Interviewer: So does your family have any special home remedies for when you have a cold? 

KB: Do you mean something not necessarily medically accepted? 

Interviewer: Something traditional that may be passed down in your family. Have you yourself inherited any such practices, or do you remember any from your childhood? 

KB: Let me think about that … Oh, I know, the yellow balm my grandma always uses. 

Interviewer: The yellow balm? 

KB: Yeah, it’s a Thai thing that my entire Thai side of the family swears by. 

Interviewer: Oh, interesting! How is it used?

KB: It’s basically a panacea, at least according to my grandma. Any time I hurt myself as a kid or had a flu of some sort, my grandma used to apply this balm to my chest or anywhere I had hurt myself. 

Interviewer: Do you use it to this day? 

KB: Not really. I doubt it does anything, but as a kid I actually kind of liked it when my grandma made me apply it because it smelled nice. 

Context:

The informant is of half Indian and half Thai descent. She described her childhood experience with a popular Thai medicine made from Zingiber cassumunar (Plai), turmeric, and menthol.

Analysis:

We find this trope of a “cure-all” balm with often secretive recipes in many cultures around the world. More often than not, they are made from herbs that have a long history of use in folk medicine. I remember my Georgian grandma had a version of her own, and she insisted my mom, who is very skeptical towards these sorts of things, keep it in the house for emergencies. Despite traditional medicine, such as yellow balm, having questionable medical properties it still plays a significant role as tradition-bearer practices.