The Last Healer, Yucatan

He didn’t have a phone or an address, so with just the name of a village I boarded a steaming bus in the Yucatán to meet him. Stopping to ask along the way, I was gradually shepherded by townsfolk to his home. This kind man is a traditional Mayan healer, a role which he inherited from his father. He was gracious enough to spend time discussing ancient healing rituals, passed down in the region for centuries, which served to restore balance in both body and mind amongst the largely ethnic Maya population in the region. The descendants of the people who built the great cities of Chichen Itza, Bonampak and Uxmal still live on the same lands their ancestors did and continue to practice, in a modified form, the same customs which would be recognized by a native of the land one thousand years ago. Sadly though, demand for my friend’s knowledge has plummeted in the community, and, without a younger person to pass down the practice, he thinks he might be the last of his line… Its so important to record cultural heritage before it disappears.