FOLK HEALERS IN SLOVENE TRADITION

In the past, gathering medicinal plants was the purview of specially trained individuals, at first usually bali or vrači, and later herbalists and folk healers who used the plants in their work. There were folk healers to be found among the laypeople, too: lekarji and padarji, wound-healers and herbalists of all stripes, united by their use of natural medicinal substances, and especially of plants. Folk healers were simple but well-informed people. They came from all walks of life, from shepherds, cottagers, and pedlars to landowners and labourers. Whether they had inherited their knowledge or come into it themselves, they offered help to their community and in exchange for their craft received food, clothing, wool, and other gifts. Folk healers could be divided into three categories: those who practiced only incantation, those who healed only with natural, largely plant-derived substances, and those who did both. For their work healing people and livestock – and creating various medicinal preparations – these healers enjoyed a large degree of trust.

More about healing and magical plants in Slovene tradition you can read in book SACRED PLANTS IN FOLK MEDICINE & RITUALS – ETHNOBOTANY OF SLOVENIA by Vlasta Mlakar