ebooks Working Cures: Healing; Health; and Power on Southern Slave Plantations by Sharla M. Fett in History

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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful. Outstanding; Unique; Valuable ContributionBy Stephanie Rose BirdSo many people attribute African American healing to other cultures; particularly European Americans or Native Americans. While there were bound to be cultural sharing; Professor Sharla Fett makes it perfectly clear that enslaved Africans brought their own wisdom with them concerning farming and healing; as well as certain medicinal plants; with them to the Americas during the Middle Passage. "Working Cures" is an outstanding contribution to understanding distinctly American contributions to healing made by African Americans. Fett also presents the history of conjure; root doctoring; midwifery and a great deal more as it relates to medicine and healing in the African American community. Fett also illustrates the mind/body/spirit; holistic approach of African healing employed by African Americans. "Working Cures" is essential reading for those interested in learning the unique aspects of African American healing in the United States.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Kindle CustomerOne of the few books of its kind0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. a slave with poor health meant low productivity and lack of valueBy CustomerIn Working Cures; Sharla Fett provides an insight into healthcare in the antebellum South. She illustrates the healthcare struggles faced by both enslaved Africans and the antebellum plantation owner. Health was a multifaceted concept; it was more than just the absence of disease. Thus; the struggles faced by both parties went beyond physical well-being. Fett uses personal narratives from various sources to exemplify the struggle for health in this area at this time. The narratives demonstrate the obstacles slaves and slave-owners faced in health over religion; family; sexuality; and labor.Plantation owners during this period evaluated slaves’ potential based on a system called “soundness.” Soundness was developed to look into the past; present; and future condition of slaves’ health. The plantation owners hired physicians to evaluate the mental; behavioral; and physical health of the slaves (Fett; p.18). For example; a slave with multiple lash marks meant that the slave was defiant of authority and had behavior issues. That slave would have a lower value than a slave with no marks. A female slave’s soundness included the ability to bear children. Age also played a role in soundness. Older slaves were seen as more prone to injury; which would take away from productivity (Fett; p.27). Therefore; a young slave who could work; bear children; and was mentally healthy would bring in more money. When an owner bought a new slave; the slave was evaluated by a physician for his worthiness. Some slaves came with a warranty based on observations made by doctors. If a slave was sold with a fraudulent warranty; the new plantation owner could sue and use the doctor as witness (Fett; p.39). In the process of buying and owning slaves; physicians and the health of the slaves played a major role in a slave’s soundness.For plantation owners; a slave with poor health meant low productivity and lack of value. Slave owners combated this problem with white physicians and plantation hospitals nursed by enslaved women. Slaves who claimed to be ill received checkups to confirm the lack of productivity actually stemmed from disease and not just laziness (Fett; p.171). Once it was verified that the slave was ill; he received care from the plantation hospital and local white doctors. They used the medical knowledge they had received from experience; schooling; and intuition (Fett; 47). The successful care for ill slaves increased the wealth of the plantation owner and the physician.For the Africans in slavery; treating illness came with a spiritual component. Unlike the white doctors; enslaved healers used their knowledge from nature; divine intervention; and spiritual gifts from their ancestors to treat and cure disease (Fett; p.39). They used various plants as well as spiritual cleansing. The enslaved Africans also believed that the community and kin played an important role in one’s health. Fett writes the story of Calia; a slave girl; who died of Tuberculous according to the plantation overseer. However; in the enslaved community; she was believed to have been “tricked” or conjured (Fett; p.85). Conjuring; also known as hoodoo; was used to heal; harm; and protect through spiritual forces (Fett; p.85). This method was very popular amongst enslaved Africans. Those who wished to cause harm used “root workers” to put spells or “hoodoo” on their enemies and their enemies could use other root workers to cure them of the spell (Fett; p.86).For the plantation owners; conjuring became a burden. In Working Cures; an enslaved woman named Darkey; as a retaliation against her owners; threatened her fellow enslaved workers. The slaves; fearing Darkey’s conjuring threat; stopped work. They asked to move to different quarters and during work; they stayed in the overseer’s view (Fett; p.90). The workers stayed in constant fear of Darkey; thus reducing their productivity. Spiritual practices like conjuring became a way for slaves to cause personal harm and defend themselves in the enslaved community. The white slave owners had to intervene when productivity became low or endangered one of the slave’s lives. In the case of Charles; he believed he had an illness inflicted by hoodoo after traditional antebellum medicine failed to cure him. Due to his value; the white overseers sought out a “black doctor” or root worker to cure him (Fett; p.89). Although frowned upon; slave holders understood that the aspect of spirituality played an important role in keeping slaves healthy and increasing their wealth.Enslaved Africans integrated spirituality into every part of their lives. This allowed them to remain spiritually free; and provided an escape from the struggles of slavery. They even borrowed parts of Christianity and added them to their own traditions (Fett; p.47). Enslaved Africans believed that divine intervention occurred when their cruel owners were struck down with smallpox; for example. Even those with strong beliefs in spiritual forces accepted Christianity. Some slaves were whipped into submission; ‘‘You are rebellious sinners” they were told (Fett; p.51). Spirituality and Christianity merged into a kinship (Fett; p.42). Although; the enslaved community accepted Christian views either by choice or force; it still held onto spiritual beliefs and conjuring practices; all of which contributed to its rich spiritual culture.Spiritual practices created further healing conflicts between slaves and their owners. The owners at that time believed in the mind-body relationship and an equilibrium between the two. Some took to mesmerists or hypnotists for healing; while others called it “negro-superstition” (Fett; p.45). Fett uses the narrative of a plantation nurse to further portray racial ideology in southern medicine. A plantation nurse named Mildred Graves was called by owners to help a complicated birth. She came to find two male white doctors working on the pregnant women. The hostile doctors told her to go away; they didn’t require her hoodoo medicine. They used race to discredit Graves’s healing practices. However; the doctors were sent away and Graves delivered the baby (Fett; p.51). The doctors would not have been so hostile if Graves had been a white midwife. Her race was the only thing troubling the white doctors.In the antebellum South; gender played an important role in the enslaved community. Enslaved men and women had different roles in the plantation. Men were mainly used for field work and females were a dual form of wealth; “valued as both productive laborers and potential child bearers” (Fett; p.193). Women in the enslaved community had many overlapping roles. They were cooks; maids; nannies; and midwives. They fulfilled these roles in their own homes; as well as those of their owners. African enslaved women also endured many unique dangers to their health. They feared their owners and slaves of the opposite sex due to the threat of rape. Conjuring and physical punishment occurred if the women denied any advance made toward them. Female slaves were used as Guinea Pigs for experimental medical procedures. Cesarean sections; which almost always resulted in fatality for the mother and child; were mostly carried out on enslaved women. A slave woman named Anarcha endured thirty experimental operations in a five-year period by white doctors without anesthesia (Fett; p.120).Some African enslaved women became expert healers like Elsey; but this came with its own set of health risks. Elsey was so skilled; the plantation owners would only call a doctor if she could do no more for the patient (Fett; p.111). While being an expert healer may have seemed alluring to females at the time; it was in fact very detrimental to their health. They were exposed to many dangers like bodily fluids. The places these women worked; like the field hospital or infirmary for the slaves; were dirty; damp; and dark. These healthcare places for the slaves were daily attended by black doctresses like Elsey (Fett; pg.120). African American enslaved women endured many dangers to their health with or without being healers. Those dangers to enslaved women also affected their family life. Being enslaved meant comply with orders or receive punishment. Many enslaved women were used for their womb. Partnerships or relationships in the enslaved community were non-permeant. Slaves were forced like animals to breed with other slaves in order to produce sellable offspring. Children and husbands were snatched away from their household to be sold at market (Fett; p.132). The concept of family was ever-changing in the enslaved community. However; the fear of being sold did not stop women from teaching their children healing practices and trying to have a healthy family (Fett; 136). In fact; some women where so good at healing in their family they were put in charge of healthcare for the plantation owners. These women were forced to take care of their owners’ families while their own families suffered from neglect (Fett; p.161). Family structures relied heavily on the enslaved women; without their care; many would’ve suffered. In the institution of slavery; health served a very important role for the enslaved and their owners. Increasing in health meant more wealth for the plantation owner. For plantation owners; health provided a view of slaves’ past; present; and future conditions. For the enslaved community; healthcare was a spiritual escape mixed with a touch of Christianity. In terms of non-physical health; plantation owners and the enslaved community did not see eye to eye. Owners believed their slaves’ spiritual attachment to health was “quackery.” Even with quackery; enslaved women received authority to heal from their owners. This type of power given to a woman; let alone an enslaved woman; was unheard of in the nineteenth century. However; this authority came with a price—disruption and lack of care for their own families. In the antebellum South health created a struggle in the realms of labor conditions; religious beliefs; gender; and family life.