Sastun: My Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer

When I returned with the three-part formula, he reached into the bag
and took out the amount she was to boil in three cups of water and drink
before meals.
“Take no cold drinks, no acid foods, no beef, and no chili,” he cautioned
her. “Mark my words well, or you will be much worse off than you are
now.”
“Is that it?” he asked Doña Juana. “Can an old man go to bed now?”
“Well,” she said, “one last question. This little boy is five and it is time
for him to go to school, but he says he doesn’t want to go.
“When his mother gets him up in the morning, he says he can’t get up.
He’s too tired. He’s even too tired to play sometimes. It isn’t natural. I
purged him of worms last month, but he is still not active and happy like the
rest.”
Don Elijio shrugged wearily and felt for the child’s pulse. I reached out
for the opposite frail wrist.
“Weak, thready, and too rapid,” said my teacher. “Mark it well, for it is
all too common.”
Don Elijio picked up the lad’s T-shirt and thumped his taut belly with
his thumb and forefinger. Then he pulled down the boy’s eyelid and asked
me to tell him what I saw.
“Is it red, pink, yellow, or white?” he asked me.
“It’s pale and on the edge of yellow,” I reported.
“Yes, just what I thought. The child is anemic and has a tapeworm,
probably a large one.”
“Uh oh,” commented his mother. “Roberto is very stubborn about
taking medicine. He cries and fights, even spits it out when you’re not
looking. I’m afraid he won’t swallow anything bitter or strong tasting, nol.”
“Don’t worry about that, I know what to do,” said the old man. “You
will take the roots I give you and boil them in sugar water for half a day
until the brew is as thick as syrup. Give him this syrup six times daily by
the spoonful, and on the third day he should fast. On the fourth day, give
him a strong dose of castor oil. Soon, mamasita, your son will be strong and
happy again, I promise. Have faith, God will help us all if we but ask.
“I know all these things to be true, because I have tried and tested
them,” he continued. “I’ve been doing this work now for forty years, and I
know a few things.”