Author Archives: Anna McNamara

“A Mule Named Hiney”

Informant Data: The informant is a Caucasian male in his mid-40’s. He works as a telecommunication engineer, and self-identifies with the Christian faith. He is a wonderful story-teller, and gets great joy from performing such for close friends.

Item: The folk-tale “A Mule Named Hiney” that follows. The following quotations are direct transcriptions of my dialogue with the informant, while the additional information provided is paraphrased.

“Once there was a grandfather and his grandson, who lived at the top of a steep mountain. There was a village far below in the valley at the bottom of the mountain, and it was a day’s long walk to and from. The grandfather and grandson had an old mule by the name of “Hiney”, and they decided it was time to take ole Hiney down to the village to sell him.

So the next morning, they woke up early and began the day’s journey down the mountain. As they headed down towards the valley, they passed by the homes of all the people who lived along the mountain road. They passed one house where there was a man outside, sipping his morning coffee. He called to the travelers “Why are you both walking that mule when one could be riding it?”

The grandfather then decided to put his grandson up on ole Hiney’s back, and continued toward town. Next, they passed a home with a woman out front gardening. She called to them “What a mean little boy, riding on the mule and making your grandfather walk!” This caused the traveler’s to pause and switch positions so the grandfather was up on ole Hiney.

The two continued on, and then came across a stable, with the owner outside brushing a horse. The owner called to them “You know, by the time you get to town, that mule is going to be so worn out that you won’t be able to trade him for anything!”

Having heard this, the grandfather and grandson decided to hoist ole Hiney onto their own backs to carry the mule for the rest of the journey. They walked on and came to a wobbly footbridge, with the village in sight across it. As they crossed, the grandfather slipped and lost his balance, accidently throwing ole Hiney over side, plunging to his death.

The moral of this story is simply: If you try to please everyone, you will lose your Hiney.”

Contextual Data: The informant first heard this folktale in his college years at Westmont College in Santa Barbara. He informs me that for the last line “you can always say, you know, “ass” instead of “Hiney”, but I this way is more charming, more kid-friendly.”  Additionally, having the metaphor of the tale come to light negates the sad death of the mule, as though he was a narrative tool and not a true character. The informant tells me this story “makes light of a very true fact of life: you simply cannot please everyone.” And the elements of the story that illustrate this metaphor can be easily extrapolated to everyday life; the rather nosey neighbors could be one’s real life neighbors, but also maybe co-workers or classmates and friends. The informant tells me that the default moral of the story is “to be confident in yourself and comfortable in the face of criticism.” While that is quite a simply-put difficult feat, folk-tales that remind us of this aspiration can only have a positive effect on the audience. Each criticism that the two received on their journey to town, were valid remarks. The changing variable was simply perspective, perhaps one of the most difficult concepts to realize of human nature. Each individual’s perspective was built from a lifetime of experiences, interactions and beliefs, evidenced most visibly in the stable owner’s remark. Having been around livestock and horses, his concern was for the mule, a stark contrast to the previous commenters. While maintaining an understanding of multiple perspectives can often be advantageous, this narrative emphasizes the importance of self-confidence and assurance in one’s own perspective.

“Don’t take any wooden nickels”

Informant Data: The informant is a Caucasian male in his late 40’s. He works as a telecommunication engineer, and self-identifies with the Christian faith. He is a wonderful story-teller, and gets great joy from performing such for close friends.

Item: The folk-saying: “Don’t take any wooden nickels.” The following quotations are direct transcriptions of my dialogue with the informant, while the additional information provided is paraphrased.

Contextual Data: My informant tells me that while it was a very long time ago, he believes he first heard this phrase from his father. He uses it quite regularly as a light-hearted goodbye to his daughters and loved ones. He describes the adieu as “something you say when you are departing to tell another to take care of themselves and simply don’t do anything stupid.” To take a wooden nickel instead of a real one, with the belief it is the like, is foolish indeed; which is the metaphor this phrase plays off of. The informant details, “I’ve said this to my daughters when I drop them off for school pretty regularly. Its kind-of like saying “Look alive!” or just try to avoid being the butt of someone’s joke.” The informant highlighted the comical and helpful nature of the adage, and says “it’s not supposed to encourage a cynical outlook, like everyone’s trying to trick you, it’s just supposed to foster smart behavior and be a kind goodbye.” This saying can also be extrapolated to a wish of good fortune in regards to business—that your monetary affairs will not falter before the time that the two parting ways reunite.

“Night Marchers”

Informant Data: The informant is a second year medical student at John A. Burns School of Medicine with the University of Hawaii. She is Caucasian, and with a distant Irish and Russian lineage that she feels little connection to. She grew up in Seattle, Washington, and obtained an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering before starting her medical school journey. She is very enthusiastic about medicine and healing people. Living in Hawaii, she has been increasingly exposed to Hawaiian folklore, mostly through the patients she treats at the clinic.

Item: The folk-belief of “Night Marchers”, ghosts of fallen Hawaiian warriors that rise from their burial sights on specific evenings, to march into past battles or to sacred locations. While this would seemingly qualify as a folk-legend, due to its debatable veracity and setting in the real world, the on-going nature of the warriors’ march renders it a folk-belief, as people believe it is a continuing practice (as opposed to a one time occurrence). The following quotations are direct transcriptions of my dialogue with the informant, while the additional information provided is paraphrased.

Contextual Data: My informant first heard of the Night Marchers while in her first year of medical school, volunteering at the clinic. A patient warned her that tonight was one of the nights, according to the lunar calendar, for the warriors to march. My informant explains her grasp on the folk-belief as so: “the Night Marchers are ghosts of ancient Hawaiian warriors who were slain in battle. There are certain nights, I’m not sure which, she just told me they depend on the lunar calendar, where they rise from the dead and march into battle. They carry torches and people say they can hear their drums. Their journey is either to a battle ground or a sacred place, but most important is that you are not to see them, or it will surely be your death.” My informant explains that crossing their path, observing their march, or even the light of their torches in the distant hills is a death prophecy. “She told me that if for some bad reason I hear them nearing, and running away isn’t an option, to lie face down on the ground until they pass is the best alternative. Perhaps this is a sign of respect, or perhaps they won’t see you this way.” My informant tells me she has not met anyone who has encountered the Night Marchers, “maybe because it’s a true death sentence!” she says light-heartedly. While she personally does not believe in their existence, she thinks it’s a very interesting belief and is always curious to hear another Hawaiian native speak about their marches. This belief can fall under the category of sign superstitions, holding a parallel structure to the belief that a black cat crossing your path is bad luck, the sight of the Night Marchers is a sign of your imminent death. Conversely, the belief can fall under the homeopathic category, which employs the concept of “like produces like.” Seeing the dead will produce your own death.

Another version of the Night Marchers folk-belief was published in the Seattle Times newspaper (see citation below). This article serves beautifully as a supplement to my informant’s account, as it does not stand in contrast but rather it enhances her description with additional details and specifics of the marches. For example, the author employs the Hawaiian term for these warriors, “Ka huaja`i o ka Po”. The article harmonizes that it is a death sentence, unless you have a relative marching among the dead who can claim you. Additionally, the article illustrates an application of the belief, when stating: “If a man is found stricken by the roadside a white doctor will pronounce the cause as heart failure, but a Hawaiian will think at once of the fatal night march.”

“The Marchers Of The Night — Beware As Hawaiian Gods And Ghosts Go On Parade.”Seattle Times 08 Sept. 1996: K. 1. Web. Apr. 2013

“Pimping”

Informant Data: The informant is a second year medical student at John A. Burns School of Medicine with the University of Hawaii. She is Caucasian, and with a distant Irish and Russian lineage that she feels little connection to. She grew up in Seattle, Washington, and obtained an undergraduate degree in Bio-medical Engineering before starting her medical school journey. She is very enthusiastic about medicine and healing people.

Item: the slang term “pimping” as used within the medical community. The following quotations are direct transcriptions of my dialogue with the informant, while the additional information provided is paraphrased.

Contextual Data: My informant was introduced to the term by a classmate in the first few weeks of medical school. My informant defines it as “when an attending asks a difficult question to a group of students to test their knowledge and often it’s with the hope that they answer wrong. Sometimes it’s just to test your knowledge, but it’s often asking a question beyond your background of knowledge. If the student gets the question wrong, then the attending may use it to show your inferiority or make fun of you.” By far, this is not a uniform practice among attendings; however, the term is not restricted to the informant’s campus and is used widely among medical students across the nation. The informant explained the term as an acronym for being “Put In My Place” (PIMP’ed) by a superior. Additionally, the connection to the common colloquial use of “pimping” is the implication that the attending is trying to “trick” you, utilizing a clever play on words to mask the negative implications to outsiders. The informant provided three examples to showcase the context in which the term may be applied:

“So the attending says, “what would the differential diagnosis of a neonate with vomiting?” And when the student (who happens to be obese) ran out of suggestions for a diagnosis and admitted he didn’t know, the attending then said, “Yeah well, it looks like you have no trouble keeping anything down.” This exemplifies how the inability to answer the posed question correctly enables an attending to poke fun at the student’s inferiority, whether it is personal or work-related.

“Neurologist: What would be the presentation of a patient with Moyamoya disease?

Student: What?

Neurologist: Moyamoya disease.

Student: What?

Neurologist: Moyamoya disease.

Student (sounding it out): Mm-mmyeah-mmyweah disease?”

This example shows how students may be singled out and asked a question far beyond their first-year knowledge and studies, to the extent that the student doesn’t even recognize the name of disease they are being quizzed on.

“Endocrinologist: what is the differential diagnosis for an enlarged thyroid?

Student: Grave’s disease? Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis? Subacute Thyroiditis? Multinodular Goiter?

Endocrinologist: And?

Student: Riedel’s Thyroiditis? Malignancy? Pregnancy?

Endocrinologist: And?

Student: Suppurative Thyroiditis? Iron deficiency? Drug induced?

Endocrinologist: And?

Student: That’s all we’ve studied..

Endocrinologist: Well, obviously.”

This showcases how an attending may let a student flounder and offer no direction with a case. Similarly, an attending may present a difficult case and express that with the patient, they have exhausted all the normative options and have no insight into the cause of her illness. Then expect the students to brainstorm causes, beyond what the doctor himself has already eliminated.

While the term “pimping” can be placed into the category of occupational folklore, as described by Robert McCarl, as an apparent example of “occupational jargon”, more subtly, the act of pimping can be viewed as expression of a “custom designed to mark an individual’s passage through a respective career” (71). My informant explains, “Many of the attendings joke about its ritualistic properties. They remember being pimped in their school years, and plan to continue on the tradition.” Although it is not pleasant, and can be perhaps likened to some types of hazing, it is also serves to harden your exterior and sharpen your wits.

Work Cited:

McCarl, Robert. Folk Groups and Folklore Genres: An Introduction. Ed. Elliott Oring. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 1986. Print.

Gym Weight Lifting Ritual

Informant Data: My informant is an International Relations major here at the University of Southern California. He is African-American and does not identify with any religious system of belief. He goes to the gym 5-6 times per week and considers himself well-versed in weight lifting, strength training and conditioning techniques.

Item: The custom of counting your final set of an exercise differently than the rest. The following quotations are direct transcriptions of my dialogue with the informant, while the additional information provided is paraphrased.

Contextual Data: My informant was first introduced to this custom about a year ago, when he began intensively weight training. His friend, who is a self-proclaimed “gym-rat”, served as his personal trainer and taught him the best methods and techniques with different exercises to get the best results. “When I first started out, I was pretty clueless. But [my friend] got me started. One thing he shared with me is the ritual of counting your last set differently. Instead of the normal “1-2-3-4-5” you count “1-1-1-1-1” until you are done.” When asked to further explain, my informant details, “Well on your last set you are extremely fatigued. If you’re not, you’re doing it wrong. But getting through your final repetitions is a mental battle more than anything. So, by counting “one” repeatedly on each rep, it’s almost tricking yourself by saying “you’ve only done one? Keep going!” He continues on, saying that this helps finish off your set strong, which in and of itself is reaffirming and feels encouraging. The informant touches on the point that exercise is often considered more mentally straining than physically, a common acknowledgment among gym members. Therefore, customs like this item are rather common in this setting, with individuals fabricating new ways and relying on old customs of tricking or distracting the mind while the body carries on performing. Additionally, it is very clear to individuals who work out religiously (my informant included) that the gym is a community in and of itself. There is a shared identity, with individuals driven by similar aspirations who share tips, tricks, routines and encouragement.