Tautas medicīnas materiāli latviešu folkloras krātuvē un pirmais periodiskais izdevums „Latviešu Ārste”

Abstract

Archives of Latvian Folklore (LFK) have possession of materials on traditional medicine from the second half of the 19th century to nowadays, more than 78646 folklore units in total. The traditional treatment or traditional medicine as a genre covers descriptions of diseases and their treatments, explanations of the causes of the illnesses, and data on remedies (plants, substances, physical items, techniques) and their application. Materials on traditional medicine differ in terms of the form of expression and the content, mostly depending on the personality of the informant or the recorder as well as the time of the recording. The greatest amount of the materials are located in the collections performed by schools in the 20s and 30s of the 20th century. Most often, these collections compile information on medical plants, less commonly – on the use of objects, substances, and products of animal origin in medical treatment. LFK individual archives and the Collection of Spells and Incantations [150] contain materials the richest in diversity. Materials on traditional medicine in these archives are structured differently, though they disclose wide context and ties to other genres within folklore. Recipes for humans, as well as animals, combine different substances and drugs available in pharmacies. Materials on traditional medicine recorded in Archives of Latvian Folklore do not reflect traditional Latvian word of mouth inherited knowledge only, there are impacts caused by earlier written sources, including translations from German. The research of the first periodical published in Latvian, “Latvian Doctor” (Latviešu Ārste), shows that there are similarities with the earliest LFK materials in the style of expression, recipes mentioned, and units of measurement used. However, there are no direct rewrites from the “Latviešu Ārste” advice in the later materials of traditional medicine.