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Sastun: One Woman's Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer and Their Efforts to Save the Vani | 
 enlarge | Author: Rosita Arvigo
Publisher: HarperOne
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy Used: $2.63
You Save: $14.32 (84%)
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Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 281733
Media: Paperback
Pages: 208
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.6 x 6.1 x 0.6
ISBN: 006250259X
Dewey Decimal Number: 615.8820972825
EAN: 9780062502599
ASIN: 006250259X
Publication Date: February 3, 1995
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Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 Excellent account of traditional healing in the rainforest. July 5, 1996
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
I can only be grateful that Rosita Arvigo took on this challenge. Her own interests and career in alternative healing practices melded with those of a Mayan traditional healer. She was able to learn from Don Elegio and tap from his knowledge and experiences of his 60 year practice. And all of this essentially time critical, before further destruction of the rainforest and to memorialize Don Elegio's vast knowledge. Here's a real first-hand account of the search for medicinal cures in a rainforest, something we hear about in the media but never quite sure what it all entails. "Sastun" presents a realistic view of an American relocating and establishing a life in a Central American rainforest. One gets a glimpse of the life in a small Belizean village--the meld of Mayan and Catholic culture and the important role that a healer plays in this scene. We're visiting Belize soon and we'll make a specific point of visiting Ix Chel Farms and meeting Rosita Arvigo for a walk down the Panti Medicinal Rainforest Trail. I can only appreciate all that she has done in Belize in furthering the status of traditional healers in Belize and grounding it in science
 Alternative medicine at it's best December 20, 1999
Noel Ramos (Florida)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Rosita Arvigo and Dr. Balick have written a very good book about the her experiences with a Mayan shaman in Belize. It gives great insights about the vanishing breed of "bush" doctors. Good for anyone who wants to study the ethnobotany of Mayas or alternative medicines in general especially those made with tropical plants and herbs.
I'm very glad that there are people like this around. June 15, 2001
James Yanni (Bellefontaine Neighbors, Mo. USA)
6 out of 10 found this review helpful
Rose Arvigo and Don Elijio Panti are carrying on a very valuable tradition of herbal healing, and while I don't accept all that the old man has to say about his cures (the concept that some illnesses are caused by evil spirits and black magic strikes me as downright silly, and a return to medieval attitudes towards disease, for one thing) nonetheless, it is apparent that his cures frequently work, regardless of whether his understanding of their cause is correct. I'm glad that there are people willing to live and work in the rainforest to learn these herbal cures and preserve them, because I know I wouldn't be. I'm a city boy at heart; as far as I'm concerned, the entire purpose of thousands of years of developing civilization is to learn how to keep "the great outdoors" OUTDOORS. Still, I appreciate the value of herbal medicine.The book is well-written and interesting, and I wish all concerned with the attempts to preserve the rainforest and its herbs the best of luck and much success.
Excellent book... beautifully written... could not put this down. September 7, 2005
Mary Benson (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book is a work of peace and beauty. Each chapter starts with a quick note on unique Mayan herbs and identifies their healing properties. This alone is a treasure. Sastun also gives an insightful, sensitive look into the character a true healer who deeply cares for his patients, mourns his lonliness, yet is energized by his spiritual support he receives in his healing and the thankfulness of his humble, hard-working and trusting Mayan patients. Personally, I loved this book... it reads quickly and easily, is beautifully written with touching humor and is remarkably uplifting.
Thank goodness Sastun is back in print! April 30, 2006
BibliophileNYC
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I read this title when it came out years ago and have collected a few extra copies for loaning out over the years...now my hoarding is over.
This is truly a breathtaking story about the fragile links between traditional healing and current day healing. Truly, one of the most remarkable books I have ever read.
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