Tag Archives: medicine

Honey, Lemon, Garlic, and Onion Mix to Cure Colds

Nationality: Colombian/ Venezuelan
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 04/23/18
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Background information:

My roommate is Colombian and is the first one in her family who was born in the United States since her relatives all live in Colombia except for her direct family. She actively engages in the Colombian culture, speaking Spanish with her family and celebrating Colombian events and traditions. Therefore, even though she was born in the United States, she holds onto her Colombian roots and treasures her Colombian culture as she believes that her Colombian roots are a large part of what shapes who she is.

Main Piece:

My roommate, who is of Colombian descent, has fantastic cultural traditions that she shares with me. When she was sick with a cold earlier this semester, she told me about a remedy that she had been exposed to her whole life. She said that she begins by squeezing a whole lemon, pouring this lemon juice into a glass, mincing garlic and onion, and putting this into the glass with the lemon juice. She later tops this concoction off with honey and mixed it all together, then quickly drinks it. She said that it is a horrible taste and needs to be consumed quickly because the taste is so pungent and concentrated. After drinking this, she recommends that one have a class of water to immediately flush down any excess of the concoction as the taste can linger for a while which can be very unpleasant. She claims that although this remedy is most likely one of the most unappealing drinks that she has tasted, it works wonders and immediately can make one feel better. The concoction, she states, has a large dose of Vitamin C which is crucial to bettering the immune system, has honey that is gentle and soothing to the throat, and contains garlic and onion which are key to clearing out any mucus. She said that this has been a key remedy to making her feel better throughout her childhood and adult life, and therefore used this remedy whenever she felt like she had a cold.

 

Personal thoughts:

My roommate shared a fantastic remedy for sore throats with me when she was fighting off a cold and it reminded me of certain cold remedies that I have learned from my family. Although we come from vastly different backgrounds with her being Colombian and me being Swedish, there is a connection between the cold remedies that we have learned from our respective cultures. For example, the cold remedies that we have both learned each involve garlic, which I would not consider to be the most common treatment for colds, therefore showing similarity and slight overlap between widely different cultures.

Nature and Garden Spirits

Nationality: Filipino, American
Age: 50
Occupation: Sales Order Manager
Residence: Fremont, CA
Performance Date: April 26, 2018
Primary Language: English
Language: Tagalog

The interviewer’s initials are denoted through the initials BD, while the informant’s responses are marked as AD.

BD: So tell me about the spirits that live in nature.

AD: So, my mother, in her house’s yard, there’s a swing outside and some grass. They say that there’s something that lives underneath the ground. Every time you have to be careful and not step on the roots, or you have to say “excuse me,” which in Tagalog is “tabi tabi po.”
Anyway, spirits that live there, outside and underground, and if you accidentally step on them and you don’t say excuse me, bad things happen.

BD: Like what?

AD: People get sick. And doctors don’t know why. Bad things like that. But when this happens, and it’s unexplainable by regular medicine, they call a man from the community and he does “tawas.” I don’t know what the term is in English. But only certain people can do it. This person who knows how to get the sickness out of your system. They use a bowl with water, and they use a candle. What they do is put the bowl in front of them and the person who is sick, the bowl between the two people. They light the candle, and pour the wax into the bowl of water. And it forms a shape. Whatever shape it forms—sometimes it’s in the shape of an animal—that’s the spirit that is harming the person.

 

Analysis: Growing up, I heard this belief often, because I am Filipino, and my grandmother’s yard was rumored to have some of the spirits in it—all nature does. Even now, when I step on tree roots, I whisper under my breath “tabi tabi po,” in hopes I will not be cursed. A more personal, in-depth look at the process of tawas can be found at: www.lifestyle.inquirer.net/177916/diagnostic-rituals/. The informant personally knows four people capable of tawas, proving it is not an uncommon practice, and many Filipinos still believe in both ideas—the initial superstition and the folk medicine that can cure transgressions by the superstition.

Vapu-Rub Remedy

Nationality: Mexican-American
Age: 45
Occupation: Construction
Residence: Tijuana
Performance Date: 4/14/17
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Vicks Vapu-Rub remedy has been a trend in the Latino community. All you have to do is put the product on the soles of your feet and put socks on, as well as on your back and chest. Doing so, supposedly leads you to be cured by the morning.An addition to this remedy is also provide yerba buena boiled with some vapu-rub and then also massaged on your back and chest.

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Juan is a Mexican-American from Mexico city. He works demolition, but is super into his religion of being a Jehovah Witness. He has been passing down his traditions to his kids, just how they were passed down to him by his dad and grandpa.

Broncollin Remedy

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 45
Occupation: Construction
Residence: Tijuana

Broncolin is a all natural herbs and honey folk remedy that is used to treat colds and congestion in its folk method, but it’s actually a diet supplement. You apply the honey under your tongue and after that you give a small massage around the Adam’s apple area and you are supposed to wake up healed.

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Juan is a Mexican-American from Mexico city. He works demolition, but is super into his religion of being a Jehovah Witness. He has been passing down his traditions to his kids, just how they were passed down to him by his dad and grandpa

The Story of the Tenrikyo Miracle that Saved My Grandfather

Nationality: American/Japanese
Age: 23
Occupation: Representative of the Tenri Cultural Institute of New York City.
Residence: New York, NY
Performance Date: 4/13/17
Primary Language: English
Language: Japanese

Nationality: American/Japanese

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): Japanese

Age: 23

Residence: New York City, USA

Performance Date: April 13, 2017 (Skype)

 

Sammy is a 23 year old man, born and raised in New York who is a representative with the Tenri Cultural Institute of New York City.

 

Interviewer: Good Morning. I never heard of Tenri, can you tell me something about it and a tradition associated with it.

 

Informant: “Ok ok. The teaching of Tenrikyo (sp)”

 

Interviewer:  Can you spell it please.

 

Informant: “that’s T-E-N as in Nancy R-I-K-Y-O, Tenrikyo, ah basically we are taught that our bodies are something that is lent to us from G-D something that we borrow something from G-D The Parent and uh just our minds are our own ah our own. And basically depending on the way we use our minds G-D The Parent will ah show ah us ah the proper way to mature spiritually hum which means basically is to become selfless and in order to do that we basically have to keep our minds from becoming ah or getting rid of our egos basically. And ah what we are taught when we use our minds in selfish manners it is like we are accumulating dust. And when we accumulate dust, we are unable to see our goals as human beings um from what it should be basically. Um and so what we do in the Service the Tenrikyo Service is we ask G-D The Parent to sweep that dust from our minds ah but we are also responsible for our own, you know, how we use it individually. So we have to continue to keep ah fighting ourselves almost not others and fighting ourselves to not to be greedy or arrogant or selfish or anything like that. Ah but if you ever get the chance please read up on and the teachings of Tenrikyo ah it is native to the country of Japanese ah the country of Japan and there is a small town in Tenri where we call our home.”

 

Interviewer: When did you first become aware of this?

 

Informant: “Ah actually I was born into the church.  Ah My Father he ah he was I am a third generation Tenrikyo and basically my father he came to New York to spread the teachings of Tenrikyo and he so started at a church in Bayside Queens, and that is where I was born. My my original, my grandfather was the one who kind of started the faith and he ah he has suffered from ah tuberculosis and he was saved miraculously ah through ah missionary who was walking in Japan, a Tenrikyo Missionary and he was taught the same thing what I actually just said.  And ah realizing that it was his own mind that was the problem he kind of replaced his mind and ah decided that even though he was going to die from tuberculosis he might as well die you know saving others.  And when he, he firmly resolved that mind ah, he was saved from his tuberculosis in some way. My father was born and also I was born after that. So it is kind of nice.”

 

Thoughts about the piece: 

Faith healing belief systems exist in many cultures and modern medicine placebo testing is one way that the power of thought to promote health is being investigated. Tenrikyo is a matriarchal religion founded on miraculous healing. Background can be found here: http://what-when-how.com/religious-movements/tenrikyo-religion-of-heavenly-wisdom/ Another testimonial is: http://tenrikyology.com/343/36-firm-resolution/