In a way, Kathleen Stokker has done for the lore of folk medicine what Asbjørnsen and Moe did for folklore and fairy tales, in that she has collected and published accounts of beliefs and stories that were on the verge of disappearing completely from memory. Although, unlike those two, she did not actually travel the countryside and “collect” most of the material herself from various narrators, she did ask Norwegian Americans to send her some of the home remedies they remembered from their childhoods. Collectors like Asbjørnsen and Moe felt they were capturing the last fleeting remnants of a rapidly disappearing cultural treasure, and Stokker has also rescued remnants of a shared but nearly forgotten heritage. As she writes: “Only a shadow remains of the rich tapestry of remedies and rituals that helped nineteenth-century Norwegians through their lives. Knowing even a little about their beliefs aids our understanding of the resources they garnered to endure their difficult circumstances” (241). Here she has gathered together a multitude of information dealing with ailments and treatments from times and places where real medical doctors were both few and far between, too expensive for most people to afford, and often mistrusted.
Stokker documents the perils of childbirth and of common injuries that often resulted in gangrene and amputation, as well as several common illnesses (rickets, dysentery, and pneumonia, for example) that troubled nineteenth-century Norwegians, both in Norway and in America, and the various remedies devised to combat these afflictions. Folk healers were often consulted and plied their trade in spite of Norwegian “quack laws.” Although many were skilled herbalists, their successes might be attributable in part to faith in remedies that were accompanied by magic rituals. In those days, people did not routinely visit doctors. Folk healers were sometimes successful where doctors were not. It seems that, at least in some cases, faith in the healer and the power of suggestion are powerful weapons in the war on disease.
Ministers and their wives were also frequently called upon to play the role of doctor. Due in large part to the fact that members of the clergy received their education in foreign lands, setting them somewhat apart from their parishioners, there was a widespread belief that ministers had access to the infamous black books. Although diabolical in nature, these books were known to hold spells and magical incantations for the treatment of various maladies. With their superior educations, ministers were believed to be the only ones who could safely use the black books, and that was one reason why it was seen as only natural to turn to the minister for help with physical ailments. Superstition played a strong role in the lives of the common people. When an otherwise healthy-seeming infant suddenly sickened, for example, the huldrefolk might be blamed. It seemed that they must have substituted one of their deformed children for the healthy human one. Therefore, many precautions were exercised to prevent them from stealing an unbaptized baby.
This book provides a fascinating glimpse of life in rural Norwegian communities and of the mindset of people for whom folk healers, home remedies, and spells were sometimes the only “medical” help available. It is interesting to understand where ideas come from, and how people come to “know” what they know. Folklorists, people of Norwegian descent, and anyone interested in home remedies should enjoy Stokker’s thoroughly researched and well-written work.
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[Review length: 565 words • Review posted on November 30, 2011]