Sastun

An American doctor enters the Belize jungle to uncover the healing secrets of an ancient Maya master.

The compelling drama of American herbologist Rosita Arvigo's quest to preserve the knowledge of Don Elijio Panti, one of the last surviving and most respected traditional healers in the rainforest of Belize.

Her journey along the Macal River led her to learn an ancient system of rainforest medicine. Having settled on an uncleared parcel in the Cayo District with her husband Greg and young daughter Crystal, the trained naprapath sought out Don Elijio in his small village clinic.

Arvigo walked five miles from the riverbank to San Antonio to persuade the skeptical octogenarian healer to accept her as an apprentice. Over years of study, her foraging excursions into the Maya Mountains helped her collect wild roots, barks, and medicinal leaves.
Ethnobotany in the Field: Dr. Arvigo documents hundreds of rainforest species, recording their Mayan names, preparation methods, and botanical classifications before forest clearing erases them.Apprenticeship to a Master: Trekking into the foothills above San Antonio, Arvigo learns to harvest Skunk Root, identify medicinal vines, and master ancient diagnoses.Bush Medicine and Healing: From boiling bitter barks for fevers to applying fine powders on chronic skin sores, the volume details traditional cures gathered along the Macal River.Also by This Author: Rainforest Home Remedies.