Monthly Archives: May 2023

Folk Medicine: Sugar Water

Nationality: USA / El Salvador
Age: 21
Primary Language: English

AR is a USC student born in the USA but whose mother immigrated from El Salvador. This is her describing how her mother would treat her illness when she was young.

AR.) When I was growing up, my mom would put sugar and water, warm it up in the microwave whenever we were sick or had a cold. It would cure everything; it was a magic cup of… she called it a certain thing, I’m blanking. When we were growing up, we had an ongoing story of her pretending to be a queen, me pretending to be a princess, and with the magic cup of sugar water, it would be like the magic potion that her servants would make for the princess, me. That made me laugh a lot. 

Me.) What’s the significance to you?

AR.) It worked when I was little. Thinking back to that, it’s sugar and water, I see that now, but when I was little I believed that this was the cure for any bad cold or any sickness. She’d give me other medicines, I didn’t care about those. I was a kid, I didn’t like those. Placebos, I guess.

Analysis:

Here we see a form of sympathetic magic taking the form of the simulation of drinking a “potion.” Even though it’s medically clear that there are no medicinal effects of sugar water, AR is insistent that it worked at the time. While this could be just viewed as the placebo effect, folk use of placebos long predates the scientific study of the phenomena. Therefore, I’d posit that this is a form of sympathetic magic. By ritualistically drinking a “potion,” the person who is sick will magically get better. This idea is bolstered by the presented imagery of queens and princesses, mimicking European fairytale tropes.

The Formation of The Khalsa

NM is a USC student born to a second-generation Punjabi Sikh father and a White American mother. He shared a myth that his family would tell him at family gatherings about the Sikh religion:

NM.) Um, yeah so this is gonna be more of a summary than anything, but uh, so first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak, uh. Basically, uh, they were being invaded, and the people didn’t really wanna fight back because it was, like, civilians and all that. So, uh, he asked like a few brave people to come up. And he got a first person pretty readily, and he took him to the back of the tent and came out with a bloody sword. And, after that, he was like, “If we sacrifice, we can win.” And after getting three more people, coming out with a bloodier sword each time, uh, he came out and revealed that he was actually slaughtering an animal, I think it was a goat. And uh, the men were like, one of like the first Sikh warriors, and, I forget the moral of it but that’s basically it. And he went on to like, talk about the four strengths that Sikhism um, like, endorses, which is like, intelligence, wealth, and material, like the strength of your sword, and physical strength

Me.) And, like, how did that affect you and your family. Like, when were you told that? In what circumstance?

NM.) Um, just at, like, family gatherings. And, I think I was first told at like ten, and most recent time I heard it was, like, probably last year. Um, I’m forgetting the moral now but it, like, told, it was supposed to be about bravery, and I think I did internalize that, at the time. Um, yeah, uh, that’s cool. 

This narrative is a legend that describes the formation of the first Sikh Khalsa. The Khalsa was a group of warrior-saints of the Sikh religion. It is unclear whether this actually happened in the creation of the first Khalsa, but it is a common legend that is shared by believers in the Sikh religion. It’s notable that NM believed that it was the first of the ten Sikh gurus, Guru Nanak, that formed the Khalsa instead of Guru Gobind Singh, who is more commonly believed to have performed that act.

While NM is somewhat disconnected from his family’s religions, being unable to understand or speak Punjabi and not being raised religiously, he still claims to be affected by the stories he heard growing up. While many people have stopped following the religions of the parent’s and grandparent’s generations, this is an example of how that heritage still affects those people.

Legend – Cover Your Mouth, or a Djinn will go into your mouth

ZN is of Pakistani Muslim Descent, and she shared about her father warning her of yawning without covering her mouth:

ZN.) Whenever we yawn, like me or my brother, my dad will say, “Make sure you cover your mouth, or else a Djinn will go in your mouth.”

Me.) And where do you think that came from? Like, who?

ZN.) I honestly don’t know, cause I don’t know if other people do it, but I know it’s like a polite thing to cover your mouth when you yawn and like, djinns are a part of the culture, so I’m sure it just, like, merged.

Me.) And they’re a part of Muslim culture, yeah?

ZN.) Djinns? Yeah. I don’t know if Muslim people cover their mouth when they yawn. Maybe it’s just emerging? I’ve never heard any of my other Muslim friends say that specific thing, but my dad always says that.

This story about djinns seems to be one unique to the subject because there is little in the way of stories about djinns entering a person during a yawn. However, if the subject’s father did make it up to teach them to close their mouth while yawning, this would be an example of using religious beliefs about supernatural creatures to encourage certain behaviors in children. There is a similar superstition about the devil entering a person’s mouth if they don’t cover their mouth when yawning, and this might be a Muslim adaptation of that saying. Muslims have historically taken local superstitions and stories and folded them into their religious fabric. This seems like an example of that.

The Djinn, also written Jinn or adapted to Genie are legendary figures often discussed in the Muslim world. Since they are not strictly Muslim figures, ghosts and legends from other cultures are often adapted to be depicted as Djinn.

Miso Seaweed Soup

Text:
In our family, we usually eat seaweed miso soup on New Year’s Day. I remember my mom would wake up early before everyone and would make us breakfast, no matter how tired we were from the night before. Whatever food she would make us, seaweed miso soup would always be a staple part of our breakfast on New Year’s Day. She used to tell us that drinking the soup on the first day of the year would ensure good health for all of us throughout the year and thus, would lead to prosperity. That is a recurring theme in Japanese culture, you know..actually int any Asian cultures….to link prosperity to health. Anyway, now that I am away from home, I try to keep these traditions closer to me than ever before. Last New Years, I was not able to go back home but I made sure to make the miso soup for myself. Reminded me of home.

Context:
CL is a college student studying journalism. Originally from Japan, she moved to the United States with her family when she was ten years old. She tells me that even though they don’t live in Japan anymore, her family tries their hardest to not forget their culture roots. CL told me the above piece of information in a conversation about New Year traditions that we observe at our homes.

Analysis:
The above is an example of a folk food that is used to bridge cultural gaps and to feel closer to a family’s cultural roots. Despite leaving the country they were born, through certain cultural motifs such as food, it can be observed that people can feel closer to their cultures and communities. It is not the miso soup that holds meaning, but the act of consuming it on a New Years day that bears cultural significance. Thus, this shows that meaning is usually generated when an individual usually links an act to a widespread significant event (here, New Years Day) and integrates it into society.

The color white in India

Text:
In my culture, white has never been a good color. You wear white to funerals, wrap the dead in white and you usually don’t wear white to any festivities because of its connotations to death.

Context:
PK is an undergraduate student in India. She told me about the cultural significance of the color white when we both coincidentally found ourselves with matching white outfits.

Analysis:
Noting the cultural significance of the color white was interesting because of its contrasting meanings in western cultures. In western cultures, the color white is usually associated with chastity, purity and is worn by brides on their wedding days. To encounter a different cultural significant of a color and its association to entirely opposite events only shows the fluidity of associating meaning to abstract concepts (in this case, color).