Scientific interview with a healer about treating postpartum depression and solving the unsolvable… and about creating peak moments.

The ideas actually came from my fantastic mentor Jesper. He believed that part of the aspect of investigating postpartum depression must clearly involve examining the traditional treatment, the one that differed from the Western approach to treating postpartum depression – and he was completely right. However, I had to ask around a lot to find a female healer of the old school. There were plenty of beautiful women with stunning Instagram profiles, lovely colorful pictures, and flawless makeup, but unearthing the real deal was another matter. A healer is not a witch doctor around these parts. She can (of course) treat and break curses, but she does not invoke curses herself. Important distinction!! It’s a matter of faith, pride, and business model.

The Völvas

This is in contrast to our own Viking Age völvas, who were quite skilled at both invoking and breaking curses. We went to see the völva exhibition at the National Museum with children and friends before I traveled. I have always wondered where the medieval witch profession actually came from – it is a field that extends far beyond midwifery, and here was the answer: the völva profession evolved into witchcraft. As usual, the public school has completely forgotten to teach me about this incredibly cool, lucrative, and inspiring women’s profession where the völva functioned as a medium, shaman, medicine person, herbal specialist, spiritual leader, and private detective in the Viking Age. Yes, please to education on that, and no thanks to five tedious rounds on World War II, all the great men, and the Napoleonic Wars. We women are kept ignorant of the diverse lives of our foremothers and believe that women’s professions have always been something more or less unpaid, involving care and warm hands + womb (or even worse: prostitution). This weakens us, our self-awareness, and our self-image! Go see it: https://www.viking.natmus.dk/om-udstillingen. What is completely wild is how much indigenous religions with shamanistic traits resemble each other, whether we are in Greenland (see blog Green Wisdom or What Can We Learn from Inuit from Kalaallit Nunaat?), in the North or over here in the warmth: tupilakker/curses, ancestors, animals/plants, animated nature, heaven and earth – völva, angakkaq, or medicine woman. Different but same same.

About Witch Doctors

During my time as a midwife in Rotterdam, I was well acquainted with the witch doctors. They were primarily men who advertised everywhere to the large Caribbean and African population and claimed to solve everything from unrequited love to impotence and financial difficulties, in addition to, of course, invoking curses and the evil eye. I would not want to find myself on the receiving end of a curse from them, as they were clearly capable of a bit of everything.

Tracking a Medicine Woman – The Plant Witch Had Gone Out

On my first day in Curacao, I asked everyone I met where I could find a female witch doctor. Everyone could refer me to the modern ones with Instagram profiles, but those from the old school have neither Instagram profiles nor websites. Everyone mentioned Dinah Veeris, the great traditional herbal healer, who just passed away in the fall of 2024 when I shared my project. It is common knowledge that there are a number of herbs that can be used after one is born “to get settled.” And, furthermore, also for induced abortion, should that be a necessity. I therefore visited Dinah Veeris’ garden to find out if anyone had taken over her very special project, but there was no one I could talk to about the herbs that were indeed for sale in her shop and grew in the garden, with small signs. Her son officially ran the place, but no one had taken over the herbal aspect. The whole project is clearly on the verge of dying, even though the garden is still being watered. However, there is a whole series of herbs that grow solely for the postpartum period.

The Medicine Wind

After two months of inquiries, I finally managed to get in touch with the herbalist Ramona, who dedicates her time entirely to healing with herbs and energies. Unfortunately, she only spoke Spanish, so I had to arrange for a translator for the interview. Ramona has a small office in the city center, which is connected to her own apartment. There isn’t much to see aside from some colored lights and a picture of Ganesh.

You can only get an appointment with her if you know someone who knows someone, and she agrees to offer a consultation. You pay for the consultations as you can, possibly in kind. There is no price list or tariffs. Her husband acts as the gatekeeper for all inquiries because otherwise she would be overwhelmed and overburdened. You can definitely tell that her family takes great care of her. She looks me straight in the eye and speaks with great authority. The interpreter looks at Ramona with awe, as if she were Obama, but Ramona herself is very friendly and laid-back.

Ramona was born with the gift of healing – it runs in her family – and she has worked as a healer since she was 4-5 years old (now she is 71). She has supplemented her own knowledge with insights from Amazon natives, with whom she lived for an extended period to receive further training. She is partly native Akawa and partly Afro and comes from the Dominican Republic. She will play a central role in my thesis. I cannot reveal how until I have processed all my data, but she had fantastic insights on how to treat postpartum depression, where the problems stem from, and why there is evil in the world. Additionally, she discussed how new parents can protect themselves from issues and how the postpartum woman should use herbs and smoothies to regain balance after giving birth and have the strength to care for a baby. She had a lot to share and asked me to return for more herbal recipes, which I naturally did. I hope to share them very soon.

Peak moment

These interviews and the other interview (see blog 3) were highlights of my journey to the Caribbean. Discussing a topic that I have been incredibly passionate about for the last 25 years, and have intensely worked on over the past year, was absolutely fantastic. Another peak moment was Mother’s Day, which I celebrated at “de Kraamkliniek” maternity clinic, which has helped me find women to interview (see Fieldwork, Macho Gorillas, and Powerlessness and 5 Concrete Tips for Empowerment in Parenting) by painting on some of their pregnant bellies. As many know, I paint bellies for baby showers (see https://www.artnbirth.dk/service/baby-malet-paa-maven/), but this was a free event in honor of motherhood.

I cherish the peak moments in my life: travels, parties, celebrations, educational goals, and the major events in a large family. I’m willing to go the extra mile; I ensure that fearfulness, stinginess, and complacency don’t stand in the way of my peak moments. One of those was yesterday when my youngest, at 3 years old, after much desire and approval from African friends and colleagues (see Hummingbirds in the Garden, Coconuts in the Driveway – About Being an Intern as a Psychologist in the Caribbean) on the island, had her hair braided like her friends in kindergarten. It took 3.5 hours, but she was sooooo happy. Now she wants to have her ears pierced like all her (girl) friends, but that’s where Mr. Ingversen and I draw the line.

One of the things I learned on this journey is that peak moments make you vulnerable to “evil/angry eyes,” which is a blanket term for the negativity between people. In our culture, we don’t talk much about jealousy or negative energies from others, but in this culture, it is entirely natural to see this as something to be addressed without looking down on other people. It is a natural force like the weather. If one does not approach evil eyes calmly, pragmatically, and objectively, peak moments can lead to jealousy and a bad atmosphere – have you ever tried to host a party where someone just had to ruin the mood? Or decided to move your child’s confirmation to a lovely private trip to New York instead of inviting some grumpy family? I will delve into this topic in my thesis.

Today I am sitting in my kitchen at 33 degrees alongside a lot of mosquitoes, while the sun rises over my garden – we have received (and given) so many gifts and said goodbye so many times in the last few days, as we are flying home tomorrow. Time to try to pass my summer exams, complete my courses, write my thesis, and plan my next big celebration, which might be my master’s degree in psychology…