Long before there was a doctor’s practice and a pharmacy in every town and village, it was to the wise woman of the village that people went with every ailment, from earaches to rheumatism. She was often an older woman who lived in a humble, one-roomed cottage and she was present for childbirth, as well as at the deathbeds of most villlagers. One day, she would be assisting with childbirth as a midwife, the next she would wash and clothe the deceased before laying them to rest in the coffin. Both tasks could be performed in the small smoke sauna that you’ll find here opposite her cabin. This was also where she performed cupping. Through this practice, which was a kind of bloodletting, it was thought that many illnesses and diseases could be drained from the body, along with the “bad” blood. To cure other ailments, the wise woman had a range of remedies and treatments, containing everything from medicinal herbs and spring water to alcohol and camphor oil. Sometimes she recited some half-magic rhyme, which often contained a prayer to the Virgin Mary, over a wound or aching knee, In some cases, the treatment was more of a symbolic nature, like pretending to chop away the pain with an axe.
But whether or not she really possessed magical powers, well… no one ever dared discuss that openly.
The Wise Woman’s Cottage and the Smoke Sauna
