Description (What is being performed):

When someone has the hiccups, it is said that if you drink water upside it will get rid of these hiccups. The way in which this process works is that one fills up a glass of water, puts their mouth on the glasses edge furthest from them and bend down so their head is nearly upside down. You then drink the water from the glass.

The Informant (Background info about performance from informant):

Me: “How did you find out about this method for getting rid of hiccups?

Informant: “To be honest I don’t really know how…Um hold on, let me think”

Me: (Interupt) “Let’s come back to that…what is it about this do you like”

Informant: “Ah, it’s always entertaining to suggest this method to people unfamiliar with it. They always doubt you and laugh at the absurdity of it, but then when they do it and it works they think they just discovered fire.”

Me: “Does it work 100% of the time?”

Informant: “No (laughs) ..and when it doesn’t these people’s shadow of doubt sticks around to say the least.”

Me: “(Laughts) I can imagine…now how about its meaning? Any significant value?

Informant: “Its value…it really acts as a form of entertainment, which has caused for many enjoyable moments of bonding between myself and  lots of people with hiccups (Laughs).

Me: “So it’s more of a social thing than it is a remedy?

Informant: “Yes and no, it definitely works (laughs)”

Me: “Anything else to add?”

Informant: “Patience is the key to it working (laughs). Sometimes you’ll have to do it 2 or 3 times.”

Me: “Gotcha, thank you for your time”

The Analysis (My Thoughts): 

This concept of drinking water upside down to get rid of hiccups is an interesting one. I’ve heard this suggesting from multiple people, both friends and strangers, and they all swear by it. What each of them have in common is that they either don’t remember where they heard it from or the people they heard it from don’t remember. This is something I find odd considering as the informant state that when someone discovers that is works, they act like they discovered fire. If that is the case, one tends not to forget who introduced them to such things based on how are brain reacts to profound experiences. Beyond this enigmatic factor, I’ve started to see a trend with my collections in that much of the reason for performing these folk medications or remedies is not so much based on the efficacy, although that plays a part, but also the social and legacy  aspects.