Author Archives: Allison Avila-Olivares

The Red Ribbon

“When I was a younger, my grandmother would be the one to dress my hair up in the morning. My mother had absolutely no patience to do this, because she had many chores to do and breakfasts to make for me and my five other sisters. It’s funny…Unlike my mother, my grandmother had the patience to tenderly brush my hair? (Laughs). She would put my hair up like this in either braids or pigtails, but always tied with a red ribbon.

I think it’s common in Guatemala to put red ribbons in the hair of young girls. My grandmother would always tell me that the color red was a sign of good luck, to protect me from any sort of evil or people with bad energy…like bad voodoo?…Does that make sense?…If someone wants to pass on an evil to a child, the red ribbon will protect them… Also, mothers who are pregnant tend to wear red ribbons tied to their underwear. This will protect them and the baby.”

Context and Analysis: The informant grew up in a very isolated town in Guatemala where the common belief was not in westernized medicinal practices, but in witchcraft and curandería. The informant later told me a little more about Curandería over the phone: it is the use of religious rituals and natural remedies to cure or protect people with ailments. Natural remedies are made with plants native to the highlands of Guatemala. The red ribbon is used as a form of protection from bad energy, spirits, or the evil eye. Though the informant does not wear a red ribbon anymore, the ribbon is most commonly used for women because they are believed to be more vulnerable to evils. Ultimately, this folk belief is a variation of the idea that the color red is supposed to ward of evils. In other cultures, such as in certain Asian cultures, red is also used as a lucky color to protect from evils.

When the informant first heard about the ritual, she was a young child of 6 or 7. Because it was the first piece of folklore she performed in front of me, it holds much significance because it reminds her of her deceased grandmother. During the informant’s performance, she spoke of the memory very tenderly suggesting that she remembers that folk belief very dearly. She informed me she still believes in the folk belief, but has changed it to suit her age. She no longer wears a red ribbon, but instead wears a red ring.

The Kukui Nut

“I went to Hawaii this year for spring break. I learned that there’s a nut called a Kukui nut…I don’t think you can eat it…but you can polish it and make it into jewelry. It’s like…the size of an eyeball. But so supposedly the old fisherman in Hawaii use the oil to fish in more shallow water. If you put the nut in shallow water, the oil will like permeate the surface and supposedly the fish will get paralyzed and float to the top.”

Context/Analysis: The informant is not Hawaiian, but this folk belief is significant and memorable to him because of his recent trip to Hawaii. There, he immersed himself in the Hawaiian culture via food and traditions. When he was at a luau, he was given a Kukui nut lei by an old woman. He asked her what the material was, and she told him it was a nut with many purposes besides eating. She learned of its use for fishing from her grandfather, who was a fisherman in Hawaii. He took the lei back with him to his home in California. Though he does not believe that the nut can actually paralyze fish, he was intrigued by the myth. Ultimately, the myth of the KuKui nut is an heirloom that has been circulated within the fisherman community of Hawaii. It is now being told to tourists who are looking for an authentic Hawaiian experience, attending “authentic” luaus, and seeking Hawaiian mythology and storytelling.

 

“Doyers”

“I’m half Mexican, but grew up speaking English. My Parents never taught me Spanish. It was kind of an embarrassment, but it made sense. I don’t know man. So anyway, we’re a big fan of the dodgers here in LA for obvious reasons, right? But it’s funny how the real Mexicans who didn’t speak Spanish said “dodgers.” They would say Doyers. Now every Latino says doyers. Doesn’t matter if you speak Spanish or not, it’s just doyers.”

Context/Analysis: To the informant, this blaison populaire is just part of their SoCal culture. Within the Chicano population, they make fun of how the native Spanish speakers talk in English. This of course is done from a perspective of admiration and respect, like a friendly way to tease a neighbor. Even the native Mexicans who do say “doyers” are not readily offended by this blaison populaire. The informant first heard this piece of folklore when he was invited to go to a Dodgers game with his cousin who is a native of Oaxaca, Mexico. This piece of folklore is significant to the informer because it gives him a national identity. He feels that he is connected to the Chicano population, even though he is only half Mexican.

 

The Blackbirds of Los Terrones

“The first thing I learned as a boy was how to farm. I would help my father out tending the small plot of land we had…um…cultivating the corn. The winter months were the driest in Guatemala, so we always yearned for the black birds to come back in the spring. Every year during April, hundreds of little black birds would fly over the town. 40 days after the day they flew over, it would start to rain. In November, the birds return from their migration. When they return, the rain stops and dry season begins.”

Context and Analysis: The informant grew up in the highlands of Guatemala, and first heard this folk belief when he was younger and spent time with his father. This belief is significant to him because it reminds him of his deceased father. His father had told him the belief, indicating how they would both feed his four older sisters and his mother with the crops they grew. Ultimately, this folk belief is an explanation for the unusually consistent pattern of dry and wet season in the Guatemalan highlands. It is used to calculate the ideal time to plant corn and other crops.

 

El Cadejo

“I actually haven’t told it to anyone in a long time so I have to refresh my memory…Okay…So there’s a legend about a dog that roams the outskirts of the town I used to live in. Supposedly the dog belongs to the devil. It’s got white fur and these like piercing red eyes… It’s a ghost. No, it’s a demon…And what happens is that if you encounter the dog in the forest is that it will put you in a trance and lose you deeper in the forest. Eventually the dog will kill you and take your soul.”

Context/Analysis: This legend was first heard by the informant from their father when they were four years old. He would go into the forest to play and get lost. His father told him about the story of the cadejo and how he would get possessed by the dog if he ever encountered him. He doesn’t believe the dog exists because he’s never seen it himself, but there are people who claimed to have seen the dog before, but turn around before the dog’s piercing red eyes puts them in a trance. This legend has been published online. It is said to come from various latin American countries and represents the fight between good and evil, for there is a white cadejo and a black cadejo.

For another version of this, please see: Rivera, David Antonio, 1951. El Cadejo. 3; 3. Vol. San Salvador: Lis, 1998.