History of Latin American Dermatology

E. SILVA-LIZAMA, P. H. URQUIZU, P. GREENBERG, S. DE LEÓNhexed with a toad. To this end they use thread to sew some parts of that animal, perhapsthe mouth, hands, liver or legs; these are called “moorings”; each animal has a specificfunction, but when one animal is used its spirit must first be asked for permission.The shaman or witch doctor is highly respected in Indian communities, because he isregarded as having the power not only to cure diseases but also to produce them, therebeing various popular appellations for the placing of hexes. When someone falls ill, theshaman is called in; he takes a look at the patient and turns to the first operation, namelythe copaleada. This consists of the following: in a vessel that belongs to the shaman, thelatter spreads some capatl (resin-gum extracted from a tree, of a dirty black color andagreeable smell); then he pricks one of the veins located beneath the wings of the fattestchompipe found in the patient’s house, and which has been chosen beforehand; he gathersthe blood, which he places in the same bowl and mixes with the capatl; when the capatland blood have mixed adequately, he sets them alight, which produces a column ofsmoke that rises to the ceiling of the hut, with the utmost regularity, and producing anadmirable visual effect. This column of smoke, according to beliefs, rises to the heavensto ask God to give the patient his health back or rather to ask him what it was that traveledon high as the shaman’s private correspondence; but since St. Peter has no time todevote to this, let us see how the shaman manufactures the reply, and in what way hetricks his customers. When the capatl had finished burning, the shaman withdraws tothe forest to await the reply; there follows the second operation, namely, the handling ofthe pilolles. These are tiny fruits that fall from certain trees at the beginning of winter,the form of which resembles that of black beans, save that they are flattened at the endsand have a very pretty red color. Once in the forest, he spreads a piece of cloth out onthe ground, extracts several handfuls of pilolles from the ladle that contains them, andplacing each handful at a certain distance from the others he proceeds to count them: ifin all handfuls or at least in the great majority of them the result is odd, the patient dies;if the result is even, the patient heals 29, 30, 31 . ■September 2005AcknowledgementsDeputy Culture Minister Enrique Matheu Recinos, Government of the Republic ofGuatemala.Fernando Moscoso, Director of the National Museum of Archeology and Ethnology ofGuatemala.Rodolfo Yaquian, restorer of exhibits of the National Museum of Archeology and Ethnologyof Guatemala.Dr. Jorge Prado, Guatemala City.■ References1. Blom F. La vida de los mayas.Guatemala: Ministerio deEducación; 1951.2. Carmack R. Historia social delos quichés. Guatemala: Joséde Pineda Ibarra; 1979.3. Figueroa Marroquín H.Enfermedades de losconquistadores. Guatemala:Editorial Universitaria, 1983.4. Martínez Durán C. Las cienciasmédicas en Guatemala, 3ª ed.Guatemala: EditorialUniversitaria; 1964.5. Orellana S. Medicinaprehispánica. En: AAVV,Historia general deGuatemala. Tomo I. Épocaprecolombina. Asociación deAmigos del País; 1999.6. Recinos A. traductor. Memorial254