Aztec cleansing ritual with copal Limpiador
The people who we now refer to as Aztecs were the Mexicas (me-shee-kas), part of the larger group of Nabuas, the people who speak the Nahuatl language.

This language brought us the origins of several of our modern words, including "tomato," "avocado," and "chocolate." Today, an estimated 1.5 million people, mostly in Central Mexico, still speak this ancient tongue.

And the sacred teachings of the ancestors of these people are not lost, rather are still alive in the small towns and countryside of Central Mexico.

Curanderos (healers) within this lineage still help people with many complaints--from the physical to the spiritually giving the affected person a limpia, a specialized ritual for bringing balance back to the body and spirit. The word "limpia" literally means "cleansing," and this cleansing can come in a variety of forms.

Similar to the more familiar practice called "smudging" of the Native Americans of NorthAmerica, for some complaints a curandero may give a person in need a limpia with a tree resin incense called copal.

After lighting this pleasant-smelling incense, the curandero waves the smoke over the front, sides and back of the person's body, often while repeating a prayer for cleansing. Sometimes these prayers mention Catholic saints; the Nahuas were suppressed by the Spanish during and after the conquest, and they incorporated Catholic phrases and personages into their practices in order to keep their spiritual tradition alive and well under their new rulers.

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