Tag Archives: religious

Baptisms for the Dead and Spirits – ghost story

Text:

“You’re going to think I’m crazy, but ok so in my religion we have a practice called Baptisms for the dead. It’s not about like forcing anyone to join the religion, but it’s about giving people who have passed the opportunity to be saved if they accept it [the baptism]. So, I did one for my grandparents, and they were like very present. I don’t know how else to describe it. My grandma had the sweetest spirit when she was alive, and while performing the baptism, just this sweet presence come over me, I can’t really describe what it felt like, but I knew it was her.”

Context:

T is from Joshua Tree, California. She told me this story while we were in our dorm room together. She is Christian, along with the rest of her family. Baptisms for the Dead is a common practice at her church. This practice she learned from her church, but she experienced feeling the presence of her relatives herself.

Analysis:

This is an example of a personal narrative, specifically a ghost story. She does not use the word ghost, but instead utilizes the word spirit. This phrasing shows how this story is held close to her. Often when we are talking about ghosts, it is in a much less personal context and is discussed with less reverence. When we use the word spirit, it is often in relation to a family member or an important figure, however both are essentially referring to the same thing: some sort of apparition of someone who has died. This connotation can help distinguish how truthful and unbiased a personal narrative is. Every event a person experiences is influenced by their emotions and beliefs, especially one as personal as seeing/feeling family members who have passed. Personal narratives are an important part of folklore, because they often blend many aspects of a cultural group into the narrative. For example, if there is not an already strong held belief in spirits or the soul within the cultural group, then it is less likely someone will experience seeing a spirit.

The Christmas Eve Nativity

Context :

W is my 17 year-old brother. He was born and raised in Utah, like me. Ever since he was little, he has participated in his family’s Christmas Nativity scene (yes, even now). His father’s side of the family is all Mormon and extremely religious, whereas his mother’s side of the family is atheist. Although W is not Mormon, he is expected to contribute to the nativity as part of the family.

Text :

“My aunt S makes us do the Christmas nativity every freaking year. We pick our roles out of a bowl and then get a costume. All the girls wanted to be Mary. Most of the boys didn’t care if they were Joseph. It’s kind of weird since we’re all cousins. It used to be fun when we were young cause we dressed up and put on a show for our parents. But we’re like, old now, so it’s boring. We literally just stand in the living room in front of the family while one of us reads the scriptures or whatever it’s called. But like we’re five so we can’t really read. My aunt B loves the nativity because she leads everyone in song. She always makes my sister (me) sing a song with her. There has never been a family Christmas without the nativity. My dad and his sisters did it when they were kids, too.”

Analysis :

Christmas traditions are popular with many American families, even those who aren’t religious. Though W grew up in an atheist household, his extended family is Mormon, who means they all take part in a religious tradition of putting on the nativity. The reason they put on the nativity, like many other Christian households, is because it’s a chance to reflect on the past. Their religion is centered around Jesus Christ, so since Christmas is a time to honor him and his “birth”, they nativity scene is put on tell his origin story. In order to keep the tradition going, the nativity is passed down through generations. In doing so, the children grow up with the notion that this is a normal part of their Christmas, and once they have kids of their own, they will pass it on. This is how traditions are created and kept throughout generation to generation.

Parable of the Drowning Man

GL is a USC student from the country of Georgia, and he shared a fable, or igavaraki he heard while growing up there:

AL.) So one of them, it’s uh, it’s about a man who was drowning in a river. So a river is carrying this man down and he’s asking God for help. Uh, so, he’s going down a river and suddenly he sees a branch. But he doesn’t grab onto the branch because God’s gonna save him, so he, like, keeps going down the river. And then he keeps going down the river and there’s, like, a fisherman and the fisherman reaches his hand out, and he’s like, “Grab my hand, I’m gonna save you.” But the guy’s like, “Nah, God’s gonna save me.” And then the guy keeps floating down the river. And then he sees a rock, but he doesn’t, like, grab the rock because God’s gonna save him. And he falls of the waterfall, hits the rocks, dies, and then in heaven he asks God, “Why didn’t you save me?” And God is like, “I tried to save you three times but you just don’t move your hand.” 

Me.) Yeah, so where’d you hear this?

AL.) Uh, it’s like a popular kind of like, in Georgia we have a thing called igavaraki, which is like, um, like a story with, like, a meaning attached to it.

Me.) Oh, so kind of like a fable.

AL.) Yeah, kind of like a fable type vibe. So, I don’t know, it’s been told by, like, sometimes teachers might tell you. My grandma told me this one, I think. 

Me.) Oh yeah that’s pretty funny.

AL.) I’ve heard it like two times, so…

I had never heard this growing up, so I was quite surprised to hear how common this story is. After a brief google search, this exact story, often called the Parable of the Drowning Man, shows up in several different versions. Versions online often have different ways for the drowning man to prevent himself from death, but none of them matched what AL shared with me. This seems to be an example of Oral Formulaic Theory, where the active bearer of the narrative doesn’t know the specifics of the story, but rather the general story beats. The informant seemed to be making up the objects the man could have grabbed on to as he was telling the story.

KAAVADI – SOUTH INDIAN FOLK DANCE

Informant Info

Nationality: Indian

Age: 53

Occupation: Computer Programmer

Residence: Las Vegas, Nevada

Date of Performance/Collection: 2023

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): Tamil

Relationship: Mother

Referred as AS.  AS was born in India and moved to the United States when she was 24. 

Text

Kaavadi Aatam is a traditional dance-drama performed in Tamil Nadu and other parts of South India, particularly during religious festivals. The performance is typically associated with Hindu temple festivals and involves a procession of people carrying a large, decorative structure called a kaavadi.  The kaavadi is usually made of bamboo and is decorated with brightly colored cloth, flowers, and other decorations. Participants in the performance carry the kaavadi on their shoulders and dance to the beat of drums and other musical instruments.

Context

While she was in India and during her visits to India to visit family, she saw the  Kaavadi dance performed by various community members. While telling me about the dance, she would occasionally perform small parts of it.

The performance is seen as a way to pay the gods homage and seek their blessings. The dancers and participants in the performance are typically devotees who have pledged to carry the kaavadi as an act of devotion and to fulfill a vow or promise.

Interpretation

The interpretation of Kaavadi Aatam is rooted in its religious and cultural context.  In addition to its religious significance, Kaavadi Aatam is also seen as a cultural expression. The performance is a way for people to express their creativity, energy, and devotion through dance, music, and the elaborate decoration of the kaavadi.

One of the main significances of Kaavadi Aatam is the offering of penance by the devotees. It is believed that by carrying the kavadi, a physical burden, the devotees are offering their penance and devotion to Lord Murugan.  The dance is also a form of self-mortification and a way of seeking purification and atonement for one’s sins.  Another significance of Kaavadi Aatam is seeking blessings and fulfilling vows. Devotees carry the kavadi as a symbol of their devotion and commitment to Lord Murugan, and they believe that by doing so, they will receive his blessings and protection. The dance is also a way of fulfilling vows or promises made to the deity, such as granting a wish or seeking a cure for an illness.  Kaavadi Aatam is also seen as promoting communal devotion and spirit.  The dance is performed in groups, allowing devotees to come together, bond, and strengthen their relationships. 

Dreydl

“So, dreydl. It’s like this Jewish game that you play for the holiday of Hanukkah. And you spin a little top and it lands on one of four things, uh, which is either the letters gimmel, nun, shin, or hey. Uh, on a gimmel you take all of the money that’s in the pot, on a hey you get half of it, on a shin you put some of yours in, and on a nun you get nothing. And you take turns until someone gets all the money. It’s usually played with fake money called gelt, it’s chocolate and it kinda tastes bad, but like that’s the game. The letters…I don’t know what the Hebrew is, but it translates to a great miracle happened there, and there means Jerusalem.”

Note: The letters are:

נ – nun

ג – gimmel

ה – hey

ש – shin.

The Hebrew phrase is נס גדול היה שם, which is pronounced as “Nes gadol hahah sham.” It means what he said it means.