Maya medicine facts for kids

The ancient Maya people had a special way of understanding health and medicine. For them, healing wasn't just about the body; it was also about the mind, religion, and even science. They believed that sickness often came from angry spirits, so their medicine involved a mix of rituals, cleansing, and using herbal remedies.

Only a few special people, called ah-men (or medicine men/shamans), practiced medicine. They usually inherited their roles and received a lot of training. These healers were seen as a link between the normal world and the spirit world. They used their knowledge to help people get better, predict the future, and even try to control nature. Because medicine was so connected to their religion, these Maya healers needed to be very skilled and knowledgeable.

Maya Healers and Their Wisdom

Maya healers, known as ah-men, had a unique ability to change their state of mind to understand why things happened, like why someone got sick or had bad luck.

The Maya believed that sickness could be a punishment for doing something wrong. So, a healer would ask the sick person many questions about their life to understand what might have caused the illness. This was a bit like a modern-day therapy session.

Besides rituals and spiritual practices, Maya healers knew a lot about medicinal plants and how to use them. After checking a person's symptoms, a healer would suggest a remedy. The number of times a remedy should be used often depended on whether the person was a man or a woman. For men, it was usually thirteen times, and for women, nine times.

The Maya had many words to describe parts of the human body, like intestines and bile. They also understood how different body systems worked, especially the female reproductive system. They could describe over two hundred different health problems, like deep coughs or stomach pain. They also knew about mental health issues, like sadness and seeing things that weren't there. They could even spot contagious diseases.

Maya healers were highly respected in their communities. They were known for their vast knowledge and spiritual connection. People called on them for many reasons, but mostly for their healing skills. These Maya doctors sometimes worked with specialists, like bone-setters (called kax-bac) for broken bones, and people who helped with childbirth.

New discoveries show that the Maya also changed their teeth for medical reasons, not just for looks. For example, they would remove teeth that had cavities. Dental surgeons even made special tooth replacements from jade and turquoise and filled teeth with iron pyrite. They also performed surgeries, like stitching wounds with human hair and fish bones, and fixing broken bones.

While other ancient civilizations in Mesoamerica were very good at brain surgery (called trepanation), there isn't much evidence that the Maya did this often.

Ritual Practices for Healing

Maya rituals varied from place to place, but many ceremonies shared similar steps. First, a healer would use a special calendar to choose the best day for the ceremony. For example, the Ixil Maya of Guatemala would count red seeds on their ancient calendar to find the right day. Before the ritual, people would often fast and avoid certain things as a way of spiritual cleansing.

On the day of the ritual, common practices included getting rid of evil spirits, burning incense for their gods, saying prayers, and giving offerings. If the ritual was meant to cure a disease, the offering might be food or special ornaments. Sometimes, they would offer blood, which was a very important part of their rituals. After the ceremony, everyone would join in dancing, feasting, and ritual drinking.

Even today, many Maya people continue some of their ancestors' ritual traditions. They still pray, give offerings, offer blood (often from sacrificed chickens instead of humans), burn copal incense, dance, and have ritual drinks. Scientists have even found that these ritual practices can have real effects on the body and how it fights off sickness.

Sweat Baths for Cleansing

An important way the ancient Maya purified themselves was through sweat baths, called temezcal. These were like modern-day saunas, built with stone walls and ceilings, and a small opening at the top. Water was poured onto hot rocks inside to create steam, which made people sweat out impurities.

Sweat baths were used for many reasons. New mothers would use them to feel refreshed, and sick people believed sweating could help them heal.

Maya rulers also regularly visited sweat baths because it made them feel clean and refreshed. They also performed ritual purification ceremonies to please the gods and ensure their communities were healthy. It's thought that kings helped make sweat baths popular because they used them so often. Archaeologists have found sweat baths at Maya sites like Tikal and Aguateca. The most impressive discovery is at Piedras Negras in Guatemala, where eight stone buildings served as sweat baths for Maya royalty. Today, many Maya communities still use steam baths, often with medicinal plants, especially for new mothers.

Plants and Herbal Medicine

The Maya have studied and observed plants for thousands of years. However, the knowledge of medicinal plants was mainly kept by the priestly class. Plants and herbal remedies were often used with other healing techniques. Healers knew how certain plants affected the body and would prescribe them for specific problems. Sometimes, they even used the color of a plant as a clue. For example, yellow plants were used for jaundice, red plants for blood-related issues, and burned red bird feathers for yellow fever.

For skin problems, wounds, and headaches, fresh plants were often crushed and applied directly to the skin as plasters. These plasters were also used to protect against bad spirits. Depending on the illness, plants were boiled for drinks or baths, eaten raw, snorted, smoked, or inserted into the body. Some common medicinal plants included chili peppers, cacao, tobacco, agave, and the pitarilla tree. They also mixed parts of animals, like crocodiles, insects, fish, and birds, into their herbal remedies. Often, a mix of plant and animal products was prepared to treat a specific illness.

Images for kids

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  Morning glory was used by ancient Mayan healers.