A gypsy cure for bear-bite - A strange scene on a Roumanian farm, Hermanus Willem Koekkoek, 14 October 1905

A gypsy cure for bear-bite - a strange scene on a roumanian farm our artist sends us, under the title of "heap big medicine", a sketch and description of a curious scene he witnessed a few days ago. Threshing was going on at a farm and several families of gypsies, who were travelling with performing bears, were engaged to help in the work. One of their children, approaching too close to one of the tethered animals, was bitten and brought to the place where his parents were working by his bigger companions. Then arose a great outcry, and the child's parents insisted on the performance of their native rites. The mother stripped herself almost nude, and standing in the centre of a circle formed by the members of her party, accompanied them in the singing of a gypsy dirge. Gradually working themselves almost to a pitch of frenzy, they then began yelling and stamping like maniacs, while the father of the child turned head-over-heels round the ring until he fell exhausted. After twenty minutes of this the child was taken to the hospital. Volume: 127 , issue: 3469 read the iln. Date: 14 October 1905. Depicted Place: Romania. A gypsy cure for bear-bite - A strange scene on a Roumanian farm