Ozark Magic and FolkloreDover Publications, 1964 - 367 páginas The Ozark region of Missouri and Arkansas has long been an enclave of resistance to innovation and newfangled ideas. Many of the old-time superstitions and customs have been nurtured and kept alive through the area's relative isolation and the strong attachment of the hillfolk to these old attitudes. Though modern science and education have been making important inroads in the last few decades, the region is still a fertile source of quaint ideas, observances, and traditions. People are normally reticent about their deepest beliefs, especially with outsiders. The author, however, has lived in the Ozarks since 1920 and has long since been a student of Ozark life--and a writer of a number of books and articles on various aspects of the subject. Through casual conversations rather than by direct questioning, he has been able gradually to compile a singularly authentic record of Ozark superstition. His book contains a vast amount of folkloristic material, including legends, beliefs, ritual verses and sayings and odd practices of the hillpeople, plus a wealth of general cultural data. Mr. Randolph discusses weather signs; beliefs about auspicious times for planting crops, butchering hogs, etc.; prenatal influence in marking babies; backwoods beauty treatments; lucky charms, omens and auguries; courtship jinxes, love potions, etc.; dummy suppers; and numerous other customs and convictions--many racy and amusing, others somewhat grisly or spooky. Here you'll meet and learn about the yarb doctor who prepared curious remedies of herbs and odd concoctions; power doctors who use charms, spells, and exorcism to effect cures; granny-women (mountain midwives); doodlebuggers and witch wigglers who find water with the aid of divining rods; conjurefolk and Holy Rollers; witches and goomer doctors; clairvoyants and fortune-tellers; plus the ordinary finger-crossing, wish-making citizens of the area. The general reader as well as the specialist in particular fields of cultural anthropology, etc. will truly enjoy this lively survey of lore and practice--a little-known but fascinating slice of American life. Its gentle humor takes the reader into the hills with the author. The book deserves a place in any general collection of Americana and in all collections of folklore, U.S. QUARTERLY BOOKLIST. A veritable treasury of backwoods custom and belief... [ a ] wealth of circumstantial detail and cultural background, Carl Withers, N.Y. TIMES. |
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Página 116
... Young warned them that the patient might be dead before the week was out , if they didn't let the surgeon operate . They still refused , so Dr. Young withdrew from the case and washed his hands of the whole business . The patient ...
... Young warned them that the patient might be dead before the week was out , if they didn't let the surgeon operate . They still refused , so Dr. Young withdrew from the case and washed his hands of the whole business . The patient ...
Página 230
... young man promptly arose to his feet , much to the surprise of all present . It is claimed by some that the young man did not understand the minister's proposition , and stood up by mistake . At any rate he is of good family and stands ...
... young man promptly arose to his feet , much to the surprise of all present . It is claimed by some that the young man did not understand the minister's proposition , and stood up by mistake . At any rate he is of good family and stands ...
Página 242
... Young , of Galena , Missouri , told me that he once saw a red fox rolling wildly about beneath a tree in which two squir- rels sat watching the fox's antics . Dr. Young waited a long time , but the squirrels did not come down . When a ...
... Young , of Galena , Missouri , told me that he once saw a red fox rolling wildly about beneath a tree in which two squir- rels sat watching the fox's antics . Dr. Young waited a long time , but the squirrels did not come down . When a ...
Contenido
INTRODUCTION | 3 |
WEATHER SIGNS | 32 |
HOUSEHOLD SUPERSTITIONS | 53 |
Derechos de autor | |
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