Tag Archives: folk medicine

Dwendes

Text:

Informant: In the philippines, we believe in these creatures called dwendes, and they’re basically creatures- they could be in the form of- i don’t know, goblins, dwarves, little people, and you can’t see them, but there’s been talk of people being able to see them. They hide, in places like molehills or dark places in your house, trees, under rocks, and so the saying goes that they exist in our country, and they primarily like kids and enjoy playing with them. There are stories that say when we see kids laughing or moving their hands, that’s the Dwendes playing with them. But, there’s also fear of them because they can also be associated with misfortunes, so to speak. For example, there’s an association that you might step on them, and so when you’re walking around in places that are super dark, or perhaps tall grass or rocks, then you actually say “tabe tabe po”, which in our language means, “excuse me, sorry, can you move to the side? I’m walking in this space and I don’t want to get in your way.” So basically, giving them notice because you could step on them, and if you step on them, you could actually have misfortune. So sometimes, people will say stories where they got sick because they were walking at night, and you’re walking at an unfamiliar place, and you can get sick because you step on them.

…

Informant: Not all of them are good- they say some of them are good dwendes and some of them are bad.  You can get sick off them, and they have to call one of those- I call them witchcraft but that’s not what they call them- they call them healers, and these people think these people are healers, and they have to do a ceremony on you to get rid of them- because people think that there are evil spirits on you.

…

Informant: One time, one of the visits I made, I went with my cousins somewhere dark, and I thought what they were doing (saying “tabe tabe bo”) was ridiculous, and literally the next day I got super sick. And, my family was like, “Oh my god, you stepped on one!” And so they called the healer and had to do something on my stomach- I felt like I had a stomach flu because, you know, I had unfiltered water, which in a third world country you would obviously get sick from, but they were like “You stepped on a Dwende, and we need to call someone”. And I think a lot of it- people believe in it because they live in a very rural countryside, a lot of these myths are real, and a lot of them don’t have a higher education- so they’re not really educated to understand how things work- how they get ill, and what they associate with that.

Context:

The informant is Filipino, but she comes from Vancouver, Canada. She has been in the US for over 20 years.

Analysis:

Dwendes (seemingly more commonly spelled as “duendes”) are something I assumed would be an originally Filipino tradition that changed and transfigured during the Spanish conquest. However, I was surprised to learn that the name originated in Spanish folklore, making them something which was transferred during the process of transculturation.

The way the informant describes the healer that they had to work with makes me think about the divide between US culture and Filipino culture in regards to folk practices, such as medicine. As we are a forward thinking society, we tend to place far more reliance on the medical system and institutional medical practices, we tend to forego older folk methods and ideas about the causes for these infections. So, there’s likely some culture shock in places where they are unable to rely on the same medical practices the United States can. Thus, there is also culture shock when these practices and superstitions actually come into play.

While it’s unlikely that the informant actually stepped on a Dwende, the legend could be a way of telling people to be careful in dangerous or hard to navigate places, which would inevitably help some people if there happens to be some unclean water or resource that brings about sickness if you try to navigate such terrain. In regards to the nature of the expression “tabe tabe bo”, it could also be a way of encouraging courtesy, as it associates the phrase with safety and good health.

Soda as Medicine

Text:

The subject informed me that drinking soda could help someone recover from a sore throat or other kind of throat infection.  The subject was told that the carbonation from the soda was deadly to the viruses that cause sore throats, and that therefore, drinking a soda whilst having a sore throat could help them immensely with alleviating the symptoms and giving them some relief from the pain.  Furthermore, they were told that different sodas could benefit them more than other sodas when it comes to sore throats; while sodas like Dr. Pepper and Coke could help somewhat, Sprite and 7-Up helped significantly more, and even could help cure sore throats within a single day.

Context:

The subject, L.D., learned of this cure from their parents, and first learned of it from them when they were young and had a sore throat.  During this time, the subject was told that drinking some soda would be able to help with a sore throat, and that they can have some if they wanted to.  The subject also noted that they were often only given soda during these times when they were young, and that their parents were more lax when it came to them drinking soft drinks and eating junk food when they were sick as compared to when they were healthy.

Interpretation:

It is likely that giving the subject soda when they were a kid was a way for the subject’s parents to provide their child some comfort and support whilst they were sick so that they would be able to feel better whilst being so sick.  Because of their desire to keep their kids from asking for soda more often, the parents likely told them that soda would help with their sore throats so that their kids would only expect them whilst being sick.  They likely also wanted to make sure that their kids had some kind of medication that they could accept that they’d know well, would believe that it would help them, and would be something they would want to drink, as opposed to medication they wouldn’t want. 

Nosebleed Cure

Nationality: Indian, Chinese, American

Primary Language: English

Other language(s): N/A

Age: 19 yrs

Occupation: Student

Residence: Plano, Texas

Performance Date: 2/10/2024

Text:

“Oh yeah, well whenever I had a bloody nose in my house and my mom was around, she would tell me to pinch and squeeze my left pinky and then the blood would stop after a few minutes. She told me this when I was really young and I’ve been doing it since. I mean I’m pretty sure it works, like I feel like the blood kinda stops when I do it. My mom always said it was a sort of acupuncture technique that her mom taught her and so on. So I mean I still do it, it reminds me of childhood.”

Context:

My informant, TF, is a friend of mine from my freshman year at USC, from Plano, Texas who then moved in late childhood to LA. I remember one day in the first semester of freshman year, our friends and I were talking about our families’ backgrounds, a way to get closer to one another, and one of us mentioned the topic of family traditions. I remembered TF mentioning having a sort of folk medicine tradition in his life that he still does. He just simply talked about it but never went into full detail. But once I heard about this project, I thought it would have been perfect to question him further about this topic.

Analysis:

This is a family tradition TF says, but I did some research to see if it’s well known, and apparently, according to Harvard Health’s article: Stopping nosebleeds: a pinch will usually do the trick, this is a rather uncommon but still scientifically acceptable way to stop a nosebleed. According to the author and Dr., Mary Pickett, “Most nosebleeds occur when a blood vessel in the nose’s soft cartilage leaks. These are called anterior nosebleeds. Posterior nosebleeds come from blood vessels higher up in the nose. It makes sense to treat every nosebleed as if it is an anterior one, and to try to stop it at home. You will be right 94% of the time.” She then explains to pinch a finger, a thumb most likely, and hold until it goes away within a few minutes. I find this really interesting. I had no idea that pressure points in your fingers could stop nosebleeds. I also would love to know where TF’s mother’s mother learned this from, maybe it’s a generational thing for TF. I mean this article was published in 2013 and based on TF’s age at the time he says around which his mother told him about this, the article wouldn’t have been made yet. This passed down ‘nosebleed cure’ could be a traditional family technique for TF, maybe one of their family members was a doctor, or got lucky, or was told by another friend, peer, or even anyone with medical ties.

Eating yogurt before leaving the house

Nationality: Indian-American
Age: 59
Occupation: Lawyer
Residence: Richmond, VA

Ritual:

If you eat a spoonful of plain yogurt before leaving home for something important, it brings good luck – including job interviews, tests, long vacations, etc.

Context:

JG is 59 years old and my mother. She grew up in India with a very religious Hindu family, before immigrating to the USA. Her parents were spiritual and superstitious. As a child, she participated in lots of rituals that were believed to provide good luck.

Analysis:

I vaguely remember my mom doing this ritual with me when I was in elementary school. I had always assumed it was for nutritious purposes – because I know we give milk to kids to help them grow taller, and yogurt is processed milk. However, I was surprised to learn it’s part of a superstition. Lots of people incorporate small rituals into their routines, especially on important days.

Upon further research, I learned that another variation of this superstition is eating yogurt mixed with sugar. This one has a somewhat more logical explanation that is based in Ayurvedic tradition. In this way, it is a folk medicine practice. The yogurt is a coolant for the body and the sugar gives you instant energy.

There is no logical connection between eating yogurt and having a successful job interview, for instance (even if there’s a correlation, that does not always equal causation). But, we like to think there is one in order to relieve our anxiety. It makes us feel like we have control over the results in more ways than we actually do. Our decisions about what to do, especially on important days for us, aren’t always rooted in logic that can be proven.

Latin American Home Remedies

Text: 

Menthol and “The green liquid”

Context: 

Informant: “Menthol, or what Americans call Vapor rub, was a huge remedy for me as a child. My grandma would use it on me anytime I was sick, and she would put it everywhere. She’d apply it on my nostrils, chest, and back, and it always gave me a feeling of relief.“

Collector: “My parents and grandmother would do the same thing, we think that stuff can cure anything. It kind of felt icy hot when applied, and it smelled medicinal, it would also give me immediate relief.“

Informant: “Icy hot is a great way to put it, and yes it smelled herbal. And speaking of herbs, did your grandma also have this green, herb-infused liquid that she’d place on you for like good luck or good health? It looked nasty and brownish but smelled really good.“

Collector: “Yes! My cousins and I would call it the money water, but my grandma never really gave us a formal name for it.“

Analysis:

In the case of Menthol and the mystery greenish/brown liquid, we have an instance of monogenesis, the diffusion of folk to different locations. What’s interesting in this case, is that HR’s grandmother was a Christian woman, while mine was a practitioner of Santeria, a fusion of witchcraft and religion. Although they both have different belief systems, it seems they share customs and folk medicines. I am not entirely aware of the origins of the heavy use of either form of medicine in Latin America, but they mostly stem from the interaction of European faith with indigenous belief. Latin America is a colonized land, and thus a lot of its culture is a fusion of some sort. When HR mentions the herbal smell or use of herbs within Menthol and green liquid, I was immediately reminded of Indigenous cultures and their ties to herbal remedies. Native cultures are known for being highly adept to use of herbs for rituals, medicines, and even good luck. When taking a step back and considering a diachronic perspective, one can see how Indigenous culture has diffused into Latin America over time.