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SUMMARY
The aim of the thesis was to examine the use of potatoes in Estonian folk medicine. The work consists of four chapters. The first one gives a brief overview of folk medicine in Estonia, the second views the history and composition of potatoes and the last two chapters deal with the research that was carried out. The first two chapters are based on theoretical literature on the subject, while the third and fourth chapters are grounded mainly on the materials of Estonian Folklore Archives (EFA).
Use of potatoes specifically, in Estonian folk medicine, is especially interesting because of its very versatile nature. For instance it includes both magical and herbal forms of treatment. Magical methods are not so widespread – they are primarily used for treating warts – this use of potatoes is also the most common one in Estonian folk medicine. There´s also a belief that carrying some potatoes in one’s pocket helps to avoid and reduce toothache.
For the treatment of warts, a potatoe was cut into two halves and the wart was pressed with both of them. After that the potatoe was again put together as a whole and it was ritually destroyed by throwing it into a well or onto a field (usually over one’s left shoulder). Other health issues were treated more rationally, usually with potatoe compress or scrape (for instance in the case of burns, headaches etc).
The use of potatoes is also common in today´s Estonian folk medicine. Nowadays it is more popularly used as a diet food, especially for treating cardiovascular and intestinal tract diseases and also for regulating metabolism. It is also still popular in treating all skin problems, common cold and burns.
Compared to traditional folk medicine, the biggest difference in modern folk medicine is probably the fact that in 19th century potatoe was mainly used externally, but now it has become mainly a diet food. The only exceptions are facial masks, which are used to treat skin problems and the steam that is released after potatoes are boiled, which is inhaled in the case of common cold.
In conclusion it can be said that the area of use for potatoes in Estonian folk medicine has somewhat changed over time but its importance for Estonians has not decreased. Potatoe still plays a very important role in our food selection and also in taking care of our appearance as well as our health.
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