Tamascal

The Tamascal, left, is essentially a sauna made out of stone. The Tamascal is a part of the ancient Mayan culture and is still used today as a place to bathe in. My host family during training always used the Tamascal, but for whatever reason it kind of scared me (it also looked like it would be dirty inside - this was when I was still adjusting). I never tried the tamascal until I returned to visit the family in July, and IT WAS GREAT. The heat and steam is created by burning wood in a small hole that is part of the tamascal´s structure but sectioned off so that those inside don´t feel the fire directly. One enters naked and bucket bathes using a tub of warm water already inside. Only a candle lights inside making the experience very soothing and almost spiritual. In fact, according to Mayan spiritualism, the Tamascal is the place where the ancestral spirits reside. They say that a cold or sickness represents one being punished by the ancestors for doing or saying something wrong. To cure oneself of the cold and to reconcile with the ancestors the tamascal is the solution. Newborns are also placed in the tamascal to meet their ancestors.