Author Archives: bpbutler

The Monkey King

Description: “There’s a very like kung fu king like he’s called like Monkey King. He’s either a monkey but he’s also very skillful at Kung Fu but he’s so naughty like. He didn’t want to become a servant of the like in the most superior king in the paradise so he did some war against the king of the paradise. But he didn’t manage to do so and he was put into the prison in the paradise. He suffered lots of things but he finally redempted like he proved that he was a very valuable person through sufferings. He was able to get out by reproving himself. He made some achievements or the lost of the paradise because he did some loss to the paradise.”

2. My informant told me that this is a story typically told to children. He heard it growing up and will eventually tell his own children.

3. I walked into his dorm and asked if he could tell me some Chinese folklore. He started a little slower at first but once he really got his mind going he had story after story after story. There is some broken English here but I thought it was best to transcribe as close as possible to the actual performance.

4. The story of the Monkey King is one that reveals interesting elements to the culture it’s told in. For instance, this culture obviously holds the powers of other creatures very highly. In this case, the Monkey’s flexibility has given him enough power to war against the goodness of paradise. In some senses this could be compared to Satan in the Garden of Eden. He took the form of a serpent, who is considered a crafty creature, and the Monkey King is also considered a ‘naughty’ creature. These two beings are able to disrupt Paradise and were punished afterward. However, the Monkey King had a change of heart and was forgiven at the end. The serpent wasn’t so lucky.

Asian Zombies

Description: “There are a lot of Zombie stories in China, especially the middle part of China. There’s a lot of mysterious people who are so skilled at controlling zombies to do something very bad. These people are suppressed by Chinese people in mid 20th century because the communist party would suppress them and their stories. Stories still circulate today. We call the people who control the zombies goyang-si. In Chinese it means the people who chase the zombies to control the zombies. They control zombies so they could use them to force people to give them money and if people give them money they would not use the zombies to damage their homes or damage their families. There’s specific details in ancient Chinese books. These are real jobs 200 years ago but it’s prohibited by governments in different eras because they’re mystical. Also, people who take those jobs are against the government.” This element of Chinese culture is not necessarily one seen only in China. Even more so, it’s not necessarily only seen in the eastern parts of the world. For example, there are very similar characteristics associated with voodoo practices in the caribbean. As far as I know from my subject, there aren’t exactly “good voodoo” practitioners in china with zombies like there are in the caribbean. It’s also worth noting that he made an effort to outline the fact that he couldn’t remember all the details that he’s read in the ancient Chinese books. That means not only were these stories spread by word of mouth, but apparently there were some fairly well developed written accounts of these stories. That could possibly mean that these books contain not only written accounts of these individuals known as the “Goeng-Si” but it’s also possible that they include instructions on how to actually perform the deed of raising the dead as well.”

2. Andrew grew up hearing stories about these zombies. They came in through books and childhood stories.

3. I walked into his dorm and asked him to tell me some Chinese folklore. This was one of the stories that he told me.

4. I think these stories also offer interesting similarities to voodoo stories from Haiti. They both contain some sort of mind control. However, the Asian zombies don’t tend to have a priest of a good morale. All their leaders are bad. In fact, one thing that strikes me as interesting is how the suppression of these people has influenced their work as a whole. It’d be interesting to write a paper comparing the two practices.

Kenyan Christmas

Description: “We celebrate Christmas with a Christmas tree. It depends where Christmas is for us, but we usually just go to grandparents house. As a family we all celebrate Christmas in the family home. And then go to church. It’s just a service. We talk about Christmas. They give the Christmas story. We don’t do a candlelight service though.”

2. My friend has heard of these things because he has experienced them first hand.

3. I walked into his dorm room and asked him if he could tell me the way that Kenyans celebrate Christmas.

4. I realized afterward that this may have been a bit of a stupid question. Christmas isn’t exactly a Kenyan holiday. The main reason that they probably celebrate it is because they’re trying to conform to the growing global western culture. However, it still speaks a lot about where they are at in their lives as a culture. The fact that they are moving toward the globalized western perspective is definitely notable. In fact, it’s even worth saying that they’re moving away from their traditional and historic culture as well. These are ideas and beliefs that have been grounded within thousands upon thousands of years of thought and are now beginning to drain away.

The Bride Price

Description: “Basically the bride price is just like, it’s part of marriage culture and tradition in Nigeria where the person who’s proposing would pay the woman’s family just with money. That way they’d have the right to marry that woman. In some places it’s very very expensive. Some places it’s cheap. Some places don’t even have it at all. I remember when my dad was marrying my mom was getting married to my dad he had to pay a bride price but it was a minimal minimal price just cause like her family is like the Bride Price shouldn’t be put in place to just like restrict you from marrying our daughter. People still do the bride price though. It’s very prevalent. That’s just one thing.”

2. My friend experienced this from the retelling of how his parents became engaged.

3. I walked into his dorm and he was just about to go to sleep. His roommate had fallen asleep and I asked him if I could grab some quick folklore from him before he crashed. He said sure.

4. This perspective is interesting because it’s from the outside looking in. My friend is even closer than a second hand account because he experiences the people who practiced this tradition on a daily basis. He views the way they act and talk and think, and all these things change his perspective on the cultural practice. He spoke frequently how it was stupid and it’s progressive and good to get away from it. However, it’s very possible that if his father had paid a huge price for his mother he may have considered it to be some sort of honor.

IBO Fest

Description: “IBO fest happens every year. Every August. Every second week in August. The cultural association will like rent a festival space. People are selling food. People are giving away food. There’s live music. Choreographed dances, masquerade shows. It’s the biggest collection of IBOS in the area and around the state. It’s fun. The food is overpriced but it’s good. It’s just good to see everybody. There’s always jollof rice. There’s plain rice with tomato soup. Chicken, meat pies, fried fish, fufu, mashed yams you eat with your hands, Nigerian biscuit.”

2. My informant knew of this tradition because he had been to one first hand.