Christina Novakov-Ritchey: Melting the fear

The novel coronavirus pandemic, like every disease, has shown the stark divides in health care access in this country. Those most likely to get sick are the poor, people of color, and people with pre-existing health conditions.

Alongside modern medicine – the hospitals, doctors and nurses – are more traditional practices of healing. Think of performative rituals that come from Africa, from Haiti, from Latin America and elsewhere. These practices are not peer-reviewed in scientific journals. But they are forms of indigenous knowledge that date back thousands of years, and they take into account the overall wellness of the individual and the community.

Christina Novakov-Ritchey studies folk practices of peasants and villagers in the Balkans. That’s the area of Southeastern and Central Europe where Yugoslavia was until it broke up in the early 90s. She is a doctoral candidate in the World Arts and Cultures Dance department at UCLA, and spoke to “Works In Progress” about the traditional healing practice of bajanje.