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Sustaining the Temazcal

Public domain photo by L. A. Huffman,
Miles City, Montana, via Wikimedia Commons
I talked to a temazcal guide a while back, asking if he was going to start up his temazcal again. "Right now, I do not have a truck, and I need a truck. You can get me one. Why don't you bring one across for me? I need a truck."

It did not surprise me that he asked me for a vehicle. That's how he works. Not many people understood this attitude, and some even criticized him for it. Before I did my service for his circle, I did not understand why he frequently asked us, as caminantes, or walkers, in his circle, for so many things.

He held his ceremonies in a large lot on the outskirts of town. It belonged, he had told me, to "un hermano" (a brother). He did, at that time, have his own truck. ... or at least I thought it was his. I never asked, really.

He lived in a modest, loaned home, with his "dualidad," (literally, "duality," or partner). His business, likewise, consisted of little infrastructure and materials that he purchased as he needed them, and he survived on his talent and relationships.

When I asked him about whether he was going to reinitiate his temazcal ceremonies he explained:

"To stay pure," he said, "we must live like the Lakotas lived. They were nomads, and they belonged to the land ... not like people today. Now people think the land belongs to them. 
We cannot just go out and buy what's needed for the temazcal. Everything must be a gift ... a piece of land loaned in good faith, firewood from the tree that fell down behind your office, ... the truck that you can bring me. 
When all of these things come together, it happens. Right now, these things are not together. A brother has told me that we can have ceremonies on his land, but I do not have the things we need right now." 

I have seen different attitudes of sharing among the temazcaleros. His circle practiced on a borrowed site.

A sign, on the outer circle, reminded
participants to deposit a donation
in a recipient. Source: MexConnect.
Sacred water came from a nearby "brother," who worked at a nursery with a high-volume hose. Much of the firewood came from nearby deadfalls and donations. Ceremonial tea came from volunteer caminantes, in the circle. Copal and herbs came to the temazcal as offerings, and sometimes the guides bought them from the "cooperaciones," (a voluntary donation of $30 Mexican pesos) left in the "huaje" (a gourd hung on the entrance of the circle, for deposit of donations). Gas also came from the cash donations or his own pocket.

When I did my service in their circle, cutting wood, preparing the sacred fire, raking the earthen floor, purchasing supplies, running errands, and locating and acquiring firewood. I saw that the weekly ceremony was a labor-intensive and sometimes a costly endeavor. This particular guide and his partner kept the circle alive by boldly requesting donations, but today it's gone.

I've seen other temazcalero guides who ask less of their caminantes, providing varying degrees of material support and labor. I've also heard of commercial, tourist-supported, lucrative temazcales, where, for a fee much larger than the voluntary "cooperacion," guides take care of everything.

So, it seems that one finds a whole spectrum of ownership levels. The modest temazcal where I did my service gave me a special sense of belonging. Part of the ceremony came from my own sweat, labor, and material resources. In other temazcales, the guides asked little (usually only the $30 voluntary cooperation) or even nothing.

The guide-sustained still exist, but my own contact with them has been more transient. As of this writing, I've never been to the tourism-supported or spa-type temazcales, so I have no personal experience with them.

If you have been to a temazcal, I'd like to hear your observations how guides seemed to sustain their ceremonies, whether through voluntary donations or through mandatory fees. Let me know ...

  • What was your impression of the guide's ownership level?
    • Was it a business? or 
    • Did it seem to be sustained by voluntary efforts and offerings? 
  • How did these observations affect your experience in the temazcal?


 ... con todas mis relaciones! Aho!

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