The Coming of Medicine Ethan Allen
Doctor Know-All Why There is Day and Night
The Skull Why Women Do Not Have Beards
Thanks
During my research I discovered that it was difficult to find folktales that were based on a health profession. They may speak a quick word about something that may relate to a profession, but do not cover health care in detail. These following folktales are the few I found that were largely based on a health profession.
A very long time ago, man and animal lived together in peace and harmony. Then suddenly this changed, when some greedy people began to hunt only to sell the meat and fur. This caused the animal population to dwindle, greatly concerning the animals.
The white bear called a council of animals to decide on how to avenge them. They argued for a long time, but they could not agree. Then the oldest and wisest flies offered a suggestion. "Let us call upon the spirits," he said. "We will ask them to send great sickness on the people, and we will carry the diseases".
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Not long after that, a great sickness spread indeed through all the Native American villages -- attacking the good as well as the bad. Since the animals only wanted to punish the bad people, they were saddened to see the good ones were suffering as well. They called another council to discuss what was to be done.
The lowly herbs came with a solution; they promised to heal the sick. Then, spirit dreams were sent to the Shamans to guide them to the herbs. This is how healing medicine was brought to the Native Americans.
Ethan Allen
retold by
S. E. Schlosser
Ethan Allen, the leader of the Green Mountain Boys, who defeated the British at Fort Ticonderoga, was known as a gruff-mannered, hard-drinking man. But Ethan Allen had a gallant streak, which would exhibit itself in unexpected ways.
Once, when visiting with one of his friends, who was a dentist, a woman came in with a terrible toothache. The dentist took a look at the tooth and told the woman it would have to be pulled. But the woman was terrified by the thought of having her tooth pulled, especially when she saw the tools the dentist was preparing for the extraction. Ethan Allen gently encouraged the suffering woman to have the work done, but she was utterly panicked by the idea, and refused.
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"Madame," Ethan Allen said at last, "I will prove to you that there is nothing to fear."
Ethan Allen sat down in the dentist's chair and instructed his friend to remove a tooth. So the dentist removed one of Ethan Allen's teeth while the woman watched. Then Ethan Allen turned to the woman and said: "There, you see. I didn't feel it at all."
Thus reassured, the woman proceeded to have her tooth extracted, while Ethan Allen stood by and suffered in silence!
Once upon a time there was a poor peasant by the name of Crab who drove two oxen with a load of wood into town where he sold it to a doctor for two thalers. He received his money just as the doctor was sitting down to eat. When the peasant saw how well the doctor ate and drank, his heart took a longing for the same things, and he decided that he would like to have been a doctor. He stood there for a while, and then asked if he too could not become a doctor.
"Certainly," said the doctor, "in no time at all."
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"What do I have to do?" asked the peasant.
First of all, buy yourself an ABC-book, one that has a picture of a rooster up front. Second, sell your wagon and your two oxen and buy yourself some clothing and other things that doctors use. Third, have yourself a sign painted with the words 'I am Doctor Know-All' and nail it above the door to your house."
The peasant did everything he was told to do. After he had doctored a little -- but not very much -- some money was stolen from a great and wealthy nobleman. Someone told him about the Doctor Know-All who lived in such and such a village, and who must know where the money had gone. So the nobleman had his carriage hitched up, rode out to the village, and asked him if he were Doctor Know-All.
"Yes, that I am."
"Then you must come with me and recover my stolen money."
"Yes, but my wife Grete must come along too."
The nobleman agreed and had them take their places in his carriage. They rode away together.
They arrived at the nobleman's court just at mealtime, and the nobleman invited him to eat.
"Yes, but include my wife Grete," he replied, and the two of them sat down behind the table.
When the first servant brought out a platter of fine food the peasant nudged his wife and said, "Grete, that's the first one," meaning the meal's first course.
However, the servant thought that he meant, "That's the first thief," and because that is indeed what he was, he took fright, and outside he said to his comrades, "The doctor knows everything. It's going to go badly for us. He said that I'm the first one."
The second one did not want to go inside at all, but finally he had to, and when he entered, the peasant nudged his wife and said, "Grete, that's the second one."
This servant took fright as well, and went outside. It did not go any better for the third one. Once again the peasant said, "Grete, that's the third one."
The fourth one brought in a covered platter, and the nobleman told the doctor that he should demonstrate his art by guessing what it contained. It was crabs. The peasant looked at the platter, and seeing no way out of his dilemma, he said to himself, "Oh, poor Crab!"
Hearing this, the nobleman called out, "If he knows that then he must know who has the money as well!"
The servant grew very fearful and motioned to the doctor to go outside. There all four of them confessed to him that they had stolen the money. They offered to give it all to him and a handsome sum in addition, if he would not turn them in. Otherwise they would all hang. They showed him where the money was hidden. The doctor was satisfied with this, and he went back inside and sat down again at the table.
"My lord," he said, "Now I will look in my book to see where the money is hidden.
However, the fifth servant climbed into the stove in order to hear if the doctor knew anything else. The doctor leafed back and forth in his book looking for the picture of the rooster. Not finding it, he said, "I know that you are in there. Come on out."
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The man in the stove thought that the doctor was talking to him, and terrified, he jumped out, saying, "The man knows everything!"
Then Doctor Know-All showed the nobleman where the money was, but he did not tell who had stolen it. Thus he received a large reward from each side and became a famous man.
In the day when folktales were being written people believed in magic. Therefore they believed in healers, magicians, fortune tellers, etc. When they wanted to be cured of their sickness or have something done to them they would see these people; and follow their every word. The following tales express those beliefs.
There used to be a time when there was no night or day. There was some light so that everyone could see, but it did not change.
In that time, there was a village in which all the women had children but one. She wanted children badly, but all she could do was watch as the other wives had more children. The women teased her and insulted her, telling each other that she must be evil. "You must be a terrible person to have been punished like this," they said to her face as she wept. She herself knew that she was no worse than anyone else.
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At last she heard of a medicine man who could make a woman pregnant simply by touching her belly with the palm of his hand. She walked a long way to find him, for he lived in a land beyond seven hills.
When she found him, he invited her into his home and heard her story. "I can help you," he said kindly, "but first you must wait a little while. I am given babies to bring into the world. I also know what kinds of babies they are. Right now, there are only bad babies. There is no reason why you should be cursed with a bad baby. Wait till there is a good one for you."
The woman could not bear to wait any longer. Neither she nor the medicine man knew how long it would be. "Any baby is better than no baby," she pleaded. Seeing her impatience, and seeing that she would not let him rest till he helped her, the medicine man sadly consented. He rubbed the palm of her hand on her belly. Instantly she knew she would have a baby.
Joyfully she rushed home. Soon she delivered a boy. He had a bad temper and was hard to keep from crying, but she had seen worse children, and was so content with him that she did not worry about having more children.
The boy grew as all children do, but he became more and more evil. He began killing small, helpless animals and tormenting other children. As he grew into a young man, he delighted in hurting others and bringing misery to all those around him. There was nothing anyone, including his parents, could do to change him.
Finally the boy decided to kill everyone who was trying to change him. He went to a magician and got from him a magic charm. Among other things, this charm would protect him by causing darkness so he could hide if need be. He began his evil work by killing the magician.
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He hurried back to his village and began his attack. An old woman there also had a magic charm. She fought him with it. Her charm would expose enemies by making a great light, He would use his charm to cause darkness; she would use hers to cause bright light. Back and forth they went with their magic, till both of them died.
Because the old woman, the evil youth, and the magician were all dead, no one knew how to use the charms. The charms are still working against each other, causing day and then night.
The Skull
A certain land had a king who was famous for his wealth. In his treasury he had more gold coins than anyone could count, and this was in addition to many other riches. The kingdom had been at piece for many years. The king decided to outfit a ship and visit some other lands.
Only a few days out to sea, a fierce storm caught the ship and tossed it about. Everyone, including the king, wanted to turn back for the safety of home. The howling winds, towering waves, and heavy rain threatened to sink the ship. The king stood on the deck and prayed aloud that if God would return them home safely, he would weigh the first thing he saw and give that much gold to help the poor.
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Instantly the storm stopped. Although the days and winds were perfect on the journey home, the king did not forget his promise. He was the first to come ashore. After thanking God, he walked the beach, looking for something to weigh other than sand. There were no rocks, logs, or even a tree in sight. Then his foot hit something hard in the sand. Digging it up, he found a round, hollow object that looked like a deep bowl.
It was not very heavy but it was truly the first thing he saw. He carried the object to his palace and immediately called for a set of scales and a bag of gold coins. The bag of coins was much heavier than the bowl. He put the object on one scale and the bag of gold on the other, intending to remove coins from the bag until the weights were equal. To the king's surprise, the entire bag did not weigh enough. He took the object from the scale and held it in one hand. Then he held the bag in the other hand. The bag seemed much heavier, but on the scales the object was heavier. He called for more bags of gold and kept adding them to the scales until the scales could hold no more gold. This was still not enough gold.
The king was not greedy. He intended to keep his promise no matter how much gold it took. He kept trying larger scales until not even the largest scales in the kingdom could hold enough gold to outweigh the round object.
Frustrated, the king called his wise men for counsel. No one could solve the mystery, but they told him of a hermit who lived somewhere high in the mountains who had more learning than anyone else. Determined to get an answer if possible, the king himself rode into the mountains with the object and searched until he found the hermit who was praying.
He told the hermit all that had happened. The hermit examined the object and said, "The bones of the face are broken off, but this is a human skull."
"Is it magical?" asked the king. "Why does it weigh more than so much gold?"
"It is not magical," answered the hermit. "A human skull has so much greed in it that all the gold in the world will not be enough for it."
"How, then, may I keep my promise?" asked the king.
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"Greed does not leave the skull until it is buried. Then the skull is empty. Bring it back to your palace along with some sand. Put the skull on the scale and cover it with sand. Then add your coins."
The king thanked the hermit and offered to build him a place of worship. The hermit pointed at the mountains all around them and the skies above. "This is my place of worship," he declared. "Can you build a more magnificent one?"
The king humbly replied that he could not. Again he thanked the hermit. Returning home, he did as he had been told. This time only a few coins were needed, enough to balance the weight of the sand.
The king never forgot the lesson of the skull. He spent the rest of his years in peace, using all of his uncountable wealth to help the poor and needy. Soon he was as famous for his wisdom and kindness as he was for his riches.
I've discovered that there are different types of folktales. There are the ones that show meaning to natural occurrences in life and tell you how they first began. Also, there are ones that give morals (just to give a few types). In the following tales for each I will try to give my view of it from the health perspective.
The following gives a reason to why women don't have beards that is out of this world, because today we know the reason is within our genetics.
Long, long ago, women grew beards. They were not like the beards of men. Women's beards were longer, thicker, and more beautiful than those of men. The women took great care of their beards. Some became so proud of them that they looked down on men, including their own brothers and fathers and husbands. One of the proudest was Nkemdiche. She and her three sisters were the daughters of a man named Enyioma. They were admired for their beauty, but especially for their beards.
Near their home lived a wealthy and good king named Enyi Mba. His favorite treasure was a gold ring. His daughters were also of good heart. One of them saw one day that the servants were very busy, and decided to help them by washing all the plates in the household herself. She picked them all up but did not notice that one of the plates was the plate on which the ring was kept. She took the plates, ring and all, down to a stream to wash them. She never saw the ring slip off the plate into the stream. The rushing waters carried away the ring, and soon a fish swallowed it.
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Downstream, a boy was fishing. He caught enough fish that day to sell some and bring the rest home to his family. After he roasted a fish for himself, he cut it open and found the ring. Excited, he took the ring to town the next day and sold it to Nkemdiche.
The king was known and respected far and wide; boy the boy did not know that the ring was the king's. Nkemdiche did, but was too proud and selfish to return it to its rightful owner. Instead she hid the ring inside her long, thick beard.
It was not long before the king discovered that his ring was missing. No one, including his daughter, had any idea what had happened. The news of the missing ring was announced throughout the kingdom. The little fisher-boy heard of it and realized whose ring had been in the fish. Knowing that the king would not punish him for his ignorance, he ran to the king's servants and told them how he had found the ring and, not knowing whose it was, had sold it to a town-woman named Nkemdiche.
The king's servants searched everywhere for Nkemdiche, but no one knew where she was. She had hidden herself, hoping to think of a way to keep the ring. Unable to find her, the king's servants suggested that the king offer to marry any woman who could bring back his ring. No one in town had been told why the servants were searching for Nkemdiche. There was confusion everywhere while the women searched every corner of the town.
Soon Nkemdiche came walking proudly into the king's presence. "I know where the ring is," she announced. "I have it." The king asked for his ring, and she pulled it from its hiding place in her beard. All the servants realized what she had done. The men-servants were shocked, but the women-servants, ever proud of their beards, were amused at how Nkemdiche had fooled the searchers.
The king sent all the women, including Nkemdiche, out of sight and hearing and took counsel with the menservants. They talked of how much contempt the women were showing them because of their beards, and how Nkemdiche had used hers to steal the ring. At first the enraged king wanted to have Nkemdiche put to death, but he was wise enough to wait till he had calmed down. With his anger cooled, he gave another order instead.
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"Let the beards of all the women be shaved. Let every bit be scraped from their faces, even the faces of my wife and daughters. For these beards are full of evil. We know of a paste that will cause hair not to grow- let it be put on the jaws of all women, so that no girl or woman will ever again grow a beard to trouble men with." This the king declared with a growl upon his throne, and it was done. Since then, women have not grown beards.
I would like to thank the following for taking time out of their busy lives to inform a few high school students on their careers. That time is well appreciated and will always be remembered.
Thanks to:
• Health Center Library: Nita Ferree, M.A.L.S., Amy Buhler, M.L.S., Tara Cataldo, M.L.S., Nancy Schaefer,M.L.I.S., Pamela Sherwill, M.L.I.S.
• College of Pharmacy: Valencia McClain, M.Ed.,Samantha Munro, Nefertiti Abdullah
• College of Medicine: Mary Jo Koroly, Ph.D., HeatherHarrell, M.D., Michael Falcone, M.D., John Peterson,M.D., Charles W. Hodge, M.D., Robyn Sheppard
• College of Nursing: Gloria McWhirter, R.N., M.S.N.,Bryan Weber, Ph.D., A.R.N.P., Wanda Washington, M.Ed.,Beverly Childress, M.S.N., A.R.N.P., Sylvia Burns
• College of Dentistry: Nelson Logan, Ph.D., Mark E.Davis, D.D.S.
• College of Public Health and Health Professions:Stephanie Hanson, Ph.D., Alice Holmes, Ph.D., CCC-A,Joanne Foss, Ph.D., O.T.R./L., Kristen Smith, M.P.H.,James Rodrigue, Ph.D.
• College of Veterinary Medicine: James P. Thompson,D.V.M., Ph.D.
Volunteer Office: Ms. Sandra Arnold
Special thanks to Derica Brown, Nita Ferree, and Nina Stoyan-Rosenzweig. Without the three of you this program wouldn't have been as well put together as it has. A relationship was built between each one of you and myself. This thanks is coming from the deepest parts of my heart. I wish you all good luck and blessings in the future.
Lastly, I would like to give thanks to everyone that gave a helping hand to the Digital Divide Project that has not been mentioned. Also, a thanks going to Julie a receptionist from the college of public health and health professions that made my month worth of visits at that college even better.
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