PCV: Paid Caribbean Vacation

My host mom, Anita, celebrated her 54th birthday this weekend. It was a grand celebration that included BBQ and a good meal. Everyone sang songs and then quickly left. The reason they left was that 2 of the 5 grandchildren needed to go to the hospital. The family was terribly sick. All of them were running a fever and Kayshaleen, the 3 yr old, was vomiting. I did my best to stay away from them for the most part for my own health.

After they left, I asked what they thought they had. They said they thought Abelito (9) may have Dengue Fever and they wanted to get him tested because he had nothing wrong with him besides a fever and his bones hurt. These are symptoms of the Fever, but also of so many other things. This wasn't nearly as interesting as the story that was coming about the curse of the "bad eye." It goes a little something like this:

Anytime a child is seen by a drunk, or an outcast of society, they can often be given the "bad eye," meaning that he looked at them and put a curse on them. The child often gets really sick and doctors can not explain what is wrong. If nothing is done, the baby can often die of the curse. There are only a few ways to help the child once they have been cursed with the "bad eye." My family was worried that Kayshaleen had been given the "bad eye" that day by a man at the market that was looking at her, who was drunk.

The only way to cure the baby of the spell is to find the man that gave her the curse and have him hold the baby. The problem with this is, often times, the family doesn't know who the man was that gave the child the sickness. If they do know, and can find him, then if he holds the baby, the sickness is cured and the baby will be fine. However, this is extremely hard to do.

The only other way to save the child is to find someone that can cure children. We just so happen to have one woman in our village that knows how. You must take the child to this woman, and she will go fetch a hen. We will wait for the hen to pass an egg. Once a fresh egg has been passed, the egg must be cracked over the baby's forehead. The egg then takes the "bad eye" away. It's almost like the yoke of the eye has the power to heal, but only from this special woman and only with a fresh egg produced from a hen.

While I may not be a total believer, I have been told stories from people in the village that swear it is true. My host sister Malanie was telling me about Abelito when he was only a few months old. He came down with this horrible sickness and wouldn't move. She was living in Independence at the time and called her mom in Yo Creek after going to 2 doctors and they told her there was nothing they could do. My host mom went to fetch the woman who cures the "bad eye" and they drove to Independence right away. After the egg had been broken over Abelito's head, he fell fast asleep and woke up a few hours later happy as can be. She says she remembered seeing a man pass her on the street and look at her baby. She thinks this is the man that gave the spell to her baby that almost killed him.

It seems as if everyone I have talked to knows of this tradition of the "bad eye." Not everyone thinks it is true, but so far it seems as though everyone believes it. When children seem to get sick for no reason, this is usually the culprit. Sometimes they are lucky enough to find the man that gave them the spell, other times they are not. I guess we are just lucky to have someone in Yo Creek that can save our babies.

After telling me their testimonies, they always ask if I believe them. I tell them I believe them, but I'm not sure if I believe in the "bad eye." There is no use in me telling them they are wrong, and for all I know they are right.

Regardless, one thing is universal. Any child that is sick doesn't seem to understand why they feel that way and depend on their parents to make it all better. No matter the culture, race, religion, or location this seems to be a universal truth.