As a child raised on my grandmother’s lap, I believe that I’ve learnt plenty of old Jamaican proverbs, myths and stories to last three lifetimes easily, as ‘granny’ was a good storyteller and me being young, I was a captive audience. I, therefore, was weaned on local colloquialisms and was often asked by friends and acquaintances, “You grow wid you granny don’t?” which was never offensive to me as I was proud of my old fashioned ways and idiosyncrasies.
Sylvester Ayre’s booklet on Jamaican folk practices, therefore, is right up my alley in more ways than one, as it took me back to that happy place of my childhood, an epoch of sweetness in Jamaica that has seemingly long past, unfortunately. His many anecdotes and remedies were like a balm to my soul as I never realised how much I missed having things that required some elbow grease and did not come ‘pre-packaged’. ‘Folklore Galore’ is a collection of practices, home remedies, proverbs and traditions largely rooted in our African ancestry and passed down from generation to generation. Many of these are the precursor to modern-day medicines though they will never be duly recognised or acknowledged as such. However, when we hear of naturopathic or holistic medicine we know that it is nothing really new as our forefathers had long embraced plants, bushes, leaves, roots and even dreams that made them healthy, happy and daresay horny (potent) again.
To Read More: Purchase your copy of Volume 9 #5 November-December 2017