To heal a sprain (Shetland, scottish isles)
When a person has received a sprain, it is customary to ask an individual practiced in casting the “wresting thread” (a charm). This is a thread spun from black wool, on which are cast nine knots, and tied round a sprained leg or arm. During the time the healer is putting the thread round the affected limb, they say, but in such a tone of voice as not to be heard by the bystanders, nor even by the person operated upon:
The Lord rade,
And the foal slade;
He lighted.
And he righted.
Set joint to joint,
Bone to bone,
And sinew to sinew.
Heal in the Holy Ghost’s Name!from: The New Statistical Account of Scotland, (Edinburgh, 1845) vol 15
This may be healing by incantation & charm, but should it be also filed under “Faith Healing”?
Surely faith healing is more likely if the recipient heard the incantation?