing my
rough translation of the Novena booklet -- 

     Dr. Hernandez  was fervant in charity. He was 
     devoted to Our Lady of Mercy, the Patroness of 
     Caracas and favours conferred by her through 
     his intercession have given cause for his 
     beatification. He was a great patriot and the 
     prime saint of Venezuela. Etc. for two more 
     paragraphs. On June 27, 1949 the Tribunal 
     Colegiado met to discuss his Beatification. 
     He is the saint of doctors and those in the 
     professions. Nihil Obstat 

In other words, Dr. Hernandez, unlinke Nino Fidencio, is well on his way
to canonization in the Catholic  church. .  

And it looks like i was quite wrong earlier when i slurringly referred
to him as a "psychic surgeon" -- he was a bone fide doctor, and a
professor as well. Sorry 'bout that. 

So, to answer your remark, from the standpoint of the knowledge i have
gained today, i'd say that Dr. Hernandez bears more resemblance to San
Martin de Porres, the 16th century doctor-saint of Peru who ran a
hospital and practiced charity, than either of them do to Nino Fidencio,
the patron of "illegals." 

> On a totally different note I bumped into a lady from New Orleans 
> today, an anthropologist at the National African Religions Council 
> conference here in Philadelphia who mentioned a project that the 
> medical authoprities engaged in back in the 30s or even a little 
> earlier I believe. They sent out people, some medical professionals, 
> some just laborers to ask people on the streets of New Orleans what 
> you do for such and such a health problem. Apparently the resulting 
> data is still at Tulane.

So how do i get a copy????!!!!

cat yronwode 

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