Author Archives: Patra Childress

Folk Medicine-Persian

Nationality: Persian
Age: 82
Occupation: Homemaker
Residence: Santa Ana, CA
Performance Date: April 12, 2011
Primary Language: Persian

Whenever someone has an irritated eye or eyes, my grandma suggests to them that they should pour tea in their eyes, once it has been cooled, of course. My grandma was born in a village outside Tehran called Aghasht. She moved to Tehran when she got married and moved to the United States in 1986. She prepares this tea in the same way she prepares the tea we drink, using tea leaves and a samovar on the stove. She assures me that the health benefits of tea are lost in the “dust” that is used for the tea bags sold in stores. Once the tea cools, it can be poured in the eye with a spoon a few times, as she does sometimes, or one can be more innovative and use an eye dropper. The tea reduces the redness and itching associated with eye irritations and sometimes infection.

My entire family has adopted this as a first resort to eye irritation, probably because it has a high success rate. I have used this remedy myself to fix eye irritation and for me, it helped. I was surprised to find that the tea did not feel like water; it felt almost like it was scratching my eye. It caused me to tear up quite a bit, but after putting the tea in and washing it out, the redness and irritation had reduced.

I have heard recently that people put teabags on their eyelids to reduce redness, puffiness, and dark circles. This seems like a modified version of my grandma’s remedy.

Annotation: This remedy can be found in the following book:

Roberts, Theresa K. ABC’s of Bumps & Bruises: a Guide to Home & Herbal Remedies for Children. Houghton Lake, MI: Theresa K. Roberts, 2008. Print.

Tradition-New Mexican

Nationality: American
Age: 23
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 11, 2011
Primary Language: English

“My family makes enchiladas on Christmas Eve. It’s a tradition taken from New Mexico, where my grandparents and their ancestors all lived after they moved here from Spain in the 1600s.  My grandpa always makes the “posole” (“hominy” in English) and my mom will make the enchiladas. The tortillas have to be hand made or they don’t taste right.  Also, the chiles have to be imported from New Mexico so the sauce can be made fresh.  The most important thing to the recipe is that it’s a flat enchilada with a sunny-side-up egg on top.  This is not a traditional Mexican way to make an enchilada, but is something that came from New Mexican culture in the United States.  Christmas would not be the same without this food in my family. I don’t know where it started from, but has been a tradition in my family for generations and generations.  I’m sure it’s something was picked up from the surrounding cultures after meshing together.”

Paul is a student studying business at the University of California at Riverside. He is originally from Orange County, CA, but his family is from New Mexico. They have preserved this tradition in all its detail in California, as a way to preserve their family identity. Paul explained to me that his family keeps these traditions to keep in touch with their roots and their old lifestyle.

Their state of residency has been rather liminal. As they transitioned from having a New Mexican identity to having a Californian identity, traditions became set and stabilized.

Paul mentions that he thinks the traditions come from the interactions between Mexicans and non-Mexicans in New Mexico. This is an example of homogenation in which non-Mexican and Mexican traditions became absorbed into a new New Mexican tradition.

Narrative-New Mexico

Nationality: American
Age: 56
Occupation: Homemaker
Residence: Villa Park, CA
Performance Date: April 6, 2011
Primary Language: English

“She lived in a small town, Magdalena, New Mexico, where there wasn’t much going on. There was a Navajo reservation not far from there, and she and her friends used to go there. They had a strange but lucrative experience. The Native American Navajo men would pay women to dance with them. This was probably in the 1940’s, when my mom was in her early 20’s. She and her friends would be paid 10 cents a dance, and I believe that it was traditional native dancing around the fire. They always had fun, and left with lots of dimes!”

            Jennifer Mizban is a homemaker who was born in New Mexico and moved to California where she lives today. She told me this story about her mother while remembering her past. She remembered this narrative her mother provided that outlined a tradition in which natives and non-natives to New Mexico interacted with each other. The natives had modified their tradition to facilitate this interaction.

            This is an example of hybridization of cultures. The non-natives learned the natives’ dance, while the natives used dimes to dance with the non-natives, who surely infused the new dance style with their own flavor. In this case, a new tradition was made.

Folk Belief-Persian

Nationality: Persian
Age: 60
Occupation: Manager
Residence: Santa Ana, CA
Performance Date: April 18, 2011
Primary Language: Persian
Language: English

“When someone is going on a journey, or a long trip, we usually put water behind them. Like, we pour water on the ground after they leave, so that it makes them to come back.”

            My mom was born and raised in Tehran, Iran, and moved to the United States in 1976. One of the traditions she always kept was throwing water on the ground behind the car when someone leaves on a long trip. She prays and also makes each traveler kiss and walk under a Qur’an. She explained that because long trips are often dangerous and uncertain, she prays for our safekeeping. The water, she says is to make sure we come back. She’s not quite sure why, she thinks the water keeps a path on the ground on which we can return. It’s a very widespread custom among Persians that is meant to help handle the stress of knowing loved ones could be in harm’s way, too far away to be helped in time.

            I noticed that this folk belief, like many folk beliefs, is supported by a folk religious element. This makes practices that seem to invoke magic more acceptable among religious people. Water is given a mystical power as a path back home, but because that goes against religious teachings, in which magic is dismissed as a black art. In this case, the water is given this power by prayers to God that are not delineated in any sacred text. The Qur’an itself turns into a magical object, as well, in this case, but this is acceptable because it is assumed that the belief is in the word of God written inside that provides protection for the journey; however, it is used as if the book itself had its own separate powers.

            Because travel is a liminal time, the leaving ceremony is highly ritualized. Kissing the binding of the Qur’an and walking under it while saying certain praises to God should be done right in order to ensure a safe trip. Forgetting to pour the water or perform some other part of this ritual could lead to trouble down the road.