there are two student post. please reply to each of their posts.

Brittany Eldridge

 

Discussion #3

COLLAPSE

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Discussion #3

I chose to interview my grandmother, my mother’s mother.

1. What did they do to maintain health/HEALTH? What did their mothers or fathers do?

a. Try to eat properly, exercise regularly, and take her vitamins. Her mother and father saw the doctor when needed.

2. What did they do to protect health/HEALTH? What did their mothers or fathers do?

a. She would avoid dangerous situations and when one may have presented itself should pray. Her mother and father were deeply religious and would always pray through the good times and the bad.

3. What did they do to restore health/HEALTH? What did their mothers or fathers do?

a. When she got sick my grandmother would go to see the doctor to help her get back to her health. She would also use home remedies passed down from her parents.

4. Do they wear, carry, or hang in their home objects that protect their HEALTH and home?

a. Yes, my grandmother always has a cross in her house and rosary beads.

5. Do they follow a particular dietary regimen or refrain from eating taboo foods?

a. Growing up my grandmother was always taught by her parents that every meal you must have a vegetable, starch, and meat. Even today my grandmother still believes every meal must include those food groups.

6. What home remedies do they use to restore health/HEALTH? What did their mothers or fathers use?

a. My family puts honey in their tea to help with sore throat and cough. When someone had the chicken pocks, they would take oatmeal baths to help sooth the skin.

7. What are their traditional beliefs regarding pregnancy and childbirth? How do their religious/spiritual beliefs define birth? What rituals accompany this event?

a. My grandmother grew up in a catholic household there for sex before marriage was not an option and the use of contraception did not happen either. To have a big family was considered a blessing.

8. What are their traditional beliefs regarding dying and death? How do their religious/spiritual beliefs define death? What rituals accompany this event?

a. When a family member dies it is tradition to belief that they are watching over you in the living world. Death to my family is defined as not just physically not being here but also mentally, as in if their was an accident and one of us became brain dead we would not let the body suffer, we would choose to “pull the plug”. Then we would mourn our dead with a funeral and a grave site.

9. Are there shrines or sacred places that are a part of your tradition or that you have visited? Are there sacred objects that you or your family may have hung in your home, placed on your bed, or worn?

a. Yes, sacred places would be where we burry our family members. We also like to visit the places we once lived such as family homes that we grew up in that no long live in. My grandmother now lives in a different state than where she was born and raised and when she goes back to visit, she likes to drive by her old family home. My grandmother’s family also passes down jewelry, such as old wedding rings or birth stones. We like to wear our dead family members birth stones to remember them.

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Shannon Palacioz 

Week Three: Family Interview

COLLAPSE

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The responses below are reported from an interview with my grandmother on my father’s side. She is a Hispanic woman living independently and is eighty-eight years old.

 

1. What did they do to maintain health/HEALTH? What did their mothers or fathers do?

A lot of the traditions of health and maintaining life, I learned growing up. When I became an adult, I kept most of the traditions learned and taught my children what I knew. I love to cook and tried to add new recipes to make the food interesting and teach my children how to try new things and how to cook for themselves when the time was right. As the years went by, we had more access to things like vitamins and medicine to help keep the family healthy.

 

1. What did they do to protect health/HEALTH? What did their mothers or fathers do?

My parents always made sure we had the appropriate types of clothes and shoes to wear throughout the year. We often walked places so good shoes and socks were necessary. She sewed a lot of clothes and we shared certain items with each other growing up. We had a lot of blankets in the home during the winter and hats and gloves were also very necessary when we were outside. Getting enough sleep each night was expected and we had bedtimes to follow.

 

1. What did they do to restore health/HEALTH? What did their mothers or fathers do?

My mother believed in taking naps when possible in the afternoons especially for the children. My father was always working on the farm so when he came home, she always had a hot meal ready for him to enjoy. Taking care of him was especially important to her as he provided for the family while she raised the kids during the day. Food and nutrition were important, and we were expected to eat our fruits and vegetable to grow to be big and strong.

 

1. Do they wear, carry, or hang in their home objects that protect their HEALTH and home?

Objects that were hung in the home were more for blessings and protection. Traditional statues of all sizes were in many parts of the home and back yard where we spent a lot of time. We also had a love for animals so many figurines were placed outside too along with a collection of many plants. Crosses were important and can be seen all throughout the home.

 

1. Do they follow a particular dietary regimen or refrain from eating taboo foods?

We ate a lot of Mexican food! There was always a pot of beans and rice along with homemade tortillas available. A lot of soups were made in the fall and winter along with the tradition of making tamales during the holidays. Breakfast often included chorizo, eggs, and potatoes. My mother often experimented with different spices and loved to provide meals to her family. There was always an open door to come over and eat with us to friends and family. Even though we did not have a lot of money, somehow, there was always food on the table.

 

1. What home remedies do they use to restore health/HEALTH? What did their mothers or fathers use?

My mother used to drink a lot of tea to help keep herself healthy. She believed in some herbal remedies that could be used in teas to help relax, detoxify, and keep her feeling well. She also used Vick’s Vapor rub to help with colds and congestion along with hot showers and body rubs to help with aches and pains. Hot soups such as menudo and albondigas helped to heal from the inside. Healing ointments such as arnica were used as well.  

 

1. What are their traditional beliefs regarding pregnancy and childbirth? How do their religious/spiritual beliefs define birth? What rituals accompany this event?

The traditional belief is that sex should wait for marriage. If it is done prior to marriage, then it is considered a sin. The purpose is to create life and to strengthen the bond between the husband and wife. Birth control was frowned upon, but people did use it until they were ready to start a family. Abortion is considered a sin because it stops the life of a living infant. Families are expected to raise children in their catholic faith following all traditional rules of upbringing according to the holy word. Prayers are given to the child when born and religious ceremony of baptism is also an important step in the child’s life and in the eyes of god and catholic faith.

 

1. What are their traditional beliefs regarding dying and death? How do their religious/spiritual beliefs define death? What rituals accompany this event?

Traditional catholic/Christian beliefs of eternal life are honored in our family. We believe that if you ask for forgiveness of your sins and invite the lord into your heart, you will go to heaven. Ceremonies of remembrance are held if the deceased individual wished for it and most did. The priest would give a blessing and prayer and traditional reciting’s of the prayer for the dead and prayer for mourners. After the service, the rite of committal is held at the gravesite. Once that is finished, it is important for the family and friends of our relative to honor their life and love by having food together and drinks. This togetherness helps to bring the people together in their loss and mourning and hope for moving forward.

 

1. Are there shrines or sacred places that are a part of your tradition or that you have visited? Are there sacred objects that you or your family may have hung in your home, placed on your bed, or worn?

It was important to honor those who previously passed. While regular attendance in church was not maintained, visits to the cemetery were held regularly. Hanging items that reminded us of our loved ones was important at the gravesite and maintaining the flowers (fresh and artificial), was important. In our family home, we had a lot of statues of Saint Mary, Timothy, and a few small symbols of Jesus Christ hung inside and outside the home. Even though we did not regularly attend church, we had faith and believed in God.

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