Sastun: My Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer

CHAPTER SIX
Corn Maize Im Che Zea mays
A sacred food to all cultures of Mesoamerica since preconquest times. The grain is prepared
primarily as a flat cake or “tortilla” cooked on a clay disk called a comal and is made into a variety of
dishes. Corn Silk Tea is an ancient remedy for ailments of the urinary tract, such as bladder infections
or kidney troubles. A hot, thick corn cereal called atole is a popular drink; mixed with orange leaf
tea, it is a household remedy for hangovers. The four colors of corn—white, red, yellow, and black—
are believed to reflect the races of people, signifying the four corners of the universe.
After a year of visiting Panti’s clinic once a week, I arrived early enough
one morning to catch him before he set out for the bush. Past the flurry of
parakeets escaping the Sour Orange Tree in his yard, I saw him standing in
the doorway of his cement house, adjusting his old plastic flour sack around
his shoulders and bending over to pick up his hoe. He wore little black
plastic boots and old plant-stained homemade pants. He muttered
incoherently to himself as he readied for the day ahead.
He was surprised to see me, but I was crestfallen when he said, “I have
no time for you today, child. The season is late, my corn is past harvest
time, and I’ve had too many patients to get to my own work.” I had always
wondered about those sacks of yellow, white, and red corn filling up his
storage hut, still in their husks. I couldn’t imagine that such abundant and
healthy ears of Indian corn were the fruits of his own labor—not at his age
and with his patient load.
“I’ll help you harvest your corn, Don Elijio,” I volunteered.
He looked incredulously at me, and as if to humor my enthusiasm asked
what I could possibly know about harvesting corn.
“Come on, tato, old revered one, I’ll show you,” I rebutted with
conviction. After all those years in Mexico, I knew how to harvest corn like
a veteran field hand.
He shrugged and agreed to let me tag along.
An iridescent orange sun had just broken over the horizon, yet the
village was already bustling with activity. Women carried heavy loads of