– Baracara residents share traditional healing methods passed on by their fore-parents

IF someone is bitten by a poisonous snake in Baracara, it would be no unusual scene if the village persons administering care digs up seven earthworms for the person to swallow as part of “creole” treatment. This, residents believe, would be enough to keep the person going until professional help can be accessed.

Residents believe that this treatment was practised by their fore-parents and that it works wonders when there’s an emergency.

Valney Thompson, the health centre attendant over the past 11 years, couldn’t be more convinced that the treatment is effective. While she’s never been bitten by a snake, she watched as her 10-year-old sister swallowed the worms.

“This treatment comes from our fore-parents. My father’s great uncle used to be the snake doctor. He passed and left us the legacy. That is how we live; on legacy from our fore-parents,” Valney, who also makes the most delicious pholourie as a side business, expressed during a conversation with Pepperpot Magazine.

“In our area, if you have a snake bite…we have no snake doctor at the present time. We have two persons who would give us creole treatment. We have Uncle Dial and Cousin Roland here,” she continued.

Valney further explains the method used: “If a snake bite you- let’s say a labaria or bush master. If they get to kill it, they will burst the snake head, take out the brain and tie it to the bite spot to keep the poison from travelling, or they would dig seven earthworm- we does call it bait- and give you to swallow. That will assist you until you reach to the snake doctor.”

Valney’s sister, Annis, who swallowed the worms, still lives in the Canje River. “Annis had a bushmaster bite. I was just a child, and I can rightly recall when she got the bite was a Friday night. By the time we reached to Uncle Coronel, her whole one side leg was swollen. She had to swallow the worm. She had no choice because old-time parents…whatever they said, you had to do,” she recalled.

Today, Valney, a mother of three, said these methods would still be employed in the village. If the snake is caught and the brain removed, then there’s no need for the worms, she clarified.

Valney couldn’t explain the connection between the snake’s brain and the bite area, but she wholeheartedly believes that this would stop the poison from travelling. “If it moves, it will take it to your whole body. I have no idea how it stops it from travelling; none. But that’s all I know; that’s what old people say.”

While this has seemingly worked for residents, advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that if someone is bitten by a snake, they should not pick up the snake or try to trap it, apply a tourniquet, slash the wound with a knife, suck out the venom, apply ice or immerse the wound in water, drink alcohol as a pain killer, or drink caffeinated beverages.

“If you or someone you know are bitten, try to see and remember the color and shape of the snake, which can help with treatment of the snake bite,” the CDC recommends. “Keep the bitten person still and calm. This can slow down the spread of venom if the snake is venomous. Lay or sit the person down with the bite below the level of the heart. Wash the wound with warm soapy water immediately. Cover the bite with a clean, dry dressing.”

Bush Medicine
Someone has to be really sick before a decision is made to seek medical attention in New Amsterdam. Otherwise, residents will resort to home remedies, mostly employing methods that have been passed on to them through generations.

“We believe in we bush medicine,” Valney said, explaining, “If someone is having a serious pain in their head, we will hot water and get two tubs. One will have hot water, the other, cold. They will tie a wet napkin on your head with one foot in hot and one in cold until the headache eases. That really work.”

According to Valney, the bush doctor in the village is also good at helping people sort out problems with infertility. “I don’t know what the bush doctor does boil, but I know he good at making people get pregnant. I can’t say what and what he boils… if is the man or the lady getting the problem, he can treat whoever is having the problem.”

Explaining what she’d do to help her children if they develop a cold, Valney said: “I’ll boil the wild sorrel or daisy. If they have fever, I will soak the bitters in a ‘Busta’ bottle for an hour and give them two to three shots; that really relieves the fever, or you can boil bamboo leaves and give them to drink.”