Category Archives: Homeopathic

MAL DE OJO

Nationality: Mexican American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 04/20/18
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Superstition

Superstition that runs in my family. Basically if you look at a baby you have to touch it because then you will give them the evil eye or in Spanish it’s called “ dar ojo” I don’t know I guess it’s kind of like putting bad vibes towards the baby in the baby feels bad vibes. Kind of like giving the baby MV or showing Envy towards them. The baby’s stomach will start to hurt and they will start gets to get sick. Babies in the Mexican culture usually wear bracelets that protects them against those bad vibes that people can give them like some people can give I buy more than others.

 

Babies usually that have the bad eye are usually very restless and can get very fussy. They’re always uncomfortable they get nightmares. Embracement protect them from those bad vibes. I have a bracelet and it has a little Saint on it that protects them. I have one. Another thing that people do is they put on egg under their bed which absorbs all of the bad vibes and you might also have to light a candle but I’m not sure.

 

I’ve had my bracelet and have changed it because I’ve gotten big which also symbolizes how much ive grown.  Luckily me and my brothers have never gotten the evil eye because we have won the bracelet since we were babies and also I heard that you can get the evil eye even if you’re not a baby so one time a person came up to me and started touching my hair because they didn’t want to give me the evil eye because if they hadn’t touch my hair it would stop growing.

 

Background info

They send form it feels really protected and believes in the Superstition just in case it’s real so she always Where’s her  bracelet Wherever She Goes. She really feels like with her bracelet it means a lot to her because of how much she’s grown and it’s a symbol of faith as well since the bracelet has a little saint on it. It also helps her to not give em be towards others.

 

Context: In an article it explains “the evil eye, is a widespread superstition rooted in medieval Europe and rampant in Latin America. The idea behind the superstition is that a look can literally curse people, particularly children, making them sick. Across Latin America and Spain amulets are employed to protect against the evil eye, and folk remedies and witch doctors are relied upon to cure its curses.  It has been widespread in many places and in mexico it is connected with faith since the amulet has a saint on it

 

 

 

Mexican Tea Remedy for Menstrual Cramps

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Torrance, CA
Performance Date: April 12, 2018
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Leah Perez studies Latin American History at the University of Southern California. She was born in Gardena, California and moved to Torrance, California at a young age. Her parents are both Hispanic; her father is Puerto Rican and Mexican, and her mother is Mexican. Leah’s entire extended family speaks Spanish, and while Leah grew up speaking English, she has gained some fluency in Spanish by communicating with her relatives. Her immediate family observes Mexican traditions and has imparted many of these values to Leah and her siblings. In the excerpt below, Leah describes a tea remedy for menstrual cramps that is used in place of pain medication:

Leah: “My family in New Mexico boils the corn hairs… like, the corn silk. You make a tea out of it when you have menstrual cramps, and it’s supposed to be a remedy for that. It tastes like shit though. It’s solely for the functionality of it.”

Isabella: “Does anyone like the way it tastes?”

Leah: “I think it depends on the sweetest of the corn, so that the silk can taste better. The silk is the little hairs… you know, when you shuck corn, you have the little hairs… little fine fibers that are underneath the husks. They’re yellow, and that’s what you make the tea out of.”

Here, Leah describes a homeopathic remedy that is used to treat menstrual cramps. Though she admits to disliking the tea’s taste, Leah still drinks the remedy when she needs relief from menstrual pain. Both she and her family acknowledge the health benefits associated with the tea; moreover, its main ingredient (corn) is tremendously important amongst Latin American communities. It is a food staple throughout Central and South America so it is not surprising that it appears throughout homeopathic recipes.

Vicks Rub and the Sign of the Cross: Mexican Healing Gesture

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Torrance, CA
Performance Date: April 12, 2018
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Leah Perez studies Latin American History at the University of Southern California. She was born in Gardena, California and moved to Torrance, California at a young age. Her parents are both Hispanic; her father is Puerto Rican and Mexican, and her mother is Mexican. Leah’s entire extended family speaks Spanish, and while Leah grew up speaking English, she has gained some fluency in Spanish by communicating with her relatives. Her immediate family observes Mexican traditions and has imparted many of these values to Leah and her siblings. In the excerpt below, Leah describes a specific gesture used to cure sickness that relates to her family’s Catholic background:

 

Leah: “So when your kid has the flu… for some reason, Mexican moms like, obviously use Vicks [vapor rub for decongestion], but if you put it on in a cross-shape, it supposed to… help. Like, they’ll apply it in the shape of a cross on your feet or your forehead or whatever.”

Isabella: “Does that signify God helping you recover?”

Leah: “Yeah, and it expels the demons. It has a lot to do with the Catholic tradition.”

 

Here, Leah describes a folkloric gesture that has religious overtones. In addition to applying Vicks vapor rub to help their children recover, Mexican mothers will supplement the healing process with a religious gesture. This practice marks a synthesis between American and Latin American customs. Those who practice this tradition acknowledge the utility in Western medication (i.e. the Vicks rub), but they also feel these treatments are more effective if they are supplemented with Catholic symbols and gestures.

 

Though Leah is not religious herself, she still practices this tradition at times. It has acquired significance in her life because she associates it with her mother and her childhood. This typifies cultural inheritance between older and younger generations.

 

Hierbabuena Tea Remedy

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 69
Occupation: Lawyer
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 18, 2018
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Nicolas Estrada is a Mexican-American lawyer working in the greater Los Angeles area. His parents immigrated to the United States from Mexico before he and his sister were born. They settled in Southern California and quickly began to assimilate to the new culture. Nicolas’ parents imparted both Mexican and “American” customs to him and his sister but placed a stronger emphasis on American culture; for example, they taught Nicolas Spanish, but encouraged him to speak only English in public. This strong emphasis on assimilation influenced Nicolas’ relationship with Mexican culture, but he can still recall some Mexican traditions that were practiced in his home. In the excerpt below, Nicolas describes one of the herbal remedies his mother would use to treat upset stomachs:

Nicolas: “My mother would brew different teas instead of going directly to store-bought medicine… if we ever had upset stomachs, she would make us hierbabuena tea… it was a mint tea. My mom told us it had healing properties.”

Isabella: “How would your mom prepare the tea?”

Nicolas: “She would steep the tea leaves in a pot of hot water and then we would drink it without any milk or sugar. We would only drink the tea in the morning or mid-day, though… never in the evening because it would keep us up. I honestly think it works and I still drink mint tea to this day… although I buy already prepared tea bags instead of steeping the leaves.”

Here, Nicolas describes an alternate form of treatment used in place of traditional medication. His mother was more confident in this herbal remedy because it had cultural significance and was endorsed by other members of her family. The hierbabuena tea remedy is an example of a folkloric remedy for these very reasons; while the medical community doesn’t officially endorse the treatment as an effective means of relieving stomach aches, it is still widely used throughout Mexico—and as Nicolas demonstrates here with his anecdote, it has been exported to different countries.

Don’t Bring Pork on the Pali Highway

Nationality: Asian-American
Age: 18
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Honolulu, Hawaii
Performance Date: April 12, 2018
Primary Language: English
Language: Cantonese, Vietnamese

“In Hawaii, there’s a big stigma about the Pali Highway. You’re not supposed to carry pork on it from the windward side to the leeward side because it has to do it the belief in the Hawaiian gods The windward side, [my sister] said it was the Kamapua’a, which is the pig god, and then the leeward side is the embodiment of his ex-girlfriend, which is Pele, which is the goddess of fire. If you if you bring poured across the Pali Highway from windward to leeward, you’ll get cursed with bad luck. You’re supposed to bring tea leaves to protect yourself, and that’s why you don’t drive with pork.”

Background Information and Context:

“[I learned about the superstition] through one of my teachers, my Modern History of Hawaii teacher, I believe, because he used to tell different stories and things, so use telling the history of the island and about how we have a really like big mixed culture but also, like, indigenous Hawaiian cultures. So, I would modern Hawaiian culture, at least, is like an amalgamation of a bunch of different things that are mixed into [indigenous Hawaiian culture]. So, different superstitions, too. All of the older aunties and uncles, especially native Hawaiian and aunties and uncles, will be steadfast about superstitions, but I have never met anyone who like really really strict about this one. Still, even if they’re not really really strict about it, like they don’t super believe in it, they won’t do it anyway because it’s just one of those superstition things that you just don’t do.”

Collector’s Notes:

What I find most interesting about this superstition is that, although the informant has never met anyone who truly claimed belief in the superstition, she considers it something you “just don’t do.” This shows the power of cultural expectations and explains why superstitions are so resilient to fading. Moreover, I find the informant’s knowledge of and education about Hawaiian history and culture intriguing because she was neither born in Hawaii nor is she of indigenous Hawaiian descent, showing that the adoption of local traditions does not have to occur from a young age.