Folk Medicine in Southern Appalachia

by Anthony Cavender

In the first comprehensive exploration of the history and practice of folk medicine in the Appalachian region, Anthony Cavender melds folklore, medical anthropology, and Appalachian history and draws extensively on oral histories and archival sources from the nineteenth century to the present. He provides a complete tour of ailments and folk treatments organized by body systems, as well as information on medicinal plants, patent medicines, and magico-religious beliefs and practices. He investigates folk healers and their methods, profiling three living an herbalist, a faith healer, and a Native American healer. The book also includes an appendix of botanicals and a glossary of folk medical terms.

Demonstrating the ongoing interplay between mainstream scientific medicine and folk medicine, Cavender challenges the conventional view of southern Appalachia as an exceptional region isolated from outside contact. His thorough and accessible study reveals how Appalachian folk medicine encompasses such diverse and important influences as European and Native American culture and America's changing medical and health-care environment. In doing so, he offers a compelling representation of the cultural history of the region as seen through its health practices.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Medicine, Folklore, Southern, Magic, Anthropology

288 pages, Paperback

First published December 8, 2003

Reviews

[Thomas Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to know about folk medicine in Southern Appalachia, this is the who, what, and where source! It is a valuable treasure of mountain medicine! A very well-researched book, it should be part of your Americana collection. Treatments and healers are fully described, as well as beliefs and customs. Final chapter successfully transitions folk medicine with modern medicine.

[Jennifer Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. Traditional medicine does not always work for me so I am always on the look out for alternatives. I gleaned a few new ideas but many of these I had already learned as a child in the hills of Kentucky.

[Rosemary Royston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched and well written.

[Reilly Blum · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was great

[Amanda Opelt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive look at folk medicine in Southern Appalachia.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good book that shows not only traditional folk remedies, but where many medical superstitions that still pervade American culture come from. For example, why we think that cold and rain cause illness. Knowing about the miasmatic theory and 4 humors theory from the 1700s and ancient Greece respectively is essential in understanding folk medicine and what these people were thinking at the time. Of course there are some "cures" like passing a baby around a table leg that are difficult to figure out the origin of.

[Melissa Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dude, whoever took the notes in the margins of this allegedly "new" book that I bought (thanks, internet) is a not only obnoxious in their style of notation, but also a total dingus.

[Susan Dorsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great information in an easy to read format - very cool to see what Knoxville and the surrounding area was like back when folk medicine was practiced.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a great book to read