Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Mommy’s Magic Medicine

Text: “Growing up a little ritual we had when we were younger kids was that every time we got injured my mom would put Neosporin on our little cut or scrape and call it Mommy’s magic medicine. And so every single time I got hurt as a kid I remember my mom putting the Neosporin on my cut and at the time I didn’t know it was Neosporin, I always only knew it as Mommy’s magic medicine. And so I always felt relieved when that happened and it’s something that has resonated with me my whole life.”

Context: This story was shared by the informant, a law school student, who reflected on a childhood ritual involving minor injuries and the comforting presence of their mother. The informant recalls that whenever they got a cut or scrape, their mother would apply Neosporin while calling it “Mommy’s magic medicine.” At the time, the informant didn’t recognize it as a commercial product—they only understood it as something their mother used to make them feel better. This phrase, repeated over many years, became a deeply ingrained part of their childhood experience and remains a memorable, emotionally significant ritual that they continue to associate with safety, love, and maternal care.

Analysis: This is a great example of folk medicine in a family setting. Even though Neosporin is a store-bought product, the way the mom framed it as “Mommy’s magic medicine” gave it a kind of homemade, personal meaning. It wasn’t just about the ointment—it became a small ritual that the informant associated with healing and comfort. Calling it “magic” added a sense of wonder, and also helped make the pain feel less serious or scary.

This kind of thing is really common in folk medicine, where the emotional support is just as important as the treatment itself. Parents often use little sayings, routines, or made-up names to soothe their kids, and those moments become part of how children learn to handle pain or fear. In this case, the ritual shows how folk practices can exist right alongside modern medicine—what matters is the meaning attached to it. For the informant, that meaning stuck with them, even long after they found out what Neosporin actually was.

Informant Info

Race/Ethnicity: White

Age: 23

Occupation: Student

Residence: Oak Park, CA

Date of Performance: April 22, 2025

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): N/A

Relationship: Brother

Flight Ritual

Nationality: American
Age: 57
Occupation: Dance Studio Owner
Residence: Downers Grove, IL
Language: English

Ritual:

“Whenever I fly, I say the Lord’s Prayer, then repeat “please bless this flight, please bless this flight, please bless this flight.” I do this twice on the ground once we leave the gate and once as the plane is starting to climb.”

Context:

My informant told me that she started this ritual when she was 25 years old. For many years, she had to travel almost every week for her job, so she flew frequently. However, she has a fear of heights as well as motion sickness, so flights always made her nervous. She does not fly as often anymore, but she still performs the ritual when she does. She is Catholic, so saying the Lord’s Prayer is a way to try to combat her flight anxiety.

Analysis:

What is interesting about my informant’s ritual is that she uses something institutionally recognized — the Lord’s Prayer (“Our Father”) — in a folkloric way. Her ritual is apotropaic, meaning that the intention behind her saying the Lord’s Prayer and repeating “please bless this flight” is to protect the flight she is on from any harm. What is also interesting about this ritual is her repeating “please bless this flight” three times. Early on in the semester, we talked in class about the cultural significance, specifically in the United States, of the use of threes. Interestingly enough, threes in the United States, for many Americans, represent balance, which is then equated to goodness. So, her repetition of “please bless this flight” three times is another symbol of her protecting her flight, even if she does not realize it.

Folk Medicine for Cramps and Illness

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 24
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Folk Medicine:

My informant told me that she uses alcohol paper and the California Yerba Santa plant for discomfort and pain.

Context:

“Ever since I got my period the first time and cramps became a regular thing in my life, my mom passed down her homemade recipe that consists of placing an alcohol soaked paper in the belly button for as long as is needed, acting as a heating pad and Advil at once (it works). The plant that we use more within my family is Yerba Santa, a herb that serves for everything including fever, cramps, colds and headaches. A tea or even a paste can be made and usually one cup or a spoonful is enough.”

Analysis:

I had never heard of the Yerba Santa plant before my informant told me about her mom’s remedies, but when doing some further researcher I found that it is a great pain reliever. As we talked about in class, many times large pharmaceutical companies will use plants that cure ailments, pack them up into pill form, and sell them for profit. These home remedies, such as the alcohol soaked paper and the Yerba Santa plant, are great ways to get similar, in not the exact same, results as the name brand products. Relying on folk medicine instead of named brands helps you 1) save money and 2) not support brands who profit off of other cultures’ ideas and solutions without giving the people compensation.

Nigerian Superstition

Nationality: Nigerian
Age: 21
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Superstition:

“There’s a Nigerian Superstition that telling people about your good fortune will mean that it can be taken away.”

Context:

My informant told me that this superstition is similar to the “Evil Eye” or the idea of being “jinxed” because of the idea that once someone identifies the positive things/success they are having in their lives, there is the possibility of their fortune changing or being “taken away.” Once the fortune becomes a reality, it changes, and usually for the worse. He told me, “I guess I somewhat practice that superstition.”

Analysis:

The idea of keeping “your good fortune” seems to be a cross-cultural idea. It seems that whenever someone boasts about their accomplishments or talks about the positive things happening in their life, there is always a possibility that their fortune could quickly turn sour. I find this superstition interesting in particular, because instead of performing an action to prevent your fortune from be taken away, your only solution is to never talk about your fortune in the first place. In my opinion, the act of not performing an action is still a type of action, and therefore I would put this superstition under the category of homeopathic superstition.

Magic Superstition – Homeopathic

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Superstition:

My informant and her mom say to each other “don’t put that into the universe.”

Context:

My informant told me that she picked up this superstition from her mom. She told me: “If you say some kind of bad prediction about like an outcome or something — like if you say “I probably won’t get this job” or some other negative thing,” they will say this phrase to each other. “The belief is that by speaking that negative outcome into the universe, it manifests as a possibility that hadn’t quite existed before you saying it. Saying it makes the predictions a possible reality, while keeping it in your head remains out of reality, just in your imagination.”

Analysis:

When doing some more research on the history of manifestation, I found that the concept has roots in the 19th-century New Thought movement. It was/is believed that the mind has the power to influence reality. I find this concept really interesting because although it has been around for a while, manifestation and the idea of self-improvement has become very popular among Gen-Z. I interpreted this phrase as a homeopathic superstition because the person saying the phrase is taking action against the possibility of a negative event from occurring. There is an idea in this phrase that “like produces like;” saying something negative will then lead to something negative happening to the person who said the negative thing. By saying the phrase “don’t put that into the universe” one is warning the other person on the possibility of their luck/fortune changing.