Southern Folk Medicine

by Phyllis D. Light

  23. We are not separate from the Earth. The Earth is our perfect environment. We have grown together, evolved together, and are nurtured together. From the clay of the Earth we were made, and it is from the minerals inherent in the soil that we receive our essential nourishment; we must intake minerals from outside food sources for existence. Every element, every mineral found in, on, or around the Earth can be found in our bodies. We were linked from the very beginning of creation.

  When we defile the water, the land, the air, we only defile our place of residence. When we spill chemicals onto the Earth, we create degenerative disease in ourselves. When we damage the Earth, we damage our home. There is no spaceship coming to magically save us when we have trashed the Earth beyond its capacity to nourish us. When we damage and pollute the Earth, we are held closer to the ground, denser, thicker, and wetter. The glue that holds our cells together erodes; our bodies lose continuity and integrity. We devolve.

  Geography holds a key to health improvement. With natural selection applications, our genes change very slowly over an evolutionary time frame. We are not too different from our ancestors from 500 or 2,000 years ago. Looking to the land of our ancestors may hold a key to our health, especially dietary requirements and disease tendencies.

  For example, wheat was bred from grasses in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East about 9,000 years ago, and spread into Europe, Britain, and the Far East about 5,000 years ago. In these areas, humans developed the enzymes and digestive actions to assimilate the nutrients from the grain. If your ancestors came from these areas, you may have the genetic capability to effectively digest traditionally prepared wheat products. On the other hand, if your ancestors came from Africa, the Indigenous New World, or Northern Europe, you may not have the genetic capability of digesting wheat. In which case, weight gain, bloating, and blood sugar swings may accompany digestive intolerance, or what we now call gluten sensitivity.

  Another example: The ability to digest milk (lactose) is based upon an autosomal gene. If your ancestors came from Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean area, the indigenous populations of the New World or the Pacific area, there is a good chance you can’t tolerate milk or other dairy products. On the other hand, if your ancestors are from northern Europe, eastern or central Europe, and parts of the Middle East or Somalia, there’s a good chance you can continue to enjoy dairy through adulthood.

  Take it back to the land, to the geography. What did your ancestors eat? You may have food sensitivities. How much sun exposure did they normally receive? This could affect your ability to make vitamin D. Take it back to the land—you won’t be sorry.

  Healthcare for All

  These simple but basic tenets have guided folk healers and natural health practitioners for generations. Following these principles recognizes a holistic approach to healthcare grounded in traditional healing methods and value systems. It places the responsibility for wellness on the individual but denies healthcare to no one. It recognizes that we are all individual and that protocols should be also. It acknowledges the role of emotions, personality, and stress on health. And it acknowledges that we are made from the Earth and to the Earth we must look for our healing.

  Chapter Three

  The Calling

  Every particular in nature, a leaf, a drop, a crystal, a moment of time is related to the whole, and partakes of the perfection of the whole.

  —Ralph Waldo Emerson

  I was too young to pick cotton, so my mother let me run around the cotton field and play games with the other children of the field hands. My maternal grandfather, Papa Bright, was a sharecropper and planted cotton and corn to make his payments. Most of the field hands were family, so there were plenty of cousins to play hide-n-seek, to throw rocks and tell stories with, and to chase the little snippy bird, the killdeer, that builds its nest from the small sandstone pebbles that littered the field. All Southerners can tell a good story. It is part and parcel of our culture, and we learn early as children just how to tell the best tale.

  There was a strip of grassy boundary land between the cotton field and the woods, and it was here that herbs and weeds of various sorts were found. It was here, among the sedge grasses that I loved to hide. If you lie flat in a field of sedge, there is nary a ripple in the flow of grass to mark your spot. I hid very well, and soon the other kids gave up trying to find me.

  I was suddenly scared when I realized I was totally alone with the silence of the wind, the birds, and the insects. It was eerily quiet without human sound, and I was the only one of my kind in sight or hearing, no other humans. So I just lay in the sedge grass and stared at the sky, watching the white clouds move against the blue background. I listened to the sound of grasshoppers jumping among the grass stalks. I could hear the birds talking among themselves in the nearby trees. And I could hear the wind ruffling the leaves of the trees and whispering through the needles of the pines.

  I don’t know how long I lay there, not moving, but I wasn’t scared any longer. I had become part of the land, the cotton rows, the meadow, and the woods. We were the same, there was no separation. I fell asleep without a care in the world and didn’t wake until Mama came looking for me. She was half angry that I had disappeared and no one knew where I was, and very angry that she had to leave her work to find me, but was glad I was alright. As we headed back to where she left her pick sack, I grabbed a ripe maypop (passionflower) and ate it as we walked.

  This sort of peak experience with nature has happened over and over in my life. I can’t remember a time when nature wasn’t a part of my life—a friend, a teacher, a lover, an angry parent. Nature can be generous and abundant or cruel and hard. No one knows this better than a farmer or rancher.

  It is this love of nature…this ability to merge into the landscape…that has sustained me whenever life has been uncertain. And it is this love of nature that quiets my soul and brings calm into my inner being even if I’m just sitting on the porch.

  The Called

  Traditionally, folk healers came to their professions by many different routes. One method, which I believe is still relevant, is the calling, an urge or drive that resonates so deeply within the psyche that to stray from the pathway could only bring internal conflict and pain. People who have a calling in an area generally have exceptional talent in that area.

  Family history is also a strong predictor of embracing herbalism as a profession. Many sons or daughters go into medicine because their fathers were physicians. Likewise, many herbalists grow up learning from their mothers or fathers or grandmothers, and thus it is passed on.

  Sometimes there are special circumstances around the birth of someone who has the talent for healing that is considered a sign. One of the most powerful examples is being born with a caul or veil over the face. The caul is part of the membrane, the amniotic sac, that covers the fetus in the womb and sometimes it sticks to the baby as it makes its way through the birth canal. This happens when the mother’s water or amniotic sac does not break prior to the baby’s birth.

  Children born with the sac still intact have lower rates of neonatal infection as the sac protects the child immediately after birth. And for this reason, caul babies have a higher chance of surviving the first few weeks of life. Caul births are fairly rare these days, with fewer than one in 1,000 caul births. This is due to modern birthing methods such as breaking the water, generally for physician convenience, and the massive number of Caesarean section surgeries that are taking place. Premature babies, home-delivered babies, and quick labors most often yield caul babies.

  Being born with a caul is considered a high sign that the child will be special, multitalented, and have extraordinary healing powers or the gift of second sight or prophecy. The child might also have a talent for music or art or generally have good luck. People born with the caul are thought to have the ability to see inside you, to know what is happening in your insides physically, emotionally, and spiritually. They are also thought to be able to see dead spirits.r />
  In times past, the caul itself was considered a powerful healing and spiritual tool, and was dried and saved for future use. Bits of dried caul were often mixed into herbal formulas to heal the sick. And because it was considered protection from evil forces and demons, bits of dried caul were enclosed in lockets and worn around the neck or placed in small cases and carried in a pocket for protection. In previous centuries, the caul was bought and sold as a commodity on the open market. Sailors along the New England coast of North America believed that carrying a bit of caul would keep them from drowning.

  Birth order is another indication of the gift of healing. Being born the seventh son or daughter is high sign of healing ability. And being born the seventh son or daughter of the seventh son or daughter, though rare, was believed to endow a person with extraordinary healing powers, the ability to see the future or prophesy, and the ability to stop the flow of blood. The mythology surrounding the seventh son is said to be related to the sacredness of the number seven in the Bible. With modern birth control methods giving rise to smaller families, being born the seventh child is becoming a rare event also.

  Firstborn children have a special place in birth order because they inherit the gifts of the ancestors. The firstborn daughter of a firstborn daughter is said to inherit the accumulated healing power and wisdom of her mother, grandmother, and so on. Healing powers are considered strongest coming through the mother’s line. The firstborn child after twins is endowed with special healing power that enables them to stop pain.

  Children born after their father’s death or children who have never seen their fathers are credited with being able to cure thrush by blowing into the baby’s mouth, and may also have other special powers. According to tradition, these powers are God’s compensation for taking away the father, whether he had died or skipped town.

  Being born disfigured, handicapped, or with a prominent birthmark is a sign of special powers that can be used for either good or evil, and these folks must make a choice on how to use their gifts. Once a choice is made and a path chosen, it can not be recanted without the loss of their powers. In some Native American tribes, being born crippled, blind or deaf, or with other physical disabilities was seen as a sign, and these folks were generally trained as healers. On the practical side, this gave them a unique place in the tribe because their limited physical abilities prevented them from participating in the common hard physical labor that was necessary for survival, and from hunting or war games.

  Being struck by lightning and surviving is another way to receive supernatural initiation. Thunderbolts from above cleanse and purge the body and leave behind power and magic. But it is also a sign that relationships are out of balance and a warning to return to emotional balance. Of course, the person struck by lightning may need to overcome its devastating effects on the nervous system if they survive.

  In modern times, wounded healers are those who come to the healing profession because of their own life-threatening or chronic illness. Figuring out ways to improve their own health helps them transcend their illness and be transformed by the experience. This transformation propels them down a path of service and prompts a sharing of their experiences, knowledge, and healing journey with others. Wounded healers often believe they have been chosen as conduits for the healing power of God or that they are ill for a reason or because the illness is imparting a lesson. To take this action a step further, completely curing oneself from a serious illness provides a type of initiation which might also include moving into the dream world, seeing the ghosts of ancestors, or seeing visions.

  Another way to receive the calling is through healing dreams or visions. Dr. Li, a Traditional Chinese doctor in my area, is the tenth generation of his family to be a healer, and so the tradition and knowledge run very deep within him. I once asked at what age he began his studies. Dr. Li answered, “As a small child I slept with my grandfather who passed on his knowledge in dreams.”

  Faith healers come to the healing professions as part of their spiritual life, having been called and empowered to do so by God. They heal by prayer, touch, or the laying on of hands. Their exceptional aptitude may include the ability to remove warts or stanch the flow of blood.

  Faith healing also takes place within prayer groups, churches, and other spiritual environments. When I was growing up, our family depended upon the prayers of church folk and laying on of hands as a primary method of healing.

  Fire-blowers or fire-talkers can take away the pain of burns or any pains that feel hot. This is done by blowing or sucking above, but not touching, the area of discomfort and then spitting out the energy of the pain onto the ground. A woman can teach a man how to fire blow and a man can teach a woman, but members of the same sex can’t teach each other. This is also considered true of blood-stopping and wart-talking.

  Blood-stoppers can stop the flow of blood from a bleeding nose or an open wound. The hand of the blood-stopper circles the head of the bleeding person three times while muttering a specific Bible verse. Ezekiel 16:6 is popular and so is the phrase, “Stop, blood, stop. Stop like God commanded the River of Jordan. Stop, blood, stop.”

  Wart-talkers can command a wart to disappear. There are several common techniques for this, such as rubbing a penny over the warts and throwing away the penny, rubbing a peeled potato over the warts and burying the potato, and by “charming” off the warts. My cousin Calvin was a wart-charmer and had quite a popular reputation based on his successes. He would place his hand over the warts and mutter a few secret phrases under his breath. He guaranteed the warts would disappear in three days and most often they did. I once asked Calvin how the charm worked. He replied, “My energy is stronger than the wart’s energy.” And that was that.

  My Calling

  As you can see, there are a lot of ways to be called to the healing professions. If you aren’t born with any apparent special abilities, life’s circumstances may still offer an unexpected route to the healing practices. I believe that everyone is born with some instinct for healthcare and healing, a certain perception of health priority that enables us to take normal care of ourselves and our families, if we pay attention to the inner voice. And then, some people are born with a special gift or talent for healing, just like some people are born with a talent for music or art.

  Loving the land and everything growing upon it has given shape and strength to the foundation of who I am. That love has been compensation for some rough times, some poor times. I can’t remember a time that being in the woods or reading, learning, seeking, finding, or sharing information about herbs and the body wasn’t a priority in my life.

  For some, the concept of Southern Folk Medicine as a complete and whole system, an American folk healing tradition, may be a new idea. I’m always amazed how few people realize its intricacies and completeness and its ease of use. One of my goals, part of my vision, is to help save Southern Folk Medicine, in all its forms, for future generations, and to help people help themselves. We can help ourselves, our families, our friends, our neighbors, and our clients with very simple home remedies and sound nutrition without running to the emergency room with every sneeze.

  Folk herbalism, especially as was practiced in the South, is easy to understand and easy to use. You don’t have to spend years learning a new system or familiarizing yourself with Chinese or Eastern Indian words or philosophies. The vocabulary is one that is already familiar, regardless of where you live. Its idioms are common and we have all heard our mothers and grandmothers use many of its phrases.

  Folk herbalism in its purest form doesn’t exist except in very isolated parts of the world. The last of the elders are passing away, and younger folks have lost interest in learning a natural approach to self-care. In addition, diverse cultural influences in this country continue to contribute simultaneously to the dilution and evolution of all folk medicines.

  Growing up in North Alabama has truly been a gift. I remember standing in a cotton field as a child, feeling the earth r
umble under my feet as booster rockets were being test fired at nearby NASA facilities. In my parent’s life, they went from riding in wagons drawn by mules to witnessing space travel and the landing on the moon. Talk about a time warp! Sometimes I feel that I keep one foot in the past and one foot in the future—traditional knowledge anchors my foundation, and science propels me forward.

  But I live in the present, as we all must do. And in the now, I believe that by codifying and sharing the information I learned as a child about Southern Folk Medicine and still practice, I can help people recover their health and reduce risk factors for chronic illness. I can help succeeding generations take personal responsibility for their health, and I can help save our folk medicines. If current environmental, sociopolitical, and healthcare trends continue, future generations are going to be even more health-challenged and in need of this healing information. Time is getting shorter and life is quite uncertain. Better to be prepared than not.

  Like many other healers, I didn’t come to my calling gently. I was born two weeks early after my mother slipped on some rocks when she and Daddy were fishing. It was a full moon on Friday the 13th of August. Because labor came on suddenly after the fall, I was born with a caul over my face. I was also born disfigured, with a cyst on my left breast which was surgically removed when I was six weeks old. My parents were told it was doubtful if I would ever be able to breast feed due to the scar tissue left behind, but I have breast fed all five of my children without problem. My mother was the oldest daughter in her family as I am. My love of herbs comes down through the paternal line of my family, through my Daddy’s side, who counted themselves of Native American descent. If all this seems a bit metaphysical, well…yes, it is, and no, it ain’t. It’s just life, and I don’t believe in random coincidences as a general rule.