Mayan K’iche’, Guatemalan Highlands

Mayan K’iche’, Guatemalan Highlands

Paulina Yus comes from a legacy of women healers. Her understanding of plant knowledge is prolific and integrated into nearly every part of her life.

Paulina practices synchronistic healing, a tradition that feminist historian Max Dashau identifies as being increasingly important among women healers in recent decades. Yus, pulls from her own traditions as a Mayan healer as well as Eastern practices like acupuncture, cupping and Reiki. Her ceremonial style is diverse and tailored to the particular needs of each community.

For her collaboration with Borders Like Water, Yus facilitated multiple community ceremonies. One of the ceremonies was conducted with immigrants who had recently been deported from the US and returned to Guatemala. These individuals migrated to the US, and then, upon being turned away by the US government, were returned to Guatemala. Yus’s ceremonies helped re-integrate these migrants with their ancestral lands. The ceremonies also helped to build community during a time of intense trauma and hardship. As people move like water through and across borders, ceremonies play an important role in grounding.

Flowering Jade Vine, Antigua Guatemala, a species nearly extinct and indigenous to the Philippines