Folklore, Myths and Olden Day Cures regarding the Ferret

Olden Day Cures

Near Corofin the favourite cures for this illness were to pass the child under an ass, or to give the sufferer any food or cure prescribed by a man on a white horse when met accidentally, or to give the patient the ‘leavings of a ferret’ i.e. food left uneaten by that animal.

A Folklore Survey of County Clare by Thomas Johnson Westropp

Donkey's milk and ferret's (food) leavings, together with the fasting spit and boiled primroses, were time-honored cures for jaundice and other mystery complaints.

Old Animal Charms and Cures (Mayo on the Move)

Ferret Though not the best-loved of animals, the ferret does have the redeeming feature of being able to cure Whooping Cough, according to ancient English and Irish tradition. The procedure recommended is to let a ferret drink from a bowl of milk and then to feed the remainder to the patient.

Cassell’s Dictionary of Superstition - David Pickering

(I take umbrage at the term 'not the best-loved of animals'! Perhaps we should write to Mr Pickering and tell him in no uncertain terms how VERY MUCH LOVED our ferrets are!!!)

Russian Folklore regarding the Ferret

When Genghis Khan’s “Golden Horde”, the descendants of his Tartars, turned their eyes towards northern Russia, they met with an unexpected adversary.

Fifteen year old wizard Volga Vseslavich decided to challenge the Tartars with an army of barely 7000. First Volga turned himself into a ram to go through the mountains undetected. When he neared Khan’s fortress, he became a small bird and flew to the window sill of Khan’s bed chamber.

He heard Khan’s wife tell her husband of a dream she had where a small Northern bird slew a Southern raven. She recognized the small bird in her dream as a wizard and begged her husband not to attack the north. As Khan laughed at his wife, Volga changed into a ferret, and entering the armory, chewed through the arrows and bow strings. He then entered the stables as a wolf and killed the horses of Khan’s army.

Volga then flew back to his army as a swift falcon. Marching his army from Kiev, he changed them all into ants as they neared Khan’s palace. The sentries therefore, saw nothing, until Volga’s soldiers were retransformed into men, right at the gates. With no warning, weapons, or horses, Khan’s army was defeated.

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