Page:Here and there in Yucatan - miscellanies (IA herethereinyucat00lepl 0).djvu/157

 —in the arms or feet—is ordered, the doctor undertakes to bleed them at once, or at the next meeting, or in the home of the patient, using for the operation a piece of glass tied to a small stick.

When at work the medicine men and women are naked above the waist. Some make their preparations in complete darkness, requesting those present to light up the room as soon as they are influenced by the first spirit. Others keep the room in obscurity only during the first part of the night. In the dark, after the preparatory ceremonies, a very loud voice seems to proceed from some empty utensil. It salutes those present by roaring out "Good-evening," takes information about the patients, speaks of incidents connected with their illness, and enters into conversation with those who are present simply from curiosity, answering almost any question they ask, even concerning the future; then, after the people sing with the voice, it gives thanks, and is heard no more. Soon another manifests, and another, until midnight, when the doctor puts a stop to it, to continue with light the other part of the performance above described; then the voices are no longer heard except through the mouth of the medicine man.

The individuals who undertake to make the voices