Rigani - oregano

Oregano is also widely used in pharmacy, mainly for the antispasmodic action of the oil produced from this plant (oregano oil) (Babiniotis 2005, entry ρίγανη,η, 1545). It is used for pains in the back, knees, elbows, spoons, joints, etc. (Yagoullis 2014, article ruanos - rowanos,o - rrianon,to, 466). George Sofokleous in the second volume of his publication «Παράθυρο στην Κύπρο μας: λαογραφική–πολιτιστική ανθολογία» (window to our Cyprus: folklore-cultural anthology) notes the properties of oregano: “ ...for back pains, knee, kidney, elbow arm and joint pain..." the older generation used oregano oil for external rubbing on the problem areas of the body. The affected person had to either resort to a ‘special’ practitioner or make the recipe himself, if he had the necessary knowledge. In order to make oregano oil, one had to collect oregano during the summer months, preferably in July and August. Oregano is scattered all over the island and are easy to find. So when the oregano was ripe, they collected the flowers and leaves and put them in a small pot with water and boiled them. Then, they poured the boiled liquid into a a clay vessel (a metal container later) with two spouted outlets. One up high, to let the oil out, and the other down low, to let the water out. In this way they got the oregano oil. They stored it away cautiously and used it for rubbings to relieve bodily pains. They would apply it with a chicken feather to the part of the body that had the problem carefully as the oil was very strong and stung. If they applied more than they should, there was an appropriate antidote: rub the body part at once with olive oil” (Sophocleous 2004, 136-137).