Proverbium (Aug 2021)
MENTAL HEALTH IN JUDEO-SEPHARDI SAYINGS
Abstract
We present a bibliographic study carried out on the main collections of proverbs collected from the end of the 19th century until today among the descendants of the Spanish Jews who were expelled in the year 1492. After emigrating and settling in various places in the north of Africa, Palestine, Turkey, the shores of the Adriatic Sea, central Europe and even in America, this population of exiles knew how and had the pleasure of preserving over the centuries, along with the Spanish language that they have not left behind. to use in the family environment, a notable selection of proverbs and sayings on the most diverse topics. Closely related to the Spanish proverbs of the Renaissance, we have only dealt with those that deal with mental health. They address madness in general, how to recognize it, its irreversible nature, the attitude that must be adopted towards it, the general futility of treatments, as well as some specific psychic ailments that can be identified. As for the recommended therapy, as a reflection of the medical thinking of the time, it is based on isolation in asylums and corporal punishment for the most violent cases.
