History of Latin American Dermatology

History of Dermatology in GuatemalaMEDICINE IN THE POPOL VUHThe Popol Vuh containsthe stories of the Quiché Indiansregarding the originof the world, of their gods,heroes and people, in otherwords it deals with mythology,history and genealogy.Friar Francisco Ximénezwas born in Ecija, provinceof Andalusia, Spain,in 1666, and arrived inGuatemala in 1688; he wasa friar of the Dominican Order and was given the job of writing the chronicleof his province. When he was in Chichicastenango, the Indians showed him themanuscript of the Quiché; Friar Francisco copied the original in that language and translatedit into Spanish; this copy is deposited at the Newberry Library in Chicago 4,10 .The Popol Vuh mentions some Maya deities who were responsible for diseases. Thelords of Xibalba (the underworld) could cause illnesses. Xik´iri (flying nose) and KuchunaKiq´ (blood chief) were two of these lords whose work was to produce “blood to makepeople ill.” In many places, blood was seen as a means for receiving an outside harm.The lords of Xibalbá caused people to fall ill by affecting their blood. The Popol Vuh mentionsLord Ahal puh (the pus maker) who caused infections. The Ahal gana Q´ama(cholera maker) had the power to “make people swell up.” Bile in the face producedjaundice.The lords Chamiabaq (bone walking stick) and Chamiaholom (skull walking stick)turned people into bones and skulls. The lords Ahalmez (maker of dirt) and Ahaltokob(maker of sores) were dangerous in times of poverty. Ahalxic (Lord Sparrowhawk) andPatan (Lord Trap) caused death on the road. The Cakchiquel had a god called Ahal Xic,who caused sudden death. Itzamná, god of medicine, and Ixchel, the moon goddess,were invoked at the feast of the faith healers and wizards during the Zip month.Itzamná was known because he healed the sick and brought the dead back to life. Ixchelwas the goddess of procreation, of childbirth, of medicine and of the diseases thatform pustules. Syphilis was one of the diseases assigned to Ixchel because of this deity’serotic associations 10 .Figures:10. Ceremonialmushrooms11. WrinklesANATOMICAL AND SURGICAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE MAYANSSurgical instruments were of obsidian; these knives were used to open abscesses andcarry out other minor surgery. Anatomical knowledge came from human and animal sacrifices.The heart was well known. Initially, the Mayans did not practice human sacrifice;this terrible practice derived from their contact with the Aztecs and corresponds to avery late period in their history as is demonstrated by some studies that have been carriedout in the Indian cities of the post-classical era such as the city of Iximché.The Maya-Quiché considered disease to be of a different etiology than the sacred andtheir observations led them to a more exact knowledge of it. Cold and dampness wererecognized as agents causing rheumatism; the wind was the cause of some illnesses; theIndians’ diet was wise and healthy and their sexual customs were moderate.They knew the role of contagion in epidemics; they employed witchcraft practices tofind out if an illness was curable. They possessed knowledge on blennorrhagia, buboe,sexual impotence and eruptive diseases. They described exanthematic typhus using compoundwords Zahualt (eruption); they also knew leishmaniasis, rhinophyma and ulcusrodens.227