Mayan health and medicine

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Mayans believe in several ways to heal the body. A few of these techniques are sweat baths, massage therapy, and herbal remedies using plants.

Sweat baths were used by all sorts of people. For instance, mothers who recently conceived a child would seek revitalization in them, and people who had a sickness would find healing power in sweating. Kings would also make a habit out of taking sweat baths because it left them feeling refreshed and what they believed to be cleaner. In addition, “Maya rulers performed ritual purification ceremonies to appease the gods and secure the well-being of their communities” (Benjamin, 2). It is believed that the kings popularized this method of healing because of their steady use of the sweat baths. The sweat baths consisted of stone walls and ceilings, with a small opening in the ceiling. Water would be poured onto the rocks in the sweat baths making steam, creating a modern day sauna.

Massages were also used as a method to heal the body. One type of massage was the “abdominal massage.” This massage was used mostly to cure women of illnesses such as menstrual problems and menopause. Bonesetters would evaluate the patient’s complaint and either massages that area, or they would break that portion of the bone and realign it. The term “bonesetters” refers to a modern day massage therapist although in ancient Mayan civilization they had somewhat of a different job. Evidence of this practice have been found in archeological digs where skeletons have been dug up with markings of this procedure. Bonesetters did not receive any special education for this practice, rather they learned from experience and innate ability.

Plants were also often used to cure sicknesses. In most cases, fresh vegetation was used, and it was, “applied as plasters to treat wounds, bruises, headaches, and skin irritations” (Kunow, 51). Sometimes plants were also boiled and used in herbal teas and/or in baths. Yet another plant that was used for medicine was chile peppers. They were chopped up and mixed with other herbs to create a remedy for certain illnesses. The advantage of using plants and food was that they were readily available. The draw backs, however, are that some plants only grow in certain seasons and the amount of plant used to heal a person was difficult to determine.

Many of the healers in the Mayan civilization were called shamans. These people were perceived as special because they could communicate between the mortal world and the spirit world. A shaman would come to the aid of an ill person, and communicate with a greater being of the spirit world to help the healing process.

Many Mayans took substances to alter their minds. Some would smoke, take hallucinogens, and/or drink alcohol. Most alcoholic beverages were drunk at rituals, and were very strong. Narcotics were also used to communicate with the “unseen powers.” Many of these substances were not used to cure sicknesses but rather for relief of pain.

[edit] References

• Cichewicz, RH and PA Thorpe. “The Antimicrobial Properties of Chile Peppers (Capsicum Species) and Their Uses In Mayan Medicine.” Department of Environmental and Plant Biology. NCBI. 19 Sep. 2006. [1].

• Sharer, Robert. The Ancient Maya. Stanford, 1994.

• Kunow, Marianna. Maya Medicine. University of New Mexico Press, 2003.

• Anderson, E.N. Political Ecology in a Yucatec Maya Community. University of Arizona Press, 2005.

• Benjamin, Patricia. “Massage and Sweatbaths Among the Ancient Maya.” Massage Thereapy Journal. Google Scholar. 19 Sep. 2006. [2].