BIENVENIDO ABUELITA -- AJO!!

This is what we all shouted each time a new hot stone, or "abuelita" (little grandmother), was brought into the Temazcal. Temazcal is a ritual Mayan steam bath -- what we call a sweat lodge in native american culture in the U.S. -- and I was invited to participate in one this past weekend while I was in Tequisquiapan.

What an experience!!

I had already made plans to go visit Ceci (I spent 2 weeks at her place in September learning Spanish) and get a haircut with my new favorite haircutter, Christian. Christian is from Los Angeles and speaks English and Spanish because his family is Mexican -- he was working in the film industry, got worn out with the frantic pace, and decided to set up shop in Tequis for a while. Great hair cutter, and a really lovely guy. Anyway, Silviah's mother, Herminia, when I had dinner with them last week told me about this Temazcal that she and some friends were going to in Tequisquiapan and invited me to go. Never one to pass up a unique opportunity, I of course accepted without really knowing what I would be getting myself into.

Ceci took me there (she declined to join me in the experience), and it was in a part of Tequis next to the presa (reservoir)where horses, cows and goats were grazing, that she was not familiar with. I got there before Herminia and her friends, so felt a little nervous, but a young woman greeted me very warmly and invited me to change into different clothes -- I had been instructed to bring light cotton shorts and shirt, or a bathing suit. Inside the walls of this compound were a few little stucco buildings, some fruit trees, and a small round structure framed in rattan and covered with fabric, and next to that structure was a fire which was heating up a pile of rocks. The area was about twice the size of my backyard.

While we were waiting for the rest of the participants to arrive, the young woman who was Peruvian, Rosario, beat a drum as another woman tended the fire. The Temazcal is an ancient ritual of purification which is meant to be not only cleansing but spiritually uplifting. We were instructed to let go of any expectations we had of the experience and approach it with the attitude of a child, totally open and attentive to whatever we felt or experienced.

Rosario blew the conch shell to the four directions and her assistant, the beautiful woman in the Mexican blouse offered incense or copal to the four directions. Then we were invited one by one to enter the lodge, and each person was "smudged" with copal to disperse negative energy.

After I was smudged front and back, I was gently told to say "for all my relations" as I entered the small opening and to crawl on my hands and knees around the inside clockwise until I found my place next to the person who entered before me. Speaking about our relations was a way to acknowledge that we all carry with us all of our ancestors and offspring.

There were about 12 of us, 11 women and 1 man. Rosario said it was good that we had at least one man because it was important for woman to increase their masculine energy and for men to increase their feminine energy. After everyone had entered, including Rosario and her assistant, we formed a circle on woven mats around a central area that was a shallow hole in the earth encircled with local flowers. Rosario explained that there would be four stages to the experience each honoring one of the 4 sacred elements: earth, air, water and fire. Then one of the helpers outside began to carry hot stones from the fire with a pitch fork into the lodge one by one. As each stone arrived we shouted "Bienvenido abuelita" and Rosario drew an X on it with a piece of copal as she placed it in the middle. When about 8 stones had been placed, she asked that the door be closed and it became dark except for the red glow of some of the stones. She asked that each person share their name and their reason for coming to the Temazcal. As each person finished they were to say "ajo" (pronounced a-ho), so that the next person would know they were finished. This is all in Spanish so as the people took their turn, and it came closer and closer to my turn, I was feeling pretty anxious about saying something in Spanish to this group, but the darkness helped. After the last person spoke, Rosario began to dip a branch of eucalyptus leaves into a bucket of water and slap the branch onto the stones. As the steam formed, it became unbelievably hot, and we were instructed to breathe in and out through our noses. I kept my eyes closed and just concentrated on breathing, as I felt sweat dripping from every part of my body. At first, I thought, I'm not going to be able to tolerate this for long, but then I settled into the experience and let go of wondering "how long" or "what will happen next". It was a very intense meditation because the physical experience is so extreme that there is no room for thoughts or mental activity.

At some point, Rosario asked us to join her in shouting "Puerta" which was the signal for the outside helper to open the door. I remember being a bit disappointed because I thought it was over too soon. Little did I know, we had just begun. Remember the four stages? Well that was just the first one. After we cooled off a little, more "abuelitas" began to arrive, then more sharing -- this time I believe it was about what we wanted to ask for. Then as the eucalyptus branches and the steam began, we were to breathe in deeply and then vocalize as we breathed out. That actually felt great. The heat this time was even more intense, and again once I relaxed and settled into it, it felt fine. After the second stage, cups of water with some herb in it were passed around. I wasn't as thirsty as I would have thought I would be after all that sweating. At this point, my clothes were as wet as if I had jumped into a pool.

Each stage got hotter, but I think my body was adjusting so that the subsequent rounds never felt as difficult as that second one. There was no more talking after the second stage, but Rosario sang and chanted, sometimes in Spanish and sometimes in indigenous dialect. One of the women in our group asked to sing an ancient nahuatl song which was absolutely beautiful. Of course, this singing and chanting would happen only before or after the intense steam. During the heat, it's pretty much impossible to do anything but breathe.

After the third stage, we could have lovely cold water poured over our heads and necks if we wanted. I was surprised that only a couple of us asked for that. I thought it felt exquisite! After the fourth and final stage, and the door was opened there was a tray of beautiful fresh and cold pieces of fruit presented and passed around. Watermelon and oranges never tasted so spectacularly wonderful!!

AJO!!!

When I looked at my watch after showering I realized 4 hours had passed. The aftermath was that by the time I walked home to Ceci's house, I was exhausted. I ate a light supper and was in bed by 8:30, but my skin looked fabulous and my lung congestion was gone. The next day, I felt great. I would like to say that suddenly I can speak Spanish fluently, but, sadly, that's not the case. I'm still working at it.