The doctor has been working with Rosalina for quite some time and together they’ve helped many indigenous people. As a friend, Rosalina invited us to join their traditional mayan ceremony to to honor the victims of war crime and the spirits. We feel very honored to have been a part of a traditional mayan ceremony lead by Rosalina. Many of her friends and members of the «female victims of the war» were there too. It was an amazing experience.

We all woke up at about 5.30, we didn’t want to be late today. We were about to meet an indigenous woman that has – despite all the fight and tensions – continued to do what she feels as her duty to do: to help the woman – the victims of war crime – in order to give them a voice. She worked for the congress in order to represent the indigenous people. We were honored to meet her at the sacred placethey built to remember all the victims of the civil war that happened here in Guatemala over 30 years ago. Now that is worth getting up early and not be late. We made some hot water for tea, while we got all our stuff together – camera, machines and phones – and waited for the uber driver. With a quick stop for a MCDonalds Coffee in order to wake up our brains some more, we made it to Chimaltenango, in the middle of the mountains and a little more in the north of Antigua de Guatemala, within 90 minutes. From there, a classic chicken bus brought us to a gas station, where we should get picked up by Rosalina Tujuk at 8.00 am. We were (for guatemalan time) on point (8.06) and Rosalina welcomed us very heartly some minutes later! The hug and the smile from this indigenous woman in traditional clothing made me feel comfortable right away and I could feel the greatness of her heart. While we were driving through the mountains she showed me the baskets full of seeds. She told me they were for the birds to eat. She smiled at me and I was stunned by the joy she showed when talking about feeding the birds. Later, I would realize, she would feel that joy for everything she does, receiving food, giving hugs or cooking for people.

We arrived on a hill, covered in pine trees and surrounded by corn fields. It felt very old, sacred and traditional. What one has to know is, that in the mayan culture, corn is one of the most important and sacred plants. Some stories even tell, how mankind was created through corn. So having corn fields around this sacred place made it very traditional.

To the right, there was the memorial for the victims of the civil war – thousands upon thousands of names ingraved into solid rock, formed to a curved body around the hill side. Instantly, one can feel how many people must have suffered from this terrible act against humanity, from humans. Only that this genocide isn’t known in many history books of so many schools – like so many other genocides. About 800’000 people have been murdered, mostly indigenous people. Our driver told us his story about how he lost his dad in 1982, while he was a kid and how he became a homeless in the city. He eventually became a bus driver and now he is a very active gardener / farmer, who knows more about plants than most people I’ve ever met!

Rosalina started to show us the place, while some other indigenous people were preparing the place for a ceremony to show gratitude and thanks to the spirits, to ask for healing for their ancestors and dead family members and to honour the place and the peace it holds today. The ceremony place is surrounded by holes – holes that were filled with dead bodies some 30 years ago to hide the massacres the army imposed on this land.

They built a house in which they honor all the tribes and families. Paintings on the inside show the family forms and symbols that nearly all of the women still carry in their clothing today. Underneath they drew the names of all the families, under which people would put plants and candles, knee down and pray, sing or just remember their loss and ask for forgiveness. Rosalina then showed us the outside walls of the building. Moms and daughters painted all the four walls with all the spirit animals or „navals“ – the zodiac signs of the mayan tradition – with the Jaguar, the snake in front to the west, while all the night animals to the north. Next to them, there was a picture of the genocide, women in iron chains while guys get shot and houses get burnt. Rape, murder, skinned people, one can not imagine the pain some of these people went through.

To the east there was people playing music and dancing, celebrating their tradition, their origin and the nature, while birds fly through the sky and day animals observe the happening. To the south there is IMOX, the crocodile, that lies in the water that flows from the mountain into a pool. Women dreamt of all these paintings and then painted it – in the most beautiful colors! How talented they are and how connected still to the spiritual, the energy world! I felt very thankful for experiencing this beauty and being invited to this sacred place!

After she showed us all the spirit animals or zodiac signs, she went on helping the others preparing the place for a ceremony while an indigenous family came towards us and gave us some traditional food. We used the opportunity to make some new friends – especially the doctor, who played with their youngest kid. The little boy was very proud to show him all his toys, he even carried his sisters doll in his backpack. The whole family was quite entertained by the doctors faces and actions.

We too were laughing out loud while eating the delicious sweet squash and sweet potatoe they gave us. In the mean time, many othe rindigenous people showed up and filled the place around the ceremony. After half an hour, Rosalina invited us all to the ceremony place. She started a fire in the middle of a clean area, while others were putting down fruits and other food for the spirits and the dead people, as well as binding flowers on the surrounding trees and on the floor next to the stone altar. Then, Rosalina asked us to sit down. In her native tongue, Kakchiquel, she talked about the place, the people, and why they were here. She also talked about the special guests, us, and that she thanked us for helping this country. She kept on talking for about 15 minutes or more. And even with my feet that fell asleep and my insecurity of being allowed to fillm the ceremony, I stayed focused and enjoyed witnessing such unique happening. We all got a piece of wood and a cacao seed , another very sacred plant here in the Maya lands and nowadays more and more recognized by also western medicine – today it is even considered one of the superfoods. These we would have to fill with our wished, blow them upon them and throw them in the fire. It was a classical mayan fire ceremony, where one puts different material in the fire, each with its on specific meaning. Often, people use 4 colored candles for all the directions, sacred wood as well as the „blood of the trees“ and of course some deliscious food for the spirits – in this case, tha cacao. After we all put our wishes and prayings into the fire, we sat back down and another lady started to talk for another 10 minutes. She then started a song in spanish. All the woman, elderly women who’s faces told many stories, younger mothers with their kids, innocent kids running around, started to sing with her. It was a sad but very beautiful song that told the stories of their lifes. And while they kept singing I sank into a meditation and prayed for peace for all the pain that these souls have experienced. After that, they all started laughing, because now it was time for us to sing a song. So the doctor sang a song about Maria – which was as touching as was their song.

Then it was time to share some stories. So a man, maybe in his 70, with dirty clothes and a machette on his belt, came forward, took his hat off and introduced himself. He was the only man around. He said his story is a bit sad. When he was younger, during the civil war, the military came into his village. He lived in Comalapa for many years with his family, they had 8 kids. The military shot his wife, they shot his dad. He himself was able to flee, down to Chimaltenango, through the mountains, without knowing what was going to happen to his village, his family, his kids. For many months he stayed in Chimaltenango, looking for food as he has lost his home. After years, he could go back. But his family was gone. No one knew where his kids were. So he went and searched for his kids all over the place, but never found them ever again. Some twenty years later, the findings of mass graves gave him a little release: they found the DNA of three of his kids. While this might give him some release, he left since that day alone, without his family, not knowing what has happened to his kids. I can not comprehend the pain this man must have endured, the endless questions he must have asked the Gods and the Universe, how many times he must have thought of his kids with a neverending hope in his heart, that maybe some of them might have survived. 5 are still missing, which might be enough reason to still hope some more. But with a number in the thousands of victims that are still not identified, how big are his chances… We all had tears in our eyes and hugged him.
More people told us similar story. A woman lost her dad, mom, husband and house. She too fled and came back years later to live with a tyrannic second husband, only because she just had nothing and was thankful for just a place, some safety and food in order to survive. He died years later, and now she feels better. While she still worries about how to get her next meal, Rosalina’s aid has helped her a lot, food with but much more so, to give her some hope, believe in life and get excited again. Rosalina gave her a voice and she feels that she at least cares about her.

Then, we were supposed to say something. So I stumbled some words of how I am helping the doctor and how we have healed some people from Dengue, but I didn’t really know what else to say. I felt ashamed of my own story and how often I bitched about my life and my circumstances, when hearing this stories, I feel like a blasphemist. Then the doctor talked and made some jokes, which remembered us all that we are now also here to celebrate the peace. So we ate some more squas hand sweet potatoes while people started to line up for some treatments. Many of them felt better thanks to the zero point treatment and some 4 Hz frequency treatments. Some of them just came to watch us work, ask us questions or play with us. Two hours later, family by family slowly left the place until there was only Rosalina, her friend, and us left. We cleaned up the place, Rosalina cleaned up the ceremony place. I realized that she really is the leader of this group and that many people rely on her. She carries a big burden and I am astonished by with how much dignity and gratitude she works.

We drove back down into town where we treated an elderly women from dementia. And we decided to come back in a month, so we can go into the villages and help these people with more medicine and more machines. Many of them need some nano colloidal silver for their gastritis and fungus infections. I am very excited about this upcoming happening!

Rosalina then brought us to her home. She was going to cook us some vines of a native vegetable calle „Quiscil“ and on the whole drive back she kissed the plants alternating to taking little naps.

We arrived at her place, a small and rustical home, the walls covered in diplomas and honors for all her humanitarian work. She immediately ran into the kitchen while her husband showed us his little garden. I was so stunnished by the simplicity of her home, which would probably at least be second or third world standard back home, when knowing that this woman could have ran for president of this country. And should!

After an hour, she fed us a quiscil vane soup with home made tortillas, beans that were cooked on a wooden fire and some home made tomato sauce (picante). A home made basil drink and some sweet bread made this a outstanding meal with so much flavour – it must have been the love she put into it that made this one of the best meals I’ve ever had. We were all very thankful for some warm and tasty food. While her husband told us more about plants, honey and organic farming, Rosalina became quite. She must have been very tired, organizing all these happenings and cooking for 5 hungry people. So we left her home, thankful and very satisfied and made our way back home – of course with a ride in one of those fantastic chicken buses.

I want to thank all the indigenous people that allowed us to visit their sacred place and join their sacred ceremony. Special thank goes to Rosalina and her husband, who made this adventure a wonderful, very unique experience. I am filled with gratitude to have been able to be part of their ceremony and wish all their families and souls peace and prosperity!