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Posted: 05-11-2009 23:12 Post subject: Medcine woman

Has anyone heard of, or has any info on a "Yawb Lady", supposedly some kind of Medcine woman or Witch in the U.S.A. And also a "Sin Eater" a kind of mourner who "eats" the sins of the recently dead to save them from Hell.

No doubt it,s some Hill Billy thing from the Ozark Mountains, but I,m very curioous to know more. Question

Posted: 05-11-2009 23:55 Post subject:

You mean like " The Order " or Sin Eater from True Blood the tv show?

Frankly I doubt someone of this type of service would be on the internet or advertising anything regarding such, mostly local people in the community and even at that, the drudge of society as I would imagine anyone doing something like this would be considered a dabbler of dark arts, not that I personally have this view.

There once was a movie or a show I've seen where before someone who was very bad in life died, they sought out a sin eater to come to their house and perform a ceremony taking on the sins of the soon to be deceased.

http://ayahuascashamanism.wordpress.com/2008/02/17/plant-spirit-shamanism-sin-eating/

http://www.articlesbase.com/self-improvement-articles/plant-spirit-shamanism-the-sin-eater-182389.html

Posted: 05-11-2009 23:59 Post subject:

"Yawb" = "yarb" = "yerb" = "herb," therefore "Yawb Woman" would be "herb woman" and in practice would be like most of them through the ages, with a pharmacoepia of plants and folk remedies cheaper and more accessible than a doctor. The degree of power and mystery enfolding her would depend on the specific woman and the specific area of operation.

The Sin Eater has a considerable literary presence overlaying the original folk use. I don't have any scholarship on it to hand, but in literary usage the sin-eater tends to be a scapegoat for the community, probably an orphan or other rootless person, kept on the edge of society and maintained solely for his function of saving his betters from damnation. I have also seen literary treatments in which the Sin-Eater is an hereditary post, of low status but a certain amount of power.

The"hillbilly" traditions of the Appalachians and Ozarks are descended from Scottish and Irish roots, so perhaps someone here knows more.

Posted: 07-11-2009 22:38 Post subject: