Sastun: My Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer

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There was no evidence and no case, only accusations, he said, repeating what the police had told him. “My heart is ripped out and still bleeding, Rosita. She might as well have stuck a knife through it,” he said angrily, trembling from the gripping memory of such betrayal. “Feel sorry for her, Don Elijio, because she will have to pay a high price for this sin,” I said. He nodded with such sadness in his eyes, as if her fate were the real tragedy. “Oh yes. She will die a painful, miserable death. Like one who is set out on a hilltop and tied to a tree, only to be eaten by the birds, piece by piece, until her hands rot off.” As if this tirade and confession had restored his fighting spirit, he said, almost defiantly, “I’ve been thinking, though. She really did nothing to me. I’m still here, neither more nor less. I have my dripping faucet of money going. It may never be a flowing creek, but it’s a constant drip.” With that, he folded his arms. “She hurt herself much more than she did me. God will punish her. I put revenge in his hands and commend her destiny to God.” As much as he longed to put this tragedy behind him, I could see he was still terribly upset. He kept muttering about feeling stupid and naive, as if he were a schoolboy who had learned nothing from ninety-two years of living. Could such a man be fooled by this evil woman? he asked, without needing a response. “Don’t blame yourself for being a loving man. She was the one who made a big mistake, not you,” I kept trying to soothe him. “We are naive and trusting, but that’s what makes us good doctors. It allows us to care deeply about other people’s troubles. God made us that way, papá, and most of the time we do all right.” He was disturbed by the policeman’s advice to put a lock on his door to keep out thieves. How could he do this—a lonely, old healer who opened his heart and home daily to strangers who wanted much more from him than his collected belongings? But he did as the officer instructed, tacking up a metal bolt lock on a flimsy door that was made out of old scrap plank lumber. When we left the next morning to gather medicine, Panti bolted the lock and handed the key to Angel, who promised to guard it until we returned.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN Cancer Herb Hierba del Cancer Acalypha arvensis An abundant, small herb used to treat stubborn skin conditions, infections, fungus, and wounds and drunk as a tea for stomach upsets. It may also be collected as one of the Nine Xiv formula for herbal bathing, especially if used for skin ailments. It was nearly eight o’clock one evening the following October, and Don Elijio and I had been sitting on the cement doorstep, watching the sun go down behind the custard apple tree. San Antonio is on a rise, and the sunsets there stretch for miles—long purple and magenta streaks against darkening blue. It was one of those exquisite nights when the diurnal meets the nocturnal: the orange sun set on one side of the sky as the silver moon rose on the other. Don Elijio rose stiffly and announced it was time to go to sleep. It had been a long and busy day with many patients. He began closing the doors and windows as he usually did. Down the path came an energetic group of women and children led by Doña Juana, wife of Don Elijio’s dear friend Don Antonio Cuc. She was one of the village women who came to check on Don Elijio regularly, bring him treats and news. Doña Juana was in her eighties, still trim with sharply etched Maya features and silvery white hair. Like many Kekchi Maya women, she wore a triple strand of colorful plastic beads tied in a knot at her throat, and a cotton towel lay around her shoulders like a shawl. She had fifteen children, upwards of eighty grandchildren, and scores of great-grandchildren. She was herself an accomplished granny healer and cared for her clan with simple home remedies gathered from her garden, nearby fields, and roadside paths. Like other granny healers, trained at their mothers’ and grandmothers’ knees, she sought Don Elijio’s assistance when a family member didn’t respond to her usual remedies.
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DEDICATION Dedicated to Don Elijio
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CONTENTS DEDICATION EPIGRAPH ACKNOW
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to tha
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The Whole Earth Review for assignin
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tenderness reserved for a favorite
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sometimes combining nutritional or
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MAP
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unsolved mystery until years later
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CHAPTER ONE Linden Flowers, Basswoo
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As soon as I heard his name, I almo
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The old man’s friend had come for
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the soil was impoverished, hardpan
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opposite bank. In Belizean fashion,
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of the village farms, finding an un
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“Are there no curanderos in your
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Hours later, he reappeared—showin
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CHAPTER THREE Wormseed Epasote Chen
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“It is too damp and muddy for me
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“This is Man Vine. This plant is
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man’s hand back and forth, causin
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CHAPTER FOUR Amaranth Amaranto Cala
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One day he stopped to trade and tal
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uins of the Maya city of Tikal. The
Page 50 and 51: would become seriously ill. This he
Page 52 and 53: CHAPTER FIVE Jackass Bitters Tres P
Page 54 and 55: that cure. I was sad when he left m
Page 56 and 57: three places, using the sharp end o
Page 58 and 59: myself to sleep in the dust. I had
Page 60 and 61: CHAPTER SIX Corn Maize Im Che Zea m
Page 62 and 63: “I’m willing to wait three year
Page 64 and 65: nothing about them. Please, I want
Page 66 and 67: strapping on plastic flour sacks, m
Page 68 and 69: We’d been steadily trudging uphil
Page 70 and 71: acks and the emerging midday heat.
Page 72 and 73: Where were we now? How far was it y
Page 74 and 75: we had our share of arguments. The
Page 76 and 77: the northern strain—I bathed them
Page 78 and 79: CHAPTER NINE Anal Psychotria acumin
Page 80 and 81: “Claudia, at your service. Maybe
Page 82 and 83: CHAPTER TEN Wild Yam Cocolmeca Dios
Page 84 and 85: He also believed in the Nine Malevo
Page 86 and 87: I had to admire Don Elijio’s simp
Page 88 and 89: stone tools, spinning whorls, shard
Page 90 and 91: four-star hotel. Panti put down his
Page 92 and 93: Spirits. All of our crystals came o
Page 94 and 95: “I leave these jícaras with you
Page 96 and 97: Crystal was sleeping on her bed und
Page 98 and 99: The aroma of moist, rotting humus w
Page 102 and 103: We opened the door wide to let the
Page 104 and 105: make them tired and dizzy. We must
Page 106 and 107: When I returned with the three-part
Page 108 and 109: Doña Juana held the lantern overhe
Page 110 and 111: ailing women came from all over Cen
Page 112 and 113: He instructed her to boil a handful
Page 114 and 115: weakness in the legs, and constipat
Page 116 and 117: Not too confidently, I began to exa
Page 118 and 119: CHAPTER FIFTEEN Balsam Tree Balsamo
Page 120 and 121: Later in the day, one of the crew,
Page 122 and 123: Panti wanted to consult his sastun
Page 124 and 125: CHAPTER SIXTEEN Allspice Pimienta G
Page 126 and 127: He was both excited and bewildered,
Page 128 and 129: I also knew what he meant when he p
Page 130 and 131: able to treat the mind, body, and s
Page 132 and 133: that once belonged to a child’s e
Page 134 and 135: Viento de descuido means Wind of Ca
Page 136 and 137: worthy of her. She comes out of the
Page 138 and 139: loodcurdling cry, followed by the s
Page 140 and 141: Panti spoke quietly to her as she g
Page 142 and 143: had first seen the book in the 1950
Page 144 and 145: CHAPTER NINETEEN Duck Flower Contri
Page 146 and 147: “They don’t understand,” he s
Page 148 and 149: Doña Rosa spent the night and we h
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men who had asked him to give up hi
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to offer. As we left, one suggested
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Che Xiv, the chief herb formula tha
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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE Billy Webb Tree
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whispering, kissing and whispering
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“I lost my daughter. I lost my wi
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Antonio who shared his respect for
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I was unable to refuse his request.
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By the time I had finished, Antonio
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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE Cross Vine Cru
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I followed him in, and he sat down
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I saw that he was crying and bent o
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and met Saint Peter. He looked at m
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A few weeks later, on February 4, 1
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pamphlet. On the back, we printed a
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esembles a basement. There is a cla
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PICTURE SECTION
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Rosita with Don Elijio on the trail
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Don Elijio with patients
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Jackass Bitters
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Contribo (photos by Michael Balick)
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Polly Red Head
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Don Elijio gathering herbs on trail
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Rosita with Don Elijio chopping med
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GLOSSARY OF MAYAN WORDS c’ox ca
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Castor Bean Tree, Oil Nut Ricino, I
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Palo Verde Eupatorium (Critonia) mo
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS Rosita Arvigo Now
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COPYRIGHT HarperSanFrancisco and th
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ABOUT THE PUBLISHER Australia Harpe
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Sastun: My Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer

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