The Indians use for medicinal purposes a great variety of plants which grow in their country; some of these are purely empirical remedies; others produce definite physiological results and are frequently used with good effect, while a few, apparently on the assumption that "similia similibus curantur," are employed because of some fancied resemblance in form to the diseased part, as xhudub pek, twin seeds of the size of small eggs, the milky juice of which is used as an external application for enlarged glands and for various forms of orchitis.
The following plants are used medicinally by the Indians as remedies for the diseases named, respectively:
Acitz.—The milky juice of a tree, used as an application for chronic sores and ulcers.
Acam.—The leaves of this plant are applied hot to reduce the swelling and relieve the pain in enlargement of the spleen and liver.
Purgacion Xiu.—An infusion made from the leaves is administered warm in bladder and urethral troubles.
Pakaal.—An infusion made from the leaves of the orange tree is given as a sudorific.
Pichi.—A paste made from the leaves of the guava is applied to "bay sore," a specific ulcer somewhat resembling "oriental sore."
Pomolche.—A mouth wash made from the milk of this tree is used in cases of stomatitis and ulceration of the mouth.
Quimbombo.—The wild okra is greatly esteemed as an external application in cases of snake bite.
Sisim.—An infusion made from the leaves is used as a sudorific in cases of malarial fever.
Sicilpuz.—A yellowish fruit sometimes used as a purgative.
Cabalpixoy.—The fruit of this tree is given in cases of diarrhea, and an infusion made from the bark is used in diarrhea and dysentery.
Claudiosa Xiu.—An infusion made from the whole bush is greatly esteemed as a bath and lotion in all uterine and ovarian complaints.
Chalche.—The spinous leaf of this plant is used as a local application to relieve neuralgic pains, and an infusion made from the leaves is given for rheumatism.
Chamico.—An infusion made from the leaves of the convolvulus mixed with other leaves is given to relieve asthma and bronchial catarrh.
Chaac.—The arrowroot, eaten raw, is regarded as a useful remedy in all bladder and urethral complaints.
CuƆuc.—The wood, ground into a paste, is applied to the heads of small children suffering from fever and convulsions.
Ruda.—The leaves of this plant are universally used as an external application for children suffering from convulsions, and frequently in the same manner for the relief of almost any nervous complaint in adults.
Pica pica.—A sort of cowhage which, mixed with atol or some corn beverage, is largely used as a vermifuge for children.
Games
Both children and adults play many games, most of which have probably been introduced since the conquest. A favorite among these is a game known as tak in kul, in which a number of players stand in a row with their hands behind their backs while one, who holds a small pottery disk in his hand, stands behind the row, another standing in front. The one holding the disk places it in the hands of one of those in the line, who in turn passes it to his neighbor, so that it travels rapidly up and down the line. The player in front has to guess in whose hand the disk is at the moment of guessing. If he is right, the holder of the disk has to come in front while the one who guessed correctly joins the line.
Chac is a sort of "knucklebones," played with pottery disks, which are tossed from the palm to the back of the hand and back again; the one who drops fewest disks in a given number of double throws wins the game.
The boys make little bows (pohoche) and arrows (hul) tipped with black wax, with which they play war and hunting games.
A seesaw made from a small tree balanced on a stump is popular, as is also a sort of merry-go-round constructed from a cross of poles fixed on top of a stump by means of a wooden pin, which rotates freely. The children sit at the extreme ends of the poles and make the contrivance rotate by kicking against the ground vigorously at intervals as they go around.
The bull roarer, made from a dry seed pod, is popular in some villages and is probably one of the few toys used by the natives before the conquest.