Many cultures have healing rituals that involve transferring an illness from the patient to another object in order to remove it from the patient’s body. In the Andes, A shaman uses a cuy (type of guinea pig) as the transfer object. He/she rubs the cuy all over the patient’s body, then kills the cuy and investigates its internal organs. If the healing is successful, tumors and other signs of illness are discovered in its organs and/or tissues. In the Phillipines, psychic surgeons kneed and probe their patient’s bodies to find and remove signs of disease which they pull out in long, bloody, fleshy strips.
I want to make my own healing ritual. I like guinea pigs, and I loved those Rumpus toys from the dotcom days. My idea is to create a stuffed cuy, embellishing it with all the things you’d like to fix about your body. Top on my list: 20 to 30 pounds of fat, ensomnia, foot cramps, dislocated rib, anxiety, and a general malaise that visit me from time to time. My ritual will involve some stomping, tambourine playing and a little whack-a-mole session with my new furry friend and a rubber mallet. I will then prominently display my sacrificial rodent prominently in my house to daily remind me not to eat or stress so much.