EMPIRES CHILDREN: THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



267 



of illness is fright which jars the soul loose 

 from the body. The result, soul loss, is the real 

 cause of illness; fright merely accounts for the 

 separation of the soul. Fragmentary data from 

 several parts of Mexico suggest that soul loss 

 from fright was at one time a widespread super- 

 stition in the country. The superposition of 

 European concepts of illness seems to have oblit- 

 erated this belief to a considerable extent, though 

 some traces still remain. In Tzintzuntzan it is 

 said, only half seriously, tliat when one dreams 

 the spirit leaves the body in the form of a but- 

 terfly and travels over the world, leaving the 

 body like that of a dead person. The sleeping 

 person should not be awakened or frightened, 

 because if his spirit were absent it could not 

 return, and he would die. 



Today in Tzintzuntzan susto can be interpret- 

 ed as any shock which upsets the nervous system. 

 A surprise, pleasant or unpleasant, sudden an- 

 ger, and particularly shame resulting in loss of 

 face are recognized situations which may pro- 

 duce susto. One day Consuelo Rendon, age 5, 

 lost all of her school notebooks and pencils, 

 either as the result of carelessness or some prank 

 of her fellows. Tliis caused her to feel very 

 much ashamed, and she fell ill of hilis, the most 

 common manifestation of fright, for several 

 days. 



Bilis, correctly translated as "bile," actually 

 has a much more comprehensive implication. 

 It is a vague, abstract substance which is dif- 

 fused throughout the human body, closely con- 

 nected with the blood. It is associated with the 

 belief that a person needs lots of blood to be 

 healthy; when one gets sick his blood is reduced 

 in quantity. Very old, infirm persons are de- 

 scribed as having "no blood at all," meaning, of 

 course, very little of the essential substance. Bi- 

 lis, which causes a fever, "boils" the blood 

 away, making the victim ill. Symptoms of this 

 illness are bitter saliva, excruciating headache, 

 pain at the base of the skull, dizziness, and 

 nausea. Bilis tends to coagulate when a person 

 is asleep or at rest; hence, it is best attacked 

 upon awakening in the morning before it has 

 again been dispersed through the body. Various 

 concoctions of herbs are boiled with sugar, hon- 

 ey, and alcohol, and taken over a 9-day period. 

 Natividad says that doctors simply cannot un- 

 derstand this illness, and that home remedies 

 are far preferable. 



Aire, here called aigre, is a survival of the 

 widespread pre-Conquest Mexican belief that air 

 in itself is dangerous. Hence, the stereotyped 

 picture of the Mexican Indian with his scrape 

 drawn over his mouth and nose, to protect 

 himself from sickness. Headaches, dizziness, 

 and aches and pains in muscles and joints are 

 symptoms of disease caused by air. Ruda 

 (Ruta graveolens) mixed with alcohol is rubbed 

 on the sore places, and infusions of orange blos- 

 soms and cinnamon are drunk. 



Aire is also treated by la ventosa, cupping. A 

 coin is placed on the sore spot, a wooden match 

 stuck upright on it with wax, the match lighted, 

 a glass or cup placed over it to exckide air, and 

 as the oxygen is burned the flesh is pulled up 

 by the partial vacum. This European technique 

 is the functional equivalent of the native Amer- 

 ican sucking treatment which is widespread in 

 Mexico. 



The evil eye appears to be a European belief 

 imported to the New World. Some persons, often 

 unconsciously, communicate illness to children 

 simply by looking at them, admiring them, 

 or patting them. However, in Tzintzuntzan there 

 is little apparent reluctance to allow visitors 

 to comment on the children of the community. 

 The technique curar con blanquillos ("to cure 

 witii eggs"), widespread in Mexico, is both 

 diagnostic and therapeutic in Tzintzuntzan. 

 When the evil eye is suspected as the cause of 

 a child's illness, as indicated by diarrhea, fever, 

 and starts and frights in the night, the curer 

 proves or disproves the diagnosis with an egg. 

 The nude patient is laid on a bed, the curandera 

 takes the egg in one hand, makes the sign of 

 the cross, and passes the egg over all parts of 

 the body. If, upon breaking it in a pot of water, 

 a bombita, a small segment (spot of a fertiliz- 

 ed egg?) separates from the yolk and white, it 

 is proof of the evil eye. The use of the diagnostic 

 egg is in itself partially curative, but prob- 

 ably the curer also will rub tlie body with chiles 

 and herbs, throwing them, along with the egg, in 

 the fire, covering them carefully with ashes. 



The common native American explanation of 

 toothache survives in Tzintzuntzan: a worm 

 eats the root, causing pain. Presumably the 

 nerve of the badly decayed tooth is interpreted 

 as the worm. Various herbs may be placed in 

 the cavity, though aspirin is the most common 

 form of relief sought. 



