Wayan the Healer

Today is another ordinary day that turned into an adventure, and quite the adventure. After my crash course with Dr. Taylor to learn the facial massage I asked my driver to drop me off at the post office. He told me that he thinks the medicinal woman I have been looking for since I got here, might be maybe near the post office. She is actually, right next to the post office. I saw a” vegetarian meal” sign and walked in, than I saw all the little jars of dried herbs and sat at a table. She handed a paper to read explanations of the healing she does. I told her I didn’t need a healing cession but was hoping for some medicine for my ear, I might of got bitten by an insect, my ear is really sensitive and swollen. I also have another small problem that I know herbs would take care of. She said give me your hand, than both my legs, she starts telling me my blood is to acidic and my calcium is low along with a lymphatic blockage. I also needs some vitamin E. I know she is right, I have been feeling that my body is too acidic. She also said my knees hurt sometime along with my shoulders. She is right about everything so far. A young man comes out of the kitchen to make a fresh drink of turmeric, honey and lime juice. While I am sipping the drink, she writes down everything. She asked to see my left hand again and reads my palm with exactitude. She says I am very lucky, been married more than once, the first one was very short, very true, I was a widow at an early age, the second one was a bad one. She did not say much about the future except that I will get a job that will require travelling. I cannot see this happening. She made me another beverage this time a hot one with ginseng, turmeric, cinnamon ,honey and lime. I told her my tongue is kind of numb from the turmeric juice, she takes a sip of my glass and said no it’s good, drink it all. I guess if she was not discussed by my mouth I have to do the same and drink in the same glass she put her lips on. Then she said she saw in my mind I want to lose weight in my belly. That really shock me, she couldn’t be more accurate. I have started to put weight around the waste and not from eating too much, but probably from starving my body to much when I worked at the restaurant and my body is revenging by stocking fat. She said I don’t eat at regular hours. I will explain my theory about weight gain and weight loss in my book; she is right on, with everything. She gives me more herbal medicine that is just like Ayurveda little tiny balls that you swallow. She said she can give me a treatment at 3pm but first I must eat, no kidding that is why I stop here. Here, you don’t order, she orders for you! A beautiful plate came with little signs for everything as to why she is giving you this. The food was absolutely delicious. The menu consisted of; White sea weed for vitamin E, grilled coconut for Vitamin D, Mutabilis leaf for health of the liver, stomach gas, cholesterol and too much acid in the stomach, Tomato chutney for vitamin C, Ginseng leaves for strong power, Sate Tofu for healthy bones and teeth and protein, Water spinach for calcium and cleaning the blood, Bean sprouts with peanut sauce for Vit E and weak muscles. Along ,with another hot infusion of Guto Kola leaf. While, I am eating, some kind of big green leaves are put on my tummy, some bandages that smells like wintergreen, on my knees and some oil rubbed on my harms. It smells like bug repellant and he said no you can eat this, and he put a few drops on his tongue. After I ate my meal and drank all these potions, I’m indicated to go upstairs. The old tiny frail women, tells me to take everything off, and she stands there, waiting for me take my clothes off and wrap me in a sarung. Sitting in a chair they scrub my feet and legs with an infusion of leaves and water, they use the leaves to rub the skin. They are rubbing a long time and not with a mild hand. The tiny frail lady is crushing roots and spices on the mortar and pestle stone, the room is filled with medicinal aromas. They apply this white chunky paste all over my legs and feet, and they scrub hard. I am sure I have no dead skin left. I have no idea what my treatment is suppose to be consisted of, but I am going with it. This is the most bizarre treatment I have ever received, and I start to understand, why in her book, Elizabeth Gilbert does not talk very much about Wayan healing cession. Elizabeth is a very talented writer and she knew she had the duty to tell a good story and she shrouded the character of Ketut with mystery. As she play up the Medicine man for the benefit of a good story, readers are subconsciously believing the superlative abilities of this psychic, of a man that could be the one that will miraculously change their destiny by predicting events that would change your world. Or, he might say to you to, you will loose all your money but will regain it all back and some more! |Just like he predicted to Gilbert. This is why, Ketut is now famous and that most of the people lining up at his door are woman. Fairy tales are not for men but for women! On the other hand Wayan, would be something to exotic and bizarre for Westerners. Most Westerners, would never have this kind of treatment in this kind of sanitary conditions, and usually people are to prude. Myself, I am right in my element, as I believe this is exactly how we should seek treatment when something goes wrong, although I would agree to a more comfortable room with better sanitary conditions and defiantly more privacy. When one has to stand in a shower, which most of us would not brush their teeth in, with an old lady washing you, you need to detach yourself from reality! For two hours, I had all kinds of scrubs and oil and medicinal paste and more scrub. Two young men massages you, in sync. It makes you wonder, why Wayan chose to employ men’s, as anywhere in this island the girls do the massage. I have leaves between my toes, ginger paste on my knees and someone is blowing something hot in your ears. A really hot lime is rolled around my ear another person is rubbing my face with hot wet leaves than rubbing cucumber all over for at least half hour. I forgot to mention she said I was very lucky so she went to three different temple to get some holy water for my face. This is all happening in her tiny precarious living quarters and her daughter is watching from her bed, joined later by some friends! Than Wayan changes her clothes and works her magic on me. They really work my belly hard, she is scooping something with a thick plastic spoon, just like if she was scooping the fat out!. She orders me to lift my harms one by one, she puts a few drops of something, than scratches my underarms with a tool than looks like a pen. She does it till you are screaming! I try to pull my arm away, I am sure she is scaring me your life, she pulls back sayong,no problem, nothing, easy! I am sure it is when you’re the one hold the pen! Than she makes me smells a clear liquid from a bottle, she gives me a demonstration, that’s easy, no problem, I plug on side of my nostril than take a good snif! I am not sure if I let a swear or not out, it was like sniffing fire! I did it much carefully on the other side. I am serious, it was like inhaling fire. My face does look radiant and I feel I’ve received a surgical less, tommy tuck! My clothes are to my surprise loose! As I wait to pay, a young girl waits downstairs for her turn and I listen, to my satisfaction she did not tell the young lady the same thing as me. She hands me a whole medicinal chest to take home, with some instructions that will almost require a course! I have everything I need for a long time, including a jar of honey, a jar of some hot juice and banana leaf with some paste for my ongoing belly tuck! The supposedly magical paste is also good to make penis hard she tell me, I laugh and said I won’t be needing that! Viagra on a banana leaf, you can truly find anything in Bali! I am not sure the young girl, has no clue what she’s in for! I hope she is not a prude one! She is now eating the food prepared for her condition and had to drink a different liquid for her sore throat. As I walk around with my jar of green liquid I can see the looks on the sidewalk of every one wondering, what is in that jar! Just around the corner I go in to change some money, as this was the most expensive day I had here, the shop owner’s wife is wearing a jacket and I asked if she was cold, her husband said she was sick, I told them they should go see Wayan, she said yes maybe I should go and ask me what was in my jar, I said medicine for my blood! I was there for three hours, a bag full of powders, fresh leaves, herbal teas, Ayurvedic medicine. Total cost with my meal $90. I feel the treatment is working, I am passing all kinds of gas and the hot lime rolled around my ear combined with the hot smoke as already alleviate my pain in my ear. There is one instruction I will not do, she ask me to drink my urine tomorrow morning, I said, I am sorry but no, I don’t believe in this. Many people do and are fervent adept of this therapy, but I believe your urine is full of toxins that needs to be expelled from your body. Although, I believe that applying urine to a skin condition can resolve the skin condition. That is a paradox I cannot explain! As I left, she blessed my bag with incense and a offering basket. I have never seen a place with so many offering baskets, they are lines up all over the floors, ¼ of her tiny place is reserve to some king of shrine, she has a whole list of gods, each one for each of her talent, prosperity, health, and so forth. I am glad I didn’t get my hair done today, they took my braids out and poured some herbal water and oil all over them. I might add this was not in a sink, but over a bowl on the floor! The herbs smells like fresh cut grass, a smell I am not too fond of. People are lining up at Ketut’s house for $150.00 us for a palm reading of 10 minutes that is too often deceiving. They would get lot more for their money if they came to Wayan shop. Wayan does not use the fact she an actual character of the book, if one does not know anything about the story of eat. Pray, love, she is not one to brag about it. She has a discrete picture of Elizabeth in her shop along with Julia Roberts and does not promote herself as the medicinal lady in the book. There is no indication when you find the shop, that this place hide the famous Wayan. The next morning, I found out of my way to the rafting, Julia Roberts was here for three months shooting the movie. I had no idea a movie about the book, was coming out. That explains why she had a picture of Julia Roberts in her shop and why she had this brand new cute little Suzuki car, at the door, while she is living in precarious condition. She would off received some payoff, for them to use her name.
This experience in her shop, will always be in my memory as one of the most unique treatment I ever received, and in a way such a delight for me, that in this part of the world they treat and heal people the way I wish the rest of us would start to understand how powerful natural is and how beneficial it is. My only sadness, I didnt have the heart to ask them to take a photo of my body on the table, at some point I felt almost like they were preparing my body to become a mommie just like the egyptians did. I knew their hands full of oils might ruin my camera.Next time I go visit Wyhan for some vitamin juice, I have to ask if Julia Roberts went through an healing cession. That is a remote possibility, if ever she did, I am impress!
This experience was almost sureal and also, going to bed, I also realised I had met one of the character of the book, it is kind of a strange feeling to meet someone, that was part of such a powerful story, I certainly did not go there to exprience meeting someone famous, as I am the kind of person who has no idols!
I admire a lot of people, but would not go out of my way to meet them,