Persian Herbal Remedies

Background

Informant is a friend of mine from high school. She is a current student at UCLA and former student at The Madeira School (the high school we both attended). She is a first-generation American whose parents immigrated from Iran. She does not have any specific religious affiliations. I chose to interview several people from my high school to compare their versions of our school stories. She is referred to as “SF”.

Context

I asked the informant about any homeopathic remedies that she learned from her family and culture. She provided multiple examples; these remedies are based in herbal treatments.

Content

SF: So there are quite a few, honestly, and some of them are pretty weird. Um, but there’s one that I always did because my grandma was like, every time you get congestion or whatever, you’re like, Oh, these people do like vapor, like steaming or whatever, like their faces or like they do neti pots to like clear your sinuses. And so it’s kind of something similar to that, but it’s like a specific kind of herb blend that you like boil in a pot and you basically get a towel and you like put your face like near the pot and you’re like cover the rest of your face with the towel. So like the steam from the herbs like clears your sinuses. I don’t know specifically what kinds of herbs they were. I think oregano was definitely one of them, cause I remember it having a very specific oregano scent. Yeah. And so it’s just like a bunch of boiled herbs, like, in this thing.

Interviewer: And then where did your grandma get the herb pot recipe. Like, where’d she get that?

SF: That’s a good question. I think that it just like it’s a special kind of like herb, one that they use for food in Iran and like, they definitely sell it, like, prepackaged stores nowadays because they’re like. Like Persian supermarkets and stuff like back home and even in L.A. But yeah, they sell them like pot, like package, a lot of packaged like Persian, like spices and stuff like that. So it’s, it’s more like commercialized nowadays. But I think like she probably got it like from back in Iran, like with her family too. But I feel like it’s one of those things that just like, like people know, like they just know about it, you know?

And then I think one which is pretty much just like a universal like thing that everyone will tell you, we like also kind of like it’s just funny to me is is like, is you to feel like, oh, I have a stomachache or if I’m like nauseous or whatever, they’ll always tell you to drink like Persian black tea with like sugar, like saffron, like sugar. And it’s just like, it’s really stupid to me because you drink that, like, every day anyway, if you, like, live in Iran or if you’re Persian. So like, it’s really funny to me that they’re like, Oh yeah, if you feel sick, you need to drink this. But it’s like, I be drinking it every day anyway. But I don’t know. It’s funny because, like, whenever you’re nauseous, we have, like, something they always tell you to like to drink chai nabat, that’s like what you’re supposed to do.

Analysis

It’s interesting how these remedies are essentially identical to others in other cultures – nasal steaming and drinking tea – but they are specifically engaging with herbs and tea commonly used in Persian culture. Both the herbs for the steaming and the type of tea are just common, everyday combinations used in food and drinks, but in the context of being sick, they have healing qualities. SF had the wonderful comment that her grandmother got the herb combination from her family back in Iran, and that now, the mixture is “one of those things that just, like, like people know.” – That is exactly what folklore is. Both methods are likely fairly effective, as they are standard treatment, but I wonder if the specific combinations of herbs in Persian remedies have a different level of effectiveness compared to herbs from other cultures. For example, in my family, we are told to drink ginger tea, as my mother believes it is most effective.

Translation: Chai nabat is a specific Persian tea. Chai nabat is pronounced “cha-ee nah-bot”.

Carrying a Lemon- Superstitious custom

Description (From Transcript):  “This is a custom that we have with the lemon.This one comes from my dad. I see him always carrying a lemon in his back pocket and he’s like, “Give me a lemon”, and i’m like, “okay”, because it absorbs bad energies, especially because he works all day at work. He goes from 5 am and comes back at like 8 pm. There’s like a lot of work and I’m like, okay, I’m gonna give you the lemon. Sometimes he can place a lemon randomly in the corner of a cabinet, or take it home and I’m like what’s the point of doing that? He’s like– because you don’t know how many bad people want bad things towards us. I’m like “what happens if the lemon rots or becomes black?” He’s like “that’s because there’s a lot of bad energies”, and he’s like “you see this one” (there was one next to his bed) he’s like “look at this one. This one’s dry but it’s still green”and I’m like okay “what’s the significance?” And he’s like “Oh, well, there’s not really many bad energies”. I’m like, “Okay, so what happens if you have a lemon that has bad energy?” You’re supposed to go outside and instead of throwing it forward on the floor, you’re supposed to stand backwards and get rid of it, so that you can put all those bad energies behind you. 

Context: The informant, VA, is a first generation student at USC. She has one sibling and her family is from Puebla, Mexico. She learned this custom from her dad and says that he is a man who has many superstitions and believes in a lot of rituals and magic. She believes he learned this one from a friend at work. He works at a food production company, specifically poultry. She explains how his friend group at work always talks about superstitions. If any of them sustain an injury, instead of telling each other to go to the doctor, they’ll tell each other to do a certain ritual or go to a certain person (who specializes in superstitions medicine). Even though she does not personally believe this superstition, she explains how her dad believes in it, which to her, demonstrates how much he cares about their family. He doesn’t want any harm to come to them, he’s responsible and caring. So by him carrying the lemon, he is also protecting his family, not just himself. 
My interpretation: It’s possible that a lemon would be used as a measure of energy because it’s such a bright, happily colored fruit. Once it starts to rot or green, however, it shows that it has been infiltrated by bad energy. It’s also, seemingly, used for that exact purpose. If the negative energy is strapped in a tangible, affordable and easily disposable container, it’s easy to get rid of that bad energy. Because the informant’s father works in a field where people can be easily injured, it makes sense that co-workers would share home remedies with each other. Finally, it was very telling that the informant admitted she did not personally believe in this, yet appreciated it because it showed her how much her father cared about her well being. This demonstrates how, often, superstitions are not just about avoiding harm, but also about showing affection to loved ones.

Diwali

Story: This story is about how my family celebrates the festival of Diwali which is the Hindi new year. We do this puuja which is like a ritualistic prayer, to this goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. She is a really powerful goddess and is associated with the new year because of that, and so we do these puujas in all of my parent’s offices since it is usually done in the workplace, and the people who my parents work with. We do that kind of a celebration and like we always go to the same restaurant and eat out after all of it to celebrate the new year. It’s also the same time everyone gets bonuses and stuff, so everyone is really happy. After all of that, people set off firecrackers as well.

Thoughts: The informant feels as if this is significant because though their family is Hindu, they don’t really do rituals very often – with the exceptions of Holi and Diwali and a few others. So it ended up being one of the few days their whole family got together and prayed, which is not something they do often. The spirit of the holiday is also very important to them.

Context: The context of this performance was over the phone, and I recorded the informant talking about their own folklore.

Analysis: I really enjoyed learning about this new part of my friend and their family. I had never known that they celebrated Diwali and in the way they did. I thought it was interesting that they always eat out at the same restaurant. It almost seems like a token for good luck or a way of avoiding bad luck, which would go along with the tendency of hoping and praying for good fortune or wealth.

“Plate of Money”- New Year’s Eve Ritual 

Description (From Transcript):

“So in my family, when it comes to New Years’ we usually have the custom of doing this like- a plate with a bunch of money. So we have, like a bunch of like savings and coins, and what we do is we distribute those coins in this star shaped plate, and we also put like 3 candles in the middle.  One of them is blue, one of them is yellow, and then one of them is red. I think the red signifies love, the yellow one, I believe it signifies money and then the blue one, I don’t remember but usually my mom does this so I don’t really remember, but I always see her do it every year. And she always does it before midnight strikes for the next year. And then after that she places dollar bills, or like. If we have $2 bills, (we have the superstition that $2 bills bring super good luck) we put those around as well and then at the end, we tie all the candles together with the red ribbon, because red signifies keeping the bad energy out. And that’s why she adds this little stick of cinnamon in the form of a cross, and she puts it in the middle of the plate to signify, I think, good positive energy, and as well as health”. 

Context: The informant, VA, is a first generation student at USC. She has one sibling and her family is from Puebla, Mexico. She explains that her mother learned this tradition from her grandmother because she used to do something similar every year back in Mexico. However, her grandmother doesn’t really talk about it. Additionally, she explains how it signifies a hope for having a better year. In the previous year, her family experienced some struggles, especially with her dad having health problems. Therefore, this tradition was also used to ensure better health in the new year, and making sure that everyone in her family is safe. When asked if she believes that the tradition actually brings good energy, she responded that she genuinely did. As a child she was suspicious and claimed to have not believed in it, however, she has gotten so used to doing it every year that it feels wrong to not do it now. If she doesn’t, she will get sad, and therefore prioritizes it, even if it takes five minutes. Without it, she states that “the little magic disappears”. 
My interpretation: I found it interesting that there’s a connection between money and good luck and health. Other objects that could potentially represent good fortune were not placed in the dish, revealing how financial stability is directly connected to a stable lifestyle. The color coordination of the candle and what each represents is also indicative of values within the informant’s family and culture. Love and money seem to be common themes in this tradition; love is present in the red candle as well as wishing health and safety for family members. Money is present in the yellow candle as well as literally in the dish. While the informant herself could not recall what the blue candle represented, it might be specific to good health or luck as these themes also came up a lot during the interview.

Club Penguin Iceberg Flip

Context:

J is an 18-year-old from Canada who has parents from the Philippines.

This conversation took place over a discord call with my friend group when I brought up old games from our childhoods. We talked about club penguin and were discussing the club penguin “secrets.”

Text:

J: I remember like… when everyone was playing club penguin, there was this one rumor that you could flip the iceberg if you had enough penguins standing on one side of the iceberg. I think it was… the left side? I can’t really remember.

Me: yeah yeah, I remember that! I tried so many times.

J: Yeah exactly! But then people started thinking that like.. you needed to use the- the, what was it called. ummm…. the- Oh the jackhammer. I think.

Me: The one with the like orange hard hat that you got in the mines right?

J: Yeah that one! Everybody was convinced that like the reason it wasn’t flipping was because you needed to do that on a side of the iceberg with enough people. But it just like, never like flipped. BUT! I think on the final day of club penguin when the servers were getting shut down, I’m pretty sure it flipped over and there was like… a dance floor or something like it was a huge deal because everybody wanted to flip it so bad. And it like- finally happened.

Me: No because I like remember that happening and I like lost my MIND!

Reflection:

Like many childhood games, there were many rumors and secrets that were propagated over the internet and the game community. I think it was nice that at the end of the game, the developers were aware of the rumor and made it actually happen as a nod to everyone finally getting some closure to it. Rumors and secrets like this help to distinguish the game and make it more interesting for children. Especially when children could not get club penguin premium accounts, the secrets and rumors helped to make every player feel like they were part of something exclusive.