Lithuanian Folk Remedies

Lithuanian folk remedies include the use of herbs, stones, water, trees, and animals, as well as incantations, spells and castings. Folk remedies were used to treat illness, cast out evil, bring good luck and ward off troubles. Herbs were stuffed into mattresses, used in infusions, and placed directly on the body. Herbal infusions were made into baths and into teas that were drunk three times a day.

Herbal Remedies

• Comfrey was made into a tea and drunk to treat broken bones.

  Yarrow was placed on open wounds to stop hemorrhaging. Garlic was worn around the neck to protect against contagious illnesses. Blueberries were used to treat eye problems. Carrots, dandelion and yellow plants were used to treat jaundice. Kidney-shaped beans were used to treat kidney problems. Healing herbs were stuffed into mattresses to treat joint or rheumatic pain. A cloth soaked in cabbage leaves or salt covered with butter was placed on the chest to treat chest pains after a chill.

Healing Trees

• Illness was flogged out using magic birches and nettle stalks.

  Trees were used to treat physical handicaps, paralysis, and bad eyes, hand and feet. Sick children were placed under a tree in Veliuva whose branches had grown into a circle. Also revered was a pine tree with branches that resembled a hand in Nibudžiai and another near Šiluva with a branch that resembled a pipe. Tree bark was used to treat illnesses. Those wishing to be healed pressed their bodies into and through tree openings, performed rituals and hung offerings on trees. Sterile women tied embroidered aprons on special trees asking for children. After the arrival of Christianity, embroidered aprons were tied on wayside crosses asking for children and health.

Remedies Using Animals

• Incantations were used to treat snake bites, hemorrhages, joint problems, herpes, and toothaches.

  Skin problems were treated by eating snake. Rheumatism was treated by washing the area in anthill water or lying the person on an anthill. Diphtheria was treated by drinking a cooked toad. Loss of strength or weakness was treated by using calf's liver. The milk from goats, sheep and mares was also used to increase strength.

Water and Fire Remedies

• Getting soaked by the first rain in May was believed to help growth in hair and children.

  Charmed water was considered a natural healer. Charmed waters included spring water, window dew, water from a hole in a stone, and water drawn on Easter Sunday. Illness could be washed away by bathing at sunrise and sunset on Holy Thursday, Easter Sunday or St. John's Day. Women gave birth in bathhouses. Persons who were seriously ill were steamed, bled, and massaged in bathhouses. Other bathhouse treatments included using leeches on sores, placing ice near the head for a fever, and placing a heated brick near the feet for chills.

  Scabies was treated by putting a person in a hot oven. A person having rickets was set in the sun. Fire and smoke was used to drive away illness.

Stone, Flint, Metal Healings

• Injured areas of the body were rubbed with stones, stone slivers and flint.

  It was believed that cutting the hair would cause headaches and blindness. Hair was burnt off with a hot iron. Headaches were treated by rubbing the head with iron. Open sores on the head were washed with alum or lead water. Silver and mercury were used as protection against witchcraft and spell castings.

Human Body Part Remedies

• The bones and teeth of the dead were used to treat ailments.

  After childbirth, the placenta and umbilical cord were dried. Dried placentas and umbilical cords were sprinkled on wounds and on bleeding and swollen areas of the body. Moles, warts and herpes were treated by rubbing the fingers of the dead on the moles, warts and herpes.

Other Folk Remedies

• Incantations were performed at sunrise or sunset or at a new or full moon.

  Illnesses were driven out by incantation as well as by frightening, squeezing, shaking, blowing, whipping, knotting or magic. Incantation prayers were performed on water, whiskey, flour, bread, honey and salt. Incantations were influenced by Christianity. Incantations were said not to work on non-believers.