The conversations our ancestors had with the land were cut short. Discovering and revitalizing their traditional medicinal practices, anchored by their reverence for herbs and their approach to natural materials is active remembrance. The source for the following piece was one that I discovered at the Boston Antiquarian Book Fair this past fall. It was the last place I thought I’d find something so meaningful to this work. Տանու Բժիշկ (Home Doctor) written by Garabed Kochariantz in 1863 has distinct chapters for internal illnesses, children’s ailments, reproductive health and external illnesses. Within each chapter, he explains the common symptoms and then prescribes different herbal and natural remedies to alleviate them. Using these remedies, I constructed this ‘Ancestral First Aid Kit’ to integrate the knowledge and build an accessible tool with the intentions of reclamation, healing and preservation.
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