Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1920-04-25 | Page 9 | Superstition Foe of Greece

oo - FOE GF GREECE1 Ancient Fetishes Hampering Work of American Nurses in Athens By MAJOR JAMES A. MILLS. Written for the International News Service. ATHENS. American nurses in the Balkan countries have met with some curious customs and superstitions among the natives, particularly In the matter of the caro of children. In their dally round of duties they have oncountercd all tho evils of witchery charm cures and weird beliefs which the centuries have handed down. They have found it difficult to overcome over-come these hoary, moss-grown traditions tradi-tions and "wisdom" of the ages. The methods of the medicine men of the North American Indians aro not more fantastic than those employod by the untutored mothers of the Balkans. From the moment a baby is born, the vital point In his life, as the mother moth-er sees It, is to protect him from the spirits of evil which hover over tho cradle and follow him through tho day, always watching, always waiting, wait-ing, always hoping for their opportunity. oppor-tunity. Some of tho means employed by Greek mothers to banish these sinister sin-ister spirits are most extraordinary. The poor child has to endure many strango ceromonics before his parents feci at all sure of his future. One method much In vogue Is lo place behind the baby's ears a dab of mud. With the "charm" In position baby, his mother thinks, has no: much to fear. Nearly nil tho children brought to the American Red Crous circle in Athens have this smear of mud on them. Only after frantic pleading on the nurso's part was the i weird custom abandoned. j When baby la sick and all other remedies fall, a bed of cold cinders Is I very generally used as a last resort. The cradle is filled with old ashes and the infant Is burled In them. The J American nurses have never boon able to discover what tho boneflt to be derived de-rived from this-curious custom was supposed to bo. The cure for colic Is even more curious. curi-ous. When tho baby has a severe colic, the ponds in the environs of tho house are diligently searched by members mem-bers of tho family and all the frogs arj captured. These are placed alive n the child's abdomen. It is a very : tiresome treatment, as sbnio ono must) j sit by and koeu the frogs from hop-, ping off tho patient. Xo thought is! given to tho terror these Jumping I frogs may havo for the ohlld. Among tho . gypsies that wander over the Balkans, tho work of tho Red Cross nurses is more difficult. It j will take years of preparation and-education to enable them merely to begin be-gin to understand the Idea ' of child i welfare. For the moment "Kismet" I and "Allah" rule thoir lives, will all 'fate, good or 111. and kill all lnitia- H nn H