Category Archives: Homeopathic

The Warding Effects of Garlic

Nationality: South Korean
Age: 60
Residence: Illinois
Performance Date: 1/1/2021
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

Main Piece:

During many traditional Korean commemorative ceremonies called jesa (제사), there is a part where a family’s ancestors are honored by being “brought in” through an open door and allowed to dine on the food first before the family that prepared it. Once it is time for the meal to be eaten by the family, the prepared foods are cooked again, but only this time, properly seasoned with garlic.

Background:

The informant is my mother who is the youngest child on her side of the family and the only one who has regular contact with her mother/my grandmother as our family is the only one among our extended family living in the United States with them. Because of this, most of my grandmother’s teachings and culinary knowledge have been passed down to her. Despite many of the commemoration ceremonies being done in the honor of my father’s side of the family, my mother dutifully carries out the traditional cooking required for the occasion. While not highly religious, my mother still holds out on traditional beliefs of karma and good deeds eventually being rewarded so perhaps she follows these traditional rules so closely as to hope for better for her children.

Context:

The ceremony for the commemoration of ancestors or other traditional events usually falls between brunch or dinner-times so most of the family does not eat until then. Because everyone gets hungry, I asked my mother why she needed to cook the food again when everything was prepared, the ceremony was finished, and all that was left was to eat. She replied that the food needed to be cooked again properly since she left out the seasoning, particularly the garlic. When I asked why, she said that garlic wards off spirits. I asked why this was and my brother chimed in to explain to me that one of the creation myths of Korea involved a bear turning into a human by eating nothing but gloves of garlic and mugworts for 100 days, giving garlic in particular some level of spiritual power.

My Thoughts:

Garlic being such a powerful supernatural warding tool surprised me as I thought it was specifically targeted towards vampires from Western legends. Garlic is an incredibly common ingredient found in Korean cuisine so it never properly registered to me as it could have any sort of special meaning beyond a universal ingredient. If garlic was so regularly consumed, why were there even ghost stories to begin with? Was superstition just that prevalent that it may have influenced every-day cooking to ward off malevolent and clingy spirits? There are some accounts where eating garlic wards off tigers and eating pickled garlic in particular being a procedure that was recommended to those traveling through mountains as to not encounter a tiger on their journey. As an avid fan of putting garlic as seasoning for most things, it made me question if garlic was used so extensively for its supernatural benefits, its taste, or the simple convenience of both tasting good and warding off evil. Interesting to note how garlic’s effects are indiscriminate to spirits in general as the spirits that are relevant in this context are “good” spirits who are honored to give blessings to their descendants but they are still affected by its effects.

Revisiting a Ghost

Nationality: German
Age: 25
Occupation: NA
Residence: Illinois
Performance Date: 04/25/21
Primary Language: English

Main Performance:

The M family loved visiting Yellowstone, making the trip almost every other year. One year, P bought a Yellowstone Ghost Story book to pass the time driving. As a majority of the family trip was local to their rented RV. After a while, the family had to make a pit stop and found a rest area in front of a huge lake reasonably closeby. As the van stopped, P opened the book to a random page and started reading the pages’ story about Maddie, the singing ghost. After a few paragraphs, the setting and location seemed too familiar. The family, now returning to the car, asked what was wrong. They looked at their highway map and it turned out they were close to the ghost’s supposed home. Sure enough, 10 yards behind the rest rooms was Maddie’s grave. History says that many hiker and travelers have heard singing or talking in the area. In fact, a few people have drowned looking for the source of the voice out on lake. The family returned to the car and started to drive away, but P felt that they should go back and take a family photo to commemorate the day’s funny events. They hopped back to the spot to take a photo, then got back on the road. It wasn’t until later that night that P finished the story and read that most visitors feel a need to revisit the grave – almost universally. Ever since, the family visits the grave every time they visit Yellowstone.

Background:

The informant, MK, is one of my close friends from highschool who had heard this story from his wife’s family and their encounter with ghosts on their many travels. P is MK’s wife and is from the M family. Being Catholic, the realm of spirits, souls, and ghosts would not stray too far from his world views.

Context:

Looking to expand my collection’s scope, I contacted my friends from highschool through Facebook and asked if he had any he could share with me. By coincidence I contacted him in the middle of his trip to visit some of his in-laws and he promised to deliver some of the ghost stories he had previously heard from his in-laws.

My Thoughts:

A more traditional ghost story where the named ghost has gotten popular to have a book published about her. The way the story is framed almost feels as though the ghost, through its own book, has led P’s family to its old home and made it a tradition for them to visit its grave every time they’re in the area. It isn’t so much about being haunted than it is about compelling others to come visit it instead of the ghost making the visit to them. The tourism board for the Yellowstone Area probably had a hand to play in the sale of Maddie’s book as to drum up more supernatural intrigue for the area, especially suggesting to the audience to return to Maddie’s grave. The last thing I would have associated Yellowstone National Park with would have been ghosts since I’m more worried about Yellowstone’s dormant super-volcano. Maybe this focus on ghosts was to either drum up renewed interests in the area to promote further tourism or try and help people forget the grim fact that some catastrophic force resides below the park.

Celebration of Survival- Infant Edition

Nationality: South Korean
Age: 67
Residence: Chicago, Illinois
Performance Date: 05/01/2021
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

Main Performance:

The Dol (돌) is the celebration of an infant’s first birthday in South Korea. Childbirth and its complications in an impoverished country without advances in medicine and temperamental weather patterns meant that many children did not survive long past birth. Many children were kept in-doors as a means of protection and as a necessity for survival. Milestones for a child’s survival are celebrated on the 100th Day (백일) and then a large celebration is held on the first birthday where the wider family gathers for the occasion as the belief goes that once a child survives until its first year, the next hundred will be guaranteed. The Dol is characterized by a feast of traditional foods and also the an activity at the end called Dol-jabi (돌잡이) where a child is placed in front of multiple items. Bills of money, golf-balls, pieces of string, microphones, all sorts of objects are placed in front of the child and whichever object the child reaches for first will determine their success in that field. Reaching out to the string guarantees their long life, the microphone meaning that they will become a talented entertainer, a golf-ball for a pro golfer, money for being good with money, and etc.

Background:

The informant is my father who remembers me and my brother’s 1st Birthdays, 100th Day, and many other occasions involving the extended family. As Korea was still a developing country during his childhood and farther back, the reasons for celebrating a child’s survival is by no means a small matter. While the 100 Day celebrations have been phased out because of the advances in medicine, the first birthday is still widely celebrated. Of course, more modern items have been added to the myriad of objects placed in front of the child in the dol-jabi activity as the years go on.

Context:

My nephew had just celebrated his 1st Birthday on the 1st of May and I asked on the specifics of what the event pertained to and both of my parents explained what they did for me and my brother’s, which I have seen pictures of but have no recollection of.

My Thoughts:

It’s been stated multiple times that many Korean traditions stem from its impoverishment and I think no other element reflects that fact better than the celebration of a child’s survival past birth. The homeopathic magic comes into play to determine what the child’s preferences will be in the future as well, a determinant little “game” that I’ve also seen in other country’s. I find this story a lot more relevant these days because of the Covid pandemic and the world’s inability to contain the situation during 2020 that makes these life celebrations relevant again, especially when I hear about so many people trying to not have kids as their outlook on the world’s future becomes dimmer and dimmer. Korea in particular has had an issue about declining birth rates and my cousin and her son gave me some first had examples of the Korean government stepping in to promote childbirth and giving her family a large amount of federal money because she had given birth, giving credence to “government sponsored culture vs. tradition” going on. While I have heard some humorous conspiracy theories about Japan promoting marriage and procreation through positive portrayals of romance in their multi-media, I have not heard the same in the Korean context.

For a Chinese equivalent, see the Zhuazhou celebration:

The Tradition of Zhuazhou, 15 Feb. 2011, www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2011-02/15/content_12016991.htm.

Prayer to Saint Anthony

Nationality: American
Residence: NJ
Primary Language: English

Text/Interview:

MW: “If you lose something, all you need to do is say the Prayer to Saint Anthony seven times along with seven Hail Marys and your missing object will appear.”

PAR: “What is the Prayer to Saint Anthony?”

MW: “Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony, please look around. Something is lost and cannot be found.”

Context:

MW first heard this from her grandmother. Although the Church has never officially declared this prayer to be the solution to finding lost items, every time that MW has lost something, she has performed this ritual and the item has magically appeared. She claims that you do not need to do this multiple times, as that would be redundant. Once you get through your 7 prayers to Saint Anthony and your seven Hail Marys, you have received all the divine intervention you will get. Now you must be patient and wait.

My Interpretation:

The first thing that sticks out to me about this is that prayer to Saint Anthony reads like a rhyme. It is almost an incantation of sorts and saying it seven times (along with the seven Hail Marys) will create a spell that will make your object magically re-appear. I think this is an awesome piece of religious Folklore as it shows the blurred line between prayer and Sympathetic Magic.

Hair of Dog Hangover Treatment

Nationality: American
Age: 55
Occupation: COO
Residence: Chicago, IL
Performance Date: 4/25/2021
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

Informant: “Oh yes, the hair of dog to treat your hangover. It means drinking the same liquor to get rid of your hangover.”

Background:

The informant is a 55-year-old man from Chicago, IL. Recently, this remedy was brought up when he was out to dinner and someone at the table was still struggling with a hangover and trying to decide whether or not to drink. The general consensus was that a drink of the same alcohol would help to cure the person’s hangover. He also said previously that it had been an effective treatment for himself in the past. The informant heard it in his youth, but does not remember exactly who related the knowledge to him.

Context:

Informant is my father. He recently visited Los Angeles, where I live, on vacation and said this folk knowledge when out to dinner one night.

My Thoughts:

“Hair of the Dog” is a commonly known folk remedy for a hangover, whose basis is in homeopathic magic. It alludes to the fact that like will treat like, so drinking the alcohol that caused your hangover will also be the only thing that can treat your hangover. I have never personally tried the method, see as I am below the drinking age, but many seem to attest to its success.