Types of Witches in the Bayou: The Traiteur
traiteur: a Cajun or Creole healer whose gifts were bestowed upon them by a higher being either at birth, through biological inheritance, or in apprenticeship
The traiteur is just as mystical as she is a practical fixture of the community. People in the community appear on her doorstep at the lowest moments of their life when they have nowhere to turn, just as they drive in from hours out of town for her otherworldly skills. The traiteur does not accept payment for her services. She was designated as a tool of God, and to expect financial benefit is to taint her practice and destroy its sanctity.
A Brief Look at the History and Practices:
Traiteur's traditionally believe that their powers not only come from God but that their practice is in line with the Catohlic faith. However, this is not always true despite being reported as factual in most spaces where information is available online.
They can treat people with their hands, with blessed medicine made by those hands, or through prayer.
The proof is in the innocent - many traiteurs (who still exist and practice today) have a track record of healing newborns and young infants, who would not be vulnerable to the psychosomatic "placebo" effect or other phenomenon.
Different traiteurs prescribe to different practices, but the vast majority treat topical wounds and ailments but are not suited to treating more complex medical maladies.
Patients of traiteurs report feeling that the healers often also treat their burdens of mind and spirit, perhaps suggesting that the practice is related to the theory that our heart can affect the afflictions of our bodies.
