Sastun

by Rosita Arvigo

A sastun is a tool of the Maya healer, a kind of supernatural "hot line" to the spirits that tells a healer if an illness is rooted in natural or spiritual forces. Sastun is the captivating story of American herbologist Rosita Arvigo's apprenticeship to Don Elijio Panti, one of the last surviving, and most respected, traditional healers of Belize. Set in the imperiled Belizean rainforest that serves as the pharmacy of ancient Mayan medicine, Arvigo's story is an unforgettable personal account as well as a vivid reminder of the need to preserve both the rainforest's irreplaceable plant life and its ancient healing traditions. When Arvigo met Panti, the legendary healer was eighty-seven years old. Slight and sinewy, with failing eyesight and rheumatism, he still ventured into the forest to gather plants and ministered to patients from near and far each day. Arvigo was determined to become Panti's apprentice so that she could learn more about the native plants of Belize. What she discover