These are cool discussions. Does anyone ever remember what the mom's
would do if the "Moiyeda" of a baby would fall? In our family if the
soft spot of the top of the baby fell or became sunken I remember
seeing some kind of involved procedure where a rag was placed over that
soft spot on the babies head and it was moisened and the mom or woman
who knew how to do it would then somehow place her mouth on or around
the rag or actually on the head and gently such and do this until the
Moiyeta would be restored to its proper up position. Amazing the kind
of stuff we grew up with never knowing they were different than what
was practiced everywhere. . .just thinking these things were normal.
joseph
Janet V. Iglesias wrote:
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face="Bookman Old Style" color="#800080">I remember a curandera doing
the "Egg ritual" to an aunt when I was younger. They would rub the egg
all over the body while praying . . . Once they had rubbed the egg
completely they would crack the egg in a glass of water and read the
egg. The egg would tell the curandera wether there was a
curse/negativity/future reading on the person. They would finish the
ritual off with herbs (rosemary & others i dont remember) rubbed
all over the body again.
face="Bookman Old Style" color="#800080">~janet in South Cali.
My first cousin, from Jerez Zacatecas sent me this explanation of a
ventosa so I thought I'd share it. It's a real combination of
spiritual with physical which is old world... any comment from the
Dr. in our group?
A ventosa is as follows: Mother would get a meduim size water
glass and pour a little alcohol into it and swirl it in the glass;
then she would light it with a match and immediately place it on the
area where the sprain was. The heat would cause the muscle to pull
upward into the glass and that would release the tension on it. The
glass would remain there a few seconds and then she would repeat the
procedure. My husband used to enjoy getting them whenever he had a
back problem. She used them mostly on the torso. The extremeties she
would massage with her hands after she applied an ointment. The one
thing she did not believe in was "el mal de ojo". She called that
brujerias (witchcraft). This is where they would apply a raw egg on
the body and this would do away with " el enhechizo" ( the curse)
but, at the same time they had a lit candle and they would go back
and forth over the body while they'd pray. It was quite interesting.
I can't remember what else they'd use along with the egg. I tell you
how I regret not writing all these costumbres down.
Linda in Wa..
