Healing with an Egg
I have some vague memory that somewhere I heard about someone treating or removing curses with an egg. Maybe it’s related to whisperers in Podlasie? It’s possible, as you can find an article on Ukrainian egg healing here. I think that like other similar methods, this one is also based on the belief that something can “extract” the disease from the body. Below is a report on this topic, this time from Belarus. They mention, that the tradition has survived 1000 years of Christianity, Stalinism, etc., but the young people do not want to learn it and consider it unnecessary, so it will soon disappear.
Treating with lead
Although this seems niche, such customs prevail in Israel and Turkey. However, let’s focus on Bosnia and Hungary, because we are interested in Slavs. So in Bosnia, “salivanje strahe” is mainly used to fight diseases of the soul and psyche, and it is done like this:
lead is melted on a spoon, somewhat similar to Andrzejki (a traditional Polish fortune-telling game), the shape of the shadow is interpreted, the patient is given the lead, they throw it behind their shoulder with a prayer without looking back.
Then this is repeated on other parts of the body. Oh, the patient is under a red towel during the process. Later, the patient washes their face three times with water in which the lead melted. They also drink some of it. They wash their hands, knees, feet, and elbows, and then the water is poured under a rose bush. This way, their fear is washed away. More on this topic here.
Milk
This drink – hot with butter and honeyc – served (and still serves) as a remedy for colds; it was also used after overdrinking and to overcome diseases with some spells. They used to say things like: Rinse the milk from your liver if you want to avoid diseases and Not everyone will be helped by goat’s milk.
Medycyna ludowa, znana i praktykowana. Zastosowanie środków leczniczych pochodzenia zwierzęcego w medycynie ludowej. Danuta Sztych, Wydział Nauk o Zwierzętach, SGGW
I confirm that the tradition has survived to this day; in my home, milk with butter for a cold was served in a ruthless version – with the addition of garlic…
Compare with: Ayurvedic golden milk.
I’ve also heard once from some Belarussian magic practitioner, that good shamans use grain and milk, and evil shamans use blood for rituals…
SBM
The Old Slavic Abdominal Massage, which is promoted by Władysław Batkiewicz – what is it about? Supposedly, massage and heating of the abdomen is an Old Slavic way to health. The propagator of this method gives a rich bibliography in ethnographic sources, and we also know about the use of a hot water bottle, and now when I think of it, my grandmother taught me a method of healing stomach pain by laying hands on it, which may also refer to this method.
Animal fat
A doctor of medicine in his lecture from 1876 reports: “From the animal world, the most popular in folk medicine are the fats from various animals. Such a gift of nature, which folk wisdom allowed to use in many ways, was goose fat. Previous generations used it to treat respiratory ailments (served warm to drink combined with honey and milk). It also aided joint regeneration and alleviated back pain.
Folk medicine, known and practiced. The use of animal-derived remedies in folk medicine. Danuta Sztych, Faculty of Animal Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences.
The author also mentions pork, hare, and dog fat.
Water
Where did the belief in the miraculous power of certain springs come from? Thanks to detailed chemical analyses, we know that water in some of them is indeed rich in various microelements that have a positive impact on the human body. This wonder was mainly based on their healing properties. Undoubtedly, the idea of healing springs was not foreign to the early Slavs. Their recognition as such must have been based on years of observation. There may also have been extraordinary events in such places.
Religion of the Pomeranians in the early Middle Ages, K. Kajkowski, A. Kuczkowski. 2010
As an interesting fact, in Podlasie, there is a holy spring near practically every Orthodox church. I won’t provide addresses because it’s a miracle that Nestle hasn’t bought them all yet 😦
Having “the soul on one’s shoulder”
Such depictions of a person with a small, symbolic figure representing the soul on their shoulder or with a small angel or devil can be found in old paintings and illustrations in the oldest books. In the past, the saying about the SOUL on the SHOULDER did not mean fear as such, but rather the fear of death, a paralyzing fear of losing one’s life.
National Centre for Culture, https://nck.pl/projekty-kulturalne/projekty/ojczysty-dodaj-do-ulubionych
Healers, witches
“Medical knowledge is passed down from mother to first-born daughter and remains within the family“, writes Romuald Świeżbieński in the book “The Faith of Slavs from Rituals, Folk Tales, Songs, Tales, Chronicles, and Slavic Speech Resurrected” from 1880.
Notice that to this day, there is a belief that it is hereditary, for example, allegedly after the retirement of the famous “szeptucha” (whisperer) from Orla, people now go to her son or daughter.
In Poland, people who engage in useful practices are referred to as “znachors,” wise men, fortune-tellers, doctors, etc. On the other side are witches, sorceresses, magicians, and “cioty.” (…) It should be emphasized that magic was not only practiced by specialized individuals but also by ordinary villagers.
Religion of the Pomeranians in the early Middle Ages, K. Kajkowski, A. Kuczkowski. 2010