The MEDICAL FOLKLORE of Black Americans contains elements from 
European and African beliefs, blended with religious elements associated with 
Christianity and African voodoo. Folk medicine consists of traditional healing 
concepts and methods used in past cultures by people deemed to have the 
healing power. Often based on religious beliefs, these practices are used to cure 
diseases and promote emotional and physical well being. The practice of folk 
medicine is usually handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. 
In general, this system was used because traditional medicine failed to support 
blacks and poor whites.

SPANISH MOSS (Also referred to as Crape-moss and Old man's beard)

When boiled, the concoction is used to bathe swellings and also relieve pains 
associated with rheumatism 
Boiled (when green) - drink the "tea" for easy delivery at childbirth 
Increases the flow of mother's milk 
Assists in promoting the delivery of the "afterbirth" 
Taken twice daily to "clean out" after giving birth 
When green, can be put in shoes to lower blood pressure 
When crushed, apply to hemorrhoids 
When tied around the neck, it relieves sprained neck 
VITAMIN E OIL

Apply twice a day for herpes to encourage the healing process 
Avoid eating peanuts during this time since they work against the natural healing 
in the body 
CAYENNE PEPPER

Mix some cayenne pepper with aloe juice and rub over sore muscles or arthritic 
joints 
Also good for bee stings 
ALOE VERA

Aids the healing of burns and sores 
Can also be taken internally for stomach disorders 
BAKING SODA

For acid stomach, make a drink of ½ teaspoon baking soda and a few drops 
of lemon juice in ½ cup warm water 
LEECHES

Many rheumatism specifics are found in Negro "leechcraft" 
Leeches are used in many modern orthopedic facilities today to keep the 
circulation in injured limbs and digits from gumming up during the healing process 
BLACK DOG

Grease stewed from a black dog is a helpful cure for rheumatism, though some 
say it should be put on in the dark of the moon to be most effective 
RATTLESNAKE SKIN

A snake skin, especially the skin of a rattlesnake, dried and tied around the 
wrist or leg is good for rheumatism 
Worn around the waist, it will prolong life 
The flexibility of the snake may have been the quality which first suggested its 
use to cure stiffness 
BUZZARD FEATHERS

For rheumatism, asthma, and "jerking fits" (epilepsy), two wing feathers of a 
buzzard are effective if burned under the nose and the smoke inhaled 
SILVER DIME 

A coin, especially a (silver) dime, worn about the neck or ankle will surely stop 
rheumatism 
GARLIC

Used to regulate blood pressure and relieve cramps 
Crush one clove of garlic in a glass of hot milk and drink quickly 
EELSKIN

Tie the hair up with eelskin to make it grow 
Wear it around the head to cure headache 
If worn about the wrist, it will relieve pain there 
Rubbing the part of an aching back with an eelskin is an effective relief 
WOODLICE

Sew "live woodlice" into a pouch and hang around baby's neck to relieve pain and 
fever associated with "teething" 
When the woodlice die, the teeth come through 
Currently used in the rural south 
The "woodlouse" is the Porcellio scaber 
Not to be confused with white ants or termites 

OTHER FOLK BELIEFS OF THE SOUTHERN NEGRO
(From: Folk Beliefs of the Southern Negro, 1926)

Drinking
To break your husband of drinking, skin a live eel, put the skin in some liquor and 
give it to him. He will never drink again.

Chicken-pox
Go into the chicken house and let the chickens fly over you, or simply push the 
patient backward into the henhouse.

Chills and Fever
Cut a notch in a piece of wood for every chill you have had, blow on it, and throw 
it into a running stream where you never expect to pass again. Go home without 
looking back, and you will have no more chills.

Typhoid
Typhoid fever may be cured by taking a bath in steeped peach leaves, while a 
young black chicken is split open and applied bloody and hot to the chest.

Backache
Let a child who has never seen his father or the seventh daughter of anyone walk 
across your back.

Toothache
Pick an aching tooth with a splinter (from the north side of a pine tree that has been 
struck by lightning) and throw the sliver into running water.

Hiccoughs
May be cured by holding your breath and taking nine swallows of water. Nine grains 
of pepper for nine mornings or nine shots held in the mouth are equally effective.

Sore Throat
Tie the sock that you have worn all day around your throat with the sole of the sock 
turned towards your skin. Some believe that salt or warm ashes should be put into the 
stocking and some insist upon using a dark stocking.

Earache
Take the head off a wood beetle and drop the one drop of blood that comes out into the 
aching ear. For similar results, get some hair from a young girl and place it in your ear.









Back to African American Research pages
Back to Wayne County Page