Superstitions of German-Russians, List of
Last Update 31 Oct 2002
Healings
Boil cowslip and drink it if you wish a good nights sleep
Eat cucumbers and it prevents lust.
The gall of a deer mixed with honey and applied to woman genitals will help her to conceive.
Chew caraway seeds and rid yourself of a stomachache.
Carrot juice in wine will help a woman to conceive.
Catnip boiled into a tea and drunk will help a woman regain her menstrual cycle
Feed a cold, starve a fever.
Place a man's sock turned inside out and wrapped around a woman's throat to cure her sore throat; place a woman's sock turned inside out and wrapped around a man's throat to cure his sore throat
Chicken soup will help cure the cold.
Never go out of door with a wet head because if you do you will catch a "death" of a cold
Cleanliness is the next to godliness which meant a clean house help prevent illness in the family.
A Story #1
My Rash
As a teenager in the late 60's growing up in Emmons County, AND, I recall coming down with a skin condition which did not appear to be contagious to anyone in my family but was extremely embarrassing for me. It was similar to ring worm only not as hideous and I had these scaly rings all over my body.
Rather than take me to a medical doctor, my mother called a lady in Linton and we went to her house. She rubbed all of the markings with what looked to me like bacon fat. Yes, the marks went away and I may never know what they were. As she was applying the "fat" she also mumbled words I assumed to ward off evil (????). My mother said that I wasn't suppose to say who this lady was or she could get into trouble. I had never seen her before and haven't a clue as to what her name was, anyway. We only went to her house once.
This was my only experience with this type of "healer" although, I know myth parents were firm believers in the "powers".
A Story #2
My Warts
.... I had this wart one time that just wouldn't go away. A friend of mine said she would give me a quarter for it. I agreed, thinking ha ha, you fool, I'll take your quarter anytime. She must have read my mind because she quickly told me that I could not spend it but keep it. Kind of annoyed and not believing a word of it, I put the quarter in my piggy back and forgot about it. Wouldn't you know it, about a month later, the wart was gone. What can I say?
A Story #3
Wart and String
I talked with my 90 year old aunt, Caroline Heintz Rodacker," [from Bessarabia], who said, '... if you have warts on your hand, you should count the number of them, take a string and tie as many knots as you had warts, dig a hole in the earth and bury the the string. When the string has dissolved, the warts will be gone.
My mother believed that warts were caused by new calves.'"
A Story #4
"...I had warts on my left thumb and it would not go away. My mother did the above," [wart and string ritual], "and within three weeks it was gone. I remember telling her it was a crazy notion! How wrong I was..believe or not believe....."
Eye Irritation
"...90 year old aunt, Caroline Heintz Rodacker, who, " [also], " said... "Always rub your eye toward your nose." Guess that makes sense - so the tears will wash the irritation out. For more severe eye irritations, put just one drop of whole cream in the eye.
The amazing part is, what said, all works...."