Author Archives: Charlyne Hsu

Tradition – Buddhist

Cultural Traditions

“When my uncle passed away, my grandma had a tape recorder that played Buddhist chants continuously near the urn containing his ashes.”

I asked my dad about why there was chanting at my grandma’s home after my uncle passed away.  He said that when someone of the Buddhist religion passes away, Buddhist chants are played near the deceased’s remains (such as his/her ashes).  These chants are played continuously, for the first forty-nine days or more.  The longer the better because the chanting is harmony that helps the soul of the dead keep focused to get ready for the message or messenger from the Western Heaven.  The soul needs to be focused in order to receive the message to get the opportunity to get to heaven; otherwise, they will be reincarnated and remain on Earth.  The chanting helps the soul make sure they find a home for their eternal happiness.  The chanting, which is in an old Buddhist language, consists of the Buddah’s name and his different titles.

This folk ritual reflects the Buddhist belief that the soul carries on, even when the body no longer physically functions or exists.  Therefore, although the death of a loved one is always hard to deal with, by having the Buddhist chants, it may comfort the family and friends of deceased to know that the deceased’s soul is being taken care of to a better place.

Hand Symbol – University of California, San Diego

Hand Symbol

Danielle Ishihara is a freshman at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).  She says that the hand sign is supposed to symbolize a triton, which is the mascot of UCSD.  The person is supposed to put his/her ring finger down, while the pinky, ring, and index finger are supposed to be spread out to represent the three peaks of the triton. Danielle first learned the triton hand symbol when she went to her first basketball game at UCSD.  Danielle says the triton symbol is usually used at sporting events. She says the hand symbol pretty much looks just like the shocker sign except the index and the ring finger are not touching. Even though it is not the shocker sign, she says people always joke that it is. A popular saying regarding this UCSD hand symbol is “Shock ’em tritons”.  Danielle shared this information when we were home for spring break and our group of friends where sharing information about our respective universities.

Every school, whether it is a high school or a university, seems to have a hand symbol that represents their mascot.  Most commonly, these hand symbols are used at sporting events and are accompanied by a saying which also happens to be a reflection of the school’s mascot.  I think hand symbols related to the school are most commonly used at sporting events because it allows a person to identify and announce their alliance to their school.  It is a way for a person to support their school.  The symbol is recognizable and meaningful among the members of the school; therefore, it is similar to ethnic folklore and occupation folklore, where only members of the group understand the gesture and its meaning and background history.  By knowing what the hand symbol is, one can identify who is truly a member of the school.  Each school’s hand symbol is unique because of its meaning and history, even if the hand gesture looks the same as something else.  UCSD’s hand symbol reminds me of USC’s V-sign created by the index and middle finger with its accompanying phrase “Fight On!”.  These are used at USC events, most often at the sporting events.

Superstition – Chinese

Superstition

“Eat long noodles on birthdays for longevity.”

I learned this Chinese birthday tradition when I was younger, in the 90s.  When I was younger, my grandmother would always cook dinner on my dad’s birthday.  The main dish was always noodles – long Chinese noodles.  My grandmother says that there should always be long noodles for dinner on someone’s birthday because long noodles are a symbol of longevity.  The birthday person should always eat the noodles in hopes of a long life, while everybody else eats the noodles to wish the birthday person a long life.

Long noodles symbolize a long life because of the length of the noodle.  The noodle represents one’s life.  This superstitious belief that eating long noodles on one’s birthday will give one a long lift is what Frazer would describe as contagious magic because in order to ensure a long life, one must actually eat the long noodles.  The long life cannot be accomplished by just simply having noodles present at the dinner.  The eating of the noodles serve as a transfer of power; by making physical contact with the noodle through ingestion, the longevity of the long noodles is transferred directly into one’s body.

Folk Belief

Folk Belief

“If your friendship bracelet breaks, make a wish.”

Emilie Wong told me about friendship bracelets during a sleepover.  She told our friend, Charlotte, and me how to make these friendship bracelets.  The bracelet is formed from a series of multiple knots.  Emilie learned about friendship bracelets in third grade, when her best friend lived across the street.  She said that they use to make friendship bracelets for fun.  At one point, she had five to seven bracelets on her ankle.  Even when she went swimming or played soccer, Emilie did not take off her bracelets because one is not suppose to.  When one’s friendship bracelet breaks, one has to make a wish.

These bracelets are a symbol of friendship because friends make them at the same time together.  Moreover, the bracelets form a continuous circle, representing a never ending, never broken friendship.  In a sense, it means the friendship will last.  Therefore, I view the breaking of a friendship bracelet as a bad sign, which is maybe the reason why one should make a wish, probably a wish such as to maintain the friendship, when the bracelet breaks.  Following the idea of circle symbolism, a broken friendship bracelet would mean a broken friendship, such as the ending of friendship or tension among the friends.  The bracelet should not be removed because that would signify the end of a friendship.  By wearing the friendship bracelet, one is proclaiming one’s friendship.

Contemporary Legend

Urban Legend

“In the seatback pockets on an airplane, it explains the safety-brace position (put your hands on the seat in front of you and rest your forehead on the seat in front you and lock your body).  Airlines tell you to use this position so your neck will be broken instantly and you will die because it is cheaper for the airline carrier to pay a once-off compensation fee to the deceased person’s family rather than having to provide care for injured survivors, like the permanently injured survivors.”

Ruchira heard this piece of folklore from his physics teacher in 2005.  He also heard this from a friend who watched it on myth-buster.  Ruchira believes that this urban legend is the result of people’s natural skepticism.

I believe that his urban legend is a reflection of today’s popular culture.  In today’s society, people have a tendency to be suspicious of big corporations; therefore, people try to tear them down by portraying them in a negative light.  People believe that big corporations are taking advantage of the common man.  Big corporations are characterized as being untrustworthy and their sole purpose is for monetary gains; they are often thought to be heartless.  The common man feels powerless in comparison to the big companies.  The American culture has a very skeptical nature.  This urban legend paints the public as a helpless victim of the ruthlessness of corporations.  It makes it seem as if the airline companies have no compassion for their customers.  This urban legend continues to fuel the public’s doubt about the trustworthiness of airline carriers.