Tag Archives: healing

Sana Sana

Age: 24

TEXT: Sana Sana Colita de Rana

CONTEXT:

Informant- “Okay, so Sana Sana is, I guess I think it’s like, when I’ve looked it up online, it’s supposed to be like a nursery rhyme. It’s usually what people use to consult the children in their family when they’re not feeling well, when they’re hurt, which I think means heel heal- something like that. So the full story for me is that I grew up, I grew up having stomach issues, problems with my GI, or GI issues, um, problems with my intestines as they were like distant I was a kid. And so I was always in pain. And I was especially in pain, like if I ate something that didn’t agree with me. And at that point, I didn’t have it under control like I did now, so it really any little thing would hurt me. And my grandma would always, I go, I’d run to my grandma and I’d tell her that my stomach was hurting or something like that. And so she would like sit with me or she’d lay me down and she’d put her hand. It was specifically her right hand, her right hand on my stomach, and she would say “sana sana colita de rana” and she would change it. She’d say make (informant’s) belly feel so much better. And then she’d like, as she’s like rubbing it, then she’d like pretend like she was pulling the illness out of me and like grab it off my stomach. So, I guess my relationship to it is that it reminds me of my grandma. I even as an adult, like even when I was 18 years old, I would still say, grandma, my stomach hurts. “Can you sana sana me?” And she would come over and son us son on me… I don’t really remember the very first time I heard it. It’s just always been something that she’s done for me. Um. Yeah, I guess it is a sense of the comfort for me. Cultural reference, obviously, for me being Hispanic and like that, but it is a sense of comfort for me that she would use it. I don’t know if it was mind like a minding her mentality kind of thing that I swear every time she did do it, I ended up feeling better after that. So that is my full story of sana sana. That’s my relationship to it. It kind of follows my relationship with my grandma. And I she would always use it when I wasn’t feeling well, mainly with my intestinal issues.”

ANALYSIS:

In the story, the informant tells me of their experience with this traditionally, Hispanic saying and how it was used to comfort her as a child with intestinal issues even into her adulthood. She goes into whether or not she believed that just her grandmother saying this and performing a specific hand motion tricked her mind into making her feel better, but regardless, she believes wholeheartedly that the same always made her feel better. I know this informant quite well and during times where I myself have gotten hurt or felt sick she has performed Sana Sana on me and I think that it’s a very sweet and caring way of sharing culture with someone else.

Vietnamese & Buddhist Healing Ritual/Belief

Text

S: “So, my mom, she’s very into like, I guess like folk medicine. She’s Vietnamese and Buddhist. So like whenever we’re feeling sick, like even if it’s not like a cold, like if we’re just like, have a headache or something. Do you guys know, like the suction cup? “

C: “Oh, I’ve heard it.”

S: “Yeah. There’s one that’s called where they like heat up the cup and then do that on your back. But this one, it’s kind of like pressure. So you kind of put the cup on your back and then like there’s like a little pump and then you put the cups all over your back. And then she [S’s mom] says like, oh, the redder your back is like the more sick you are, even though that’s like pretty sure that’s not true. So like as the days go on, like she keeps doing it and like if the redness going on, she’s like, oh, you’re feeling better or something, but she’s like, oh, like helps get the blood flowing and helps all that stuff.”

Context

Whenever anyone in S’s family doesn’t feel well – whether it be an illness like a cold or just a headache – S’s mom will take cups – or coins if there are no cups – and apply a specific amount of pressure. She believes that the redder the back becomes, the sicker one is, and that the combination of the pressure and release helps purge or cure the body of the illness/unwell feeling.

Analysis

This healing ritual seems to have a two part purpose: (1) to determine how ill one is – the redness of the back – and (2) to help the body heal from it whatever is afflicting it. The small change of the color of one’s back stands in for the immaterial presence of an affliction or illness which helps categorize this as a ritual, as well as its repeated, pattern, and symbolic characteristics.

Sana, Sana, Colita de Rana

Context

A: My dad is from Mexico, my mom is from Guatemala and we speak Spanish in — er — mostly Spanish. I speak… uh, I speak to my parents in English, but for most of my life, they’ve spoken to me in Spanish. And I remember my family, like my mom, my aunts, or even my grandma, when we would get hurt, uh… there would be this saying.

Text

A: I’m going to say it in Spanish and then I’ll try to translate it. It was Sa–uh sanita sanita, colita de rana, si no a menesa bien hoy, a manaces bien mañana, which is like… Frog butt, frog butt something — er tail, if you don’t wake up better today, you’ll wake up better tomorrow. Or something like that. I probably butchered that but, um… yeah. And so… whenever we like got hurt, uh, they would like rub like wherever it hurt and say that.

Interviewer: Did it have, um… Do you recognize a convention of frogs or something to do with frogs?

A: You know what, wait. Sana — oh, it’s sana sana, colita de rana… yeah, sana sana colita de rana… yeah, si no a manasas bien hoy, a manáse — a ma-manasás bien mañana. I think that’s the saying. I don’t know what the connection is. I actually didn’t think much about it… like the translation of it… um, but yeah.

Analysis

The process of recalling this saying is interesting here because it is an example of the ways in which folklore can change over time. The informant remembers a slightly different version of the saying at first that involves a diminutive suffix “ita.” The informant also remembers the spell slightly differently from how it has been recorded in the past. In this case, they use the verb “manar,” which means to get better, but the more well-known version uses the verb “sanar,” which means to heal. By including these slight variations, it is easy to see how folklore changes over time. It might even be the case that it is more common to use the term “manar” for this spell in Guatemala.

The verb also “sanar” helps identify the significance of the “sana” (or frog) in this spell. Initially, when I asked about why the spell might involve frogs in case there was a cultural significance I was missing, the informant said he didn’t know about any such connection. Now that I have seen the more typical version of the spell, it is much easier to recognize that a frog is likely mentioned because of it’s similarity to the word for heal.

Miyeok Guk (Seaweed Soup)

Text:

Seaweed soup is traditionally eaten every year on someone’s birthday. Historically, seaweed soup was eaten by mothers who were about to give birth or just had given birth, as a way to boost their iron levels in their blood–seaweed has exceptional levels of iron. This would help the mother’s body heal or prepare for the birth, as at the time it would be dangerous, with high mortality rates.

Context:

The informant has eaten seaweed soup every year for their birthday; not only have they eaten it every year, they also learned how to make it from their mother.

Interpretation:

Because miyeok-guk is traditionally consumed by women after childbirth due to its rich nutrients like calcium, iodine, and iron, and belief that it helps with recover and milk production, the soup is now closely associated with mothers, maternal care, and birth. I assume that it is eaten on people’s birthdays(regardless of whether they are or plan to become mothers) as a way to honor the mothers who gave birth, recognizing the sacrifices that one’s parents–especially the mothers–make. Beyond its symbolic meaning, miyeok-guk is also a regular part of everyday meals due to its nutritional value and accessibility. This highlights Korea’s traditional food culture, which often views food as medicine—a concept rooted in hanbang, or traditional medicine that reflects the often health-oriented approach to food in Korean society.

On a personal note, for many Koreans, whether they live in Korea or are part of the diaspora, miyeok-guk can evoke a strong emotional pull for family, home, and heritage–many have grown up eating it together with their families–serving as a cultural anchor and linking personal identity with tradition.

Tayoon: A Botanical Blessing

Original:

طيون

Transliteration:

Tayoon

Translation:

There is no translation

The informant is a family member of mine that has lived in Lebanon for the entirety of her life and has grown up learning the significance of certain rituals and traditions with the world around her. 

Medicine:

The informant describes this medicine as a plant that is seen very traditionally “in many Arabic or Lebanese homes”. Although the plant has an original term and transliteration, it does not have a direct translation to the English language and is “similar to the leaves grown on herbal plants”. The plant is used to heal most wounds that include “deep cuts, scrapes and other physical injuries that required care” and is done by cutting up the leaves and making it into a “paste-like texture” and rubbing it into the wound. She states that it must be wrapped on the wound and left with no other ointments or medications as it is said to “clear the wound of any bacteria and also help it heal with the nutrient provided. The elder of the family, “usually my grandmother” my informant states will usually rub the plant into the wound and say a religious prayer to accompany the physical healing for general health and prosperity.

Context:

Although it is believed to have physical healing properties similar to aloe vera, it also holds religious significance as the plant was believed to have been the “Arabic blessing from god onto [their] gardens.” This is due to the plant not being seen anywhere besides the Levantine region and is seen as a gift that is only presented to them with its supposed healing powers physically and religiously. It is seen in most elders’ gardens as it was believed to have been the most “beneficial plant for bodily treatment”. The religious prayer was usually from the Islamic book, the Qur’an and would denote speeches from there to “help the kids who get hurt from their everyday activities”. The informant states that “it was important for me to do the same for my children and grandchildren because I still believe in this plant’s medicine and how god will listen to us” conveying its importance on her family and bloodline.

Analysis:

The plant is seen as more than a healing alternative to modern-day medicine as it seems to be still used to present the significance of culture on the healing and growth of children who get hurt and are treated with this plant. Religiously, the implications of the medicine being a gift from god allows the elders of the family to be seen as authority figures performing the acts of god on the children, healing and removing their worries from a situation through the use of plants grown in their garden. This blessing of the medicine in Lebanese culture plays a larger role as my informant still believes that it is the most suitable for most cases of harm, presenting it as a sort of ritual. It signifies the transferring of culture from one generation to another as she still uses it today on her grandchildren whilst teaching them the benefits. The life cycle of a plant may also be used to depict the human life cycle as it is also religiously associated and presents connotations of healing, allowing younger generations to feel connected to this certain folk medicine for the rest of their lives and offering them protection.