S is for Soothing Spirits & Sweet-Nothings—A to Z Blog Challenge

We are pleased to participate in the A to Z Blog Challenge (http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/). The Story Crossroads theme for this year is Hope & Healing…folktales around the world that beat back viruses. Each post highlights one or more balms to soothe and cure our struggles of today with oral tradition and lore of the past. At times, a post will make a connection to history. You can guess what inspired this theme. Yes, the COVID-19. What better time to delve into tales where things can and do turn out “happily ever after”?

Soothing Spirits & Sweet-Nothings

From Costa Rica-

Small and simple acts of kindness can bring about great and glorious deeds. There are many adventures within the story though it is the goal to heal the king—or father—for it to end happily.

50-word-or-less summary:

Three brothers/princes traveled to find cure for blind father. Passed dead man unable to be buried (poor). Youngest paid. Spirit of man visited. Explained where to find bird with healing power. Prince gained bird, flying horse, princess. Jealous brothers! Pushed youngest off cliff. Coat caught on branch. Returned. Saved father.

Finding the Story: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375714391/ref=as_li_tf_il?imprToken=VR8Z2iWl0-ugX3c4x52oVw&slotNum=10&ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=w61&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0375714391

Compare to History:

Shamans help to heal and sometimes commune with the dead. You find shamans in many cultures including Mexico and America. A Mexican shaman is better known as a Curandero. In November 1983, an author learned there were 1,000 Curanderos in Orange County alone of Los Angeles. These folk healers were mostly legitimate in their skills and held “secrets” that folklore eluded to with the oral tradition.

More on the History: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1010994/

From California Hispanic Culture:

A husband and wife plan what would happen if the other one died. They decided that if one died, the other would be buried alive so they would not be parted long. That was the plan…until a mouse with a flower cane along.

50-word-or-less summary:

Husband and wife agreed the other would take own life if other died before them. Wife died. Husband had grave dug wider to accommodate him. Had pipe to breathe. Husband noticed live mouse and dead mouse spouse. Dead mouse given flower (through mouth). Alive! Husband fed dead wife flower. Alive! Unburied!

Finding the Story: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375714391/ref=as_li_tf_il?imprToken=VR8Z2iWl0-ugX3c4x52oVw&slotNum=10&ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=w61&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0375714391

Compare to History:

There is an actual corpse flower that smells of rotting flesh. It can grow 10-15 feet, like a husband and wife laying down flat. It is one of the largest “flowering structure,” and can increase its temperature to 98 degrees. The smell combined with the heat attracts pollinators—like flies and bees—that carry the pollen and allowing that plant to—essentially—live again.

More on the History: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.livescience.com/amp/51947-corpse-flower-facts-about-the-smelly-plant.html

Please share in the comments…or anything on your mind.While you enjoy this blog, Story Crossroads has year-round offerings in process of being adapted due to COVID-19.Our 2020 Festival has been transformed into Story Crossroads Spectacular, a virtual experience. See here: http://www.storycrossroads.org/spectacular on May 13, 2020 starting at 9am MDT with events all day.

We thank our funders such as National Endowment for the Arts, Utah Division of Arts and Museums, Western States Arts Federation, Utah Humanities, Zoo, Arts & the Parks of Salt Lake County (ZAP), City of Murray, Salt Lake City Arts Council, and many other businesses and individuals. Join us in the support by donating today!