Southern Folk Medicine

by Phyllis D. Light

  The woods surrounded me. I kept my eyes closed and let my other senses sharpen. I heard the sounds of the birds in the trees and the wind rustling limbs and leaves. I felt the wind as it flowed over my skin. I felt the sun on my head, hot and constant. I smelled the water from the creek and heard its sound moving over the rocks in the creek bed. I smelled the musk and decay from the deep leaf litter on the ground. I heard Daddy breathing and heard the turning of the page in the book he was reading. I smelled life: the life of the land, rich and thick. And in that moment, I became a part of the land too. I couldn’t tell where I began and ended or where the land began and ended.

  I opened my eyes and the ginseng plants were just glowing, simply glowing. They were vibrantly green as I pointed to them.

  “Here they are,” I called to Daddy, pointing them out. He stood up, looked to where I pointed and put the book back into his pocket.

  “Let’s go eat,” he said, and that was all the praise or comment I ever got. But that was his way, the Indian way.

  And that was how my path with the plants consciously began.

  What Is Folk Medicine?

  Folk medicine is only one aspect of folkways within a culture. American sociologist William Graham Sumner described folkways as “usages, manners, customs, mores, and morals” which are practiced unconsciously in every culture. David Hackett Fischer in Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America, describes folkways as, “the normative structure of values, customs, and meanings that exist in any culture.” Folkways are the everyday actions that drive our cultures with society.

  Folkways can encompass everything aspect of culture, including patterns of speech; ideas of courtship and marriage; ideas on child rearing; beliefs about the supernatural and religion; customs of dress; attitudes toward food and diet; attitudes and beliefs about health, disease, and medicine; attitudes toward time, money, guns, and most other aspects of life. Southern Folk Medicine is one of the folkways of the Southeast regional culture in the United States.

  Does this mean that only Southerners will benefit from Southern Folk Medicine? Absolutely not! Anyone can learn and use Southern Folk Medicine. Its practices and principles cut across regional cultures in the United States, and actually across global cultures. It’s easy to learn, intuitive, and conceived in the English language, so its idioms are common for English speakers especially.

  However, just to make sure we’re on the same page, some definitions are in order to avoid any confusion. This might seem a little boring, but is necessary to make sure there are no misunderstandings. The following definitions are ones that I use and are fairly standard.

  Folk medicine is defined as a system of medicinal beliefs, knowledge, and practices associated with a particular culture or ethnic group. Generally, these techniques have not been scientifically tested; there are no animal or double-blind studies. But they have been used for hundreds or thousands of years, accumulating massive amounts of empirical evidence and information that supports their effectiveness and safety. The emphasis of folk medicine is on prevention of disease through healthy lifestyle behaviors. Remedies that support health are nontoxic and are mind, body, and spirit oriented. Folk medicine may be used by itself or in conjunction with conventional medical practices.

  Southern Folk Medicine and Southern Appalachian Folk Medicine (SAFM) are umbrella terms for the folk medicine of the Southern United States. Due to migration patterns immediately after the Civil War and again in the 1960s and 1970s, you can find Southern Folk Medicine in most major cities in the United States, in the Midwest, and northward to the Great Lakes areas.

  Hoodo is the herbal and spiritual African-American folkway which is found predominantly in the Deep South but which spread northward during the great migration of blacks out of the South. It is a combination of the spiritual practices of Africa and Europe, mostly Ireland, and Native American uses of the herbs of the New World.

  Native American Medicine, in the context of this book, pertains to the remnants of the folk practices of the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles, or the Five Civilized Tribes of the Southern United States, including their use of herbs which have become a part of the Southern folk healing tradition.

  According to the World Health Organization, Traditional Medicine (TM) is “the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, assessment, improvement, or treatment of physical and mental illnesses.” The use of Traditional Medicine may or may not be supported by scientific research. Its use is focused on the needs of the individual, not the needs of the group. Traditional healers, herbalists, spiritual healers, and bonesetters are all types of traditional medicine practitioners.

  Also per the World Health Organization, herbal medicine is “the use of crude plant material such as leaves, flowers, fruit, seed, stems, wood, bark, roots, rhizomes, or other plant parts which may be entire, fragmented, or powdered. It also refers to the long historical use of these plant remedies to support the healing function of the body. Their use is well established and widely acknowledged to be safe and effective, and may be accepted by national authorities.”

  An herbalist is a person who uses plants, foods, and other natural healing techniques to support good health and the body’s innate healing processes. Plants used by herbalists have a broad definition and include not only herbaceous plants but also shrubs, trees, mushrooms, lichens, and fruits and vegetables. A commonality among herbalists is their love of the land and plants, and a feeling of a special connection to the Earth. The herbal perspective is holistic, viewing the body as mind, body, and spirit, all rolled into one.

  Natural medicines such as herbs shine in the prevention of illness and the reduction of risk factors for illness. The emphasis is on prevention of illness, use of plant medicines at the beginning of an illness, and a return to homeostasis. We can all benefit from the strengths of herbalism when the need arises.

  Conventional medicine is the dominant medical system as practiced by Western physicians. Its use is supported by medical insurance companies, HMOs, physician’s associations such as the American Medical Association, and clinical trials. Conventional medicine is based upon the needs of the group, not the individual. The perspective is reductionist, viewing the body as individual physical components and organ systems. This philosophy has created a system of medical specialists such as internists, podiatrists, cardiologists, and urologists.

  Conventional medicine shines in traumatic situations such as car accidents, acute infections, medical emergencies, surgical techniques, and in the use of diagnostic machinery. Its emphasis is on treatment after diagnosis and symptom management. We can all benefit from the strengths of conventional medicine when the need arises.

  Alternative medical systems are built upon complex systems of theory and practice. Often, these systems have evolved earlier than the conventional medical approach used in the United States, according to the World Health Association. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), complementary medicine is the adaptation of traditional medicine to the dominant medical system.

  Complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) are those healthcare practices not currently considered an integral part of conventional medicine. They include but are not limited to herbs, homeopathy, chiropractic, hypnosis, and acupuncture. According to the NIH, “These practices may lack biomedical explanation, but as they become better researched some…may become widely accepted, whereas others…quietly fade away, yet are important historical footnotes.”

  Integrative medicine represents an effort to provide a therapeutic model that insists on conventional or alternative medical practices that have received thorough and serious evaluation.

  The Language of Folk Medicine

  This is an important concept to understand in our discussion on folk medicine. The language, the vocabulary of any folk me
dicine, such as Southern Folk Medicine, is old as the hills, common to a large portion of the population, and familiar to most of the population within the group or culture. There is no special folk medicine language designed just to be used in special situations. Folk medicines use the everyday language of the everyday peoples, which insures that everyone understands it. Conventional medicine, on the other hand, uses a special language just for doctors, which makes communication difficult between physician and patient and sets physicians apart from their community.

  The folk medicine vocabulary and language are intimately woven into the common vernacular of everyday language. In other words, the language of the healers and herbalists is so commonly used that it is difficult for the specific concepts to be conceptualized as a concise folk medicine philosophy by the uninitiated. Sometimes, folk medicine phrases might seem like clichés to those outside the culture. But these sayings speak volumes to those who understand the full depth of the analogies or metaphors.

  According to Ruth Trickey, Australian herbalist and author, “In many cultures these concepts become so entwined with the language and a common understanding of health and disease that only a thin line exists between ‘commonsense’ and the knowledge of the practitioner.”

  I find this to be very true. For example, if I ask a client, “How are you feeling?” and they answer, “Pretty good,” I immediately know that they aren’t feeling too well. That they’ve been having problems of some sort but aren’t going to let those problems get them down and are trying to keep a good attitude. I also know that it’ll take some pointed questions and a bit of trust before they will fully divulge their health issues. I understand all this from those two simple words.

  Across the world, each regional culture has built into the common vocabulary those idioms and phrases that give pages and pages of inferred information…if you understand. In the South, almost everyone knows the meaning of water on the heart, sugar in the blood, high blood, low blood, high blood sugar, holding water, thick blood, and bad blood. These descriptions inherently relay a vast amount of information about health based on their common meanings, but these words and phrases are not acknowledged by the medical community as anything other than colorful phrases that don’t really have a medical meaning. Pay attention! What a simple and common communication pathway.

  The use of common, ordinary language as a health language is comforting to clients. It helps put them at ease and relaxes any perceived barriers that might exist between client and practitioner. Using the language folks understand helps create trust between client and practitioner, opens lines of communication, and empowers the client with knowledge. The understanding and knowledge then allows the client to fully participate in any decisions regarding their therapeutic protocols. It enables the client to be able to ask important questions regarding their treatment or procedures, or side effects of medications. A common vernacular is a language of support and empowerment.

  It’s quite easy for common folk to be intimidated by medical language, especially by physicians who use it as a barrier. This limits communication and trust in the therapeutic relationship. It also limits understanding of the health situation by the patient and creates a paternalistic relationship where the physician makes the decisions.

  Commonalities of Folk Medicine Systems

  Regardless of cultural, religious, or geographical orientation, folk medicine systems from around the world share certain basic, common principles. Given this precept, folk systems can be divided into two broad categories: those whose development, principles, and philosophies were passed in written form, and those which were passed in oral tradition.

  Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and Greek humoral medicine have existed for quite a few thousand years as active forms of healthcare with systemized concepts and principles that were passed to the future in written form. The influence of these three traditions is still widely felt in modern herbalism and in integrative medicine today, especially in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

  Other folk traditions, such as Native American practices, Bush medicine, West African Folk Medicine, and other Indigenous systems have also been in existence for quite a few thousand years and developed independently of classical Greek, Ayurvedic, or Traditional Chinese Medicine influences. These folk practices were handed down through oral tradition and developed in isolated pockets based upon the needs of people in those specific, local areas.

  Southern and Southern Appalachian Folk Medicine, though in existence for only a few hundred years, evolved to meet the needs of a specific group of people in the American Southeast. It developed from the influence of several different cultures and was traditionally handed down orally from generation to generation. In comparison to TCM or Greek medicine, Southern and Southern Appalachian Folk Medicine are still in their infancy, but, like all folk medicines, continue to evolve.

  Luckily, a few others of my generation and I were able to receive these oral traditions from our elders and thus can help ensure its continuance.

  Over the years, I’ve researched and gathered information about folk medicine from a myriad of sources. One of the conclusions I’ve discerned is that, regardless of location, culture, or orientation, there are common beliefs shared by folk medicine systems around the world. These commonalities are worthy of discussion. While there may be other commonalities among the various types of folk medicine, these are the ones that I have observed.

  There is an influential force outside of ourselves that is responsible for creation: the first sound, the first dream, the first plant. This force is called God in my neck of the woods, but may be called other names in different cultures and spiritual traditions—Great Spirit or Great Mystery, the Universal Mind, Ancestors, Wheel of Life, Tree of Life, Goddess, Spirits, Elemental Powers, the Force, or a hundred other names depending upon the culture and geographic location.

  A vital force flows through our bodies, providing energy, motivation, and drive. It also fuels our connection to a higher being and protection against invasion. A strong, vital force signals good health. A diminished or deficient vital force signals poor health or disease. This force may be called ch’i, qi, ki, or prana, but all share a commonality of function or protection for the body. More commonly, it is called Vitality or Vital Energy.

  The observation of nature is intrinsic to the development of folk systems. People lived very close to the land and depended upon the climate, soil, and the workings of nature in ways that we’ve forgotten or ignore in our modern, electronic world. The land could be healthy or sickly, dry or wet, cold or hot, and fertile or barren. The language of the land was also the language of health and healing.

  An understanding of natural laws (using reason) forms the foundation of healing principles. The laws of nature offer general concepts as to why things are the way they are. The laws of nature apply to the entire universe, and they never change. The laws of nature happen independently of us humans. As examples of observable laws of nature: Water flows downhill. Fire spreads across the land. And apples always fall.

  The state of the world is reflected in the individual. We are only part of the whole, and for this reason, we are not separate from the Earth. What happens to the planet and to the environment affects our health.

  We are made of the same elements as those of the Earth and are subject to the same laws. The very minerals that form the structure of the Earth form the structure of our bodies. The energy that fueled creation is present at our conception. The fluid that flows across the landscape and gives life to all moves through our bodies, nourishing and cleansing. And the wind that blows across the Earth fills our lungs with breath and brings the rains. We are the children of this planet.

  Simple practices of folk medicine developed to assist in the everyday life, health, and prosperity of ordinary people. Our ancestors from the Old World brought healing knowledge, herbs, and health practices from their countries of origin to the New World, using those practices alongside the ones lea
rned from Native Americans. Not all practices that developed in the Old World were useful in the New. The practices that proved useful were kept, and the ones that didn’t work were let go. Survival was more important than modality purity.

  Even if you are not aware of it, you’ve probably practiced some type of folk medicine. We have all self-diagnosed, self-treated, used home remedies, and delayed seeking professional medical help. Almost everyone consults their mothers, grandmothers, uncles, friends, pastor, and neighbors about their bothersome aches and pains or other health issues. And what about that internet? Who hasn’t looked up their symptoms for a quick assessment? Who hasn’t looked up remedies and treatments on the internet once a diagnosis has been made? Who hasn’t used special foods or food preparation methods, supplements, prayer, or a lucky object to influence life in some way, whether to heal our bodies or influence the outcome of a situation? My dad carried a buckeye in his pocket for good luck and to stave off arthritis. Some people carry a rabbit’s foot or small stone, or light a candle. It’s just human nature.

  Like the human body, folk medicine is never static, but is continually evolving to meet the health and spiritual needs of the people. The result is a dynamic, whole-body healthcare system able to adapt rapidly to people’s needs, a characteristic that makes it the people’s medicine. Here in the United States, folk medicine persists not only as a viable modality itself, but has found a niche within mainstream medicine in the protocols, techniques, and philosophies of integrative medicine.

  Parental Systems of Southern Folk Medicine

  Folk medicine by its very nature should be defined with the community where it is used, especially where oral tradition and local or regional vocabulary defines the concepts and local plant remedies are used. Because the folk medicine of the South is a melding of several different traditions, it shares many of their basic concepts and principles. The same can be said for the Southern and Appalachian accents—they are a combination of several different cultures coming together.