Author Archives: Crystal Lu

Butterfly Song – Korea

Original Script:

나비야 나비야

이리 날아 오너라

노랑 나비, 흰 나비

춤을 추며 오너라

 

봄바람에 꽃잎도

방긋방긋 웃으며

참새도 짹짹짹

노래하며 춤춘다

Phonetic (Roman) Script:

nabiya nabiyauh

iri nara onuhra

norang nabi huin nabi

choomul choomyuh onuhra

 

bombabarameh ggotipdo

banggutbangut ootumy

chamsedo jjekjjekjjek

norehamyuh choomchoonda

Translation:

Hey butterfly, Hey butterfly

Come fly over here

Yellow butterfly, white butterfly

Come over here while dancing

 

Petals dance in the breeze too

Smiling, smiling, laughing

Sparrows chirp, chirp, chirp

Singing as they dance

 

My mom was born in South Korean, but moved to America when she was 16 years old. She told me that she had learned this song about 45 years ago when she was in first grade. This was one of the many songs taught during her music class. Unlike some of the other songs my mom taught me, the butterfly song is a nursery rhyme that seems to be well-known by almost every Korean child. Nursery rhymes are important for young children because it helps them develop an understanding of the language. For me personally, singing this song helped me with my Korean.

Morning Song – Korea

Original Script:

아침해가 떴습니다

자리에서 일어나

이빨 닦고 세수하고

학교에 갑시다

 

Phonetic (Roman) Script:

achimhaega tteossseubnida

jalieseo il-eona

ippal dakkgo sesuhago

haggyoe gabsida

 

Translation:

The morning sun has arisen

Get up from bed

Brush your teeth, wash your face

Let’s go to school

 

My mom was born in South Korean, but moved to America when she was 16 years old. She told me that she had learned this song about 45 years ago when she was in first grade. She isn’t sure if they still teach this song, or if it is something that all schools taught or just hers. Everyone was taught to sing this song during music class. Music is a great way to reach students; it can help discreetly teach important lessons. My mom said students were taught to sing this song in particular as a way to encourage them to get up for school and help them develop a morning routine. When I was little, we used to sing this song together all the time. It was actually really effective in getting me out of bed, and made it more entertaining to get ready in the morning by singing along with her.

Funeral – Ireland

My informant is Irish-Korean. When her grandfather passed away, her family flew to Ireland for the funeral. She explained to me a couple of the events that took place for his funeral:

“So my Granddad passed away two years ago. The first funeral event we had, we had kind of like this viewing of the body for close relatives. They are very ‘light feelings’ I guess about death in Ireland so they just had my Granddad kind of exposed in the kitchen right where the food was. No one found it weird and it was just a very normal thing to do. He was in my uncle’s house and not in a proper setting. He was in a coffin, but like an open coffin. Kind of laying super casually by all the food, and people were eating around him and I felt really weird. So we had that event, and then that night all his (Granddad’s) sons and daughters– so like my dad and he has seven siblings– all stayed in the house with him there. And they had him there in the living room and they all just slept in the house, I guess to…bond? Or as a last time remembrance? And then we had another open body funeral for the whole community since we’re from a smaller community in Ireland. They had his body in a funeral home and all my siblings and cousins and relatives that could come would kind of stand in a line around the ‘funeral home’ –I don’t really know what the building was–and everyone in the town that knew my Granddad would shake every single relatives hand as a way of showing (and) saying that they’re sorry.”

Although Irish wakes are responses to the death of relatives and close friends, they are much more casual compared to American ones. In Ireland they like to play pranks with the corpse by creating situations where the deceased seems alive. It’s representative of the strange state between life and burial. We can see this when my informant’s grandfather’s corpse was casually set out in the kitchen, as people ate and interacted with each other in a very social and optimistic environment. This is very different from all the funerals I’ve attended; people are very quiet and somber. Their sadness comes from placing emphasis more on the loss of life as opposed to celebrating the life of the deceased. I also thought it was interesting how my informant’s relatives would sleep near the corpse. It’s as though they’re treating her granddad as alive, one last time.

Proverb #1- Haiti

My informant was born and raised in Haiti. She shared with me a few proverbs that she learned from her time growing up there.

When people think of Haiti, they rightly so think of severe poverty, denuded mountains, music, art, and its oral history — including proverbs of its peasants.  These peasants have suffered so much over the centuries.  Because of all that they have suffered, they have gained a treasure full of wisdom. Haitians seem to hold the mentality that a lot of things are up to them and that they can only depend on themselves. This belief that they hold is understandable; how can they trust a world that has been so cruel and unfair to them? A lot of their proverbs reflect skepticism, relentless hardship of life, universal truths about people, and at times a hopelessness or defeated attitude. Below I have laid out the proverb in Creole, the English translation, and then an explanation behind the proverb as provided by my informant:

 

Haitian Proverb (Creole)

Dye Mon, Gen Mon

 

Translation

Behind mountains are more mountains

 

Explanation

“The reason this proverb has a lot of meaning is because Haiti is a very mountainous country. Unlike the Dominican Republic whom it shares the island, Haiti is pretty much all mountains. And the Dominican Republic when you fly over the island is all green. And Haiti unfortunately over the years has diluted because they cut down the trees to make charcoal and things like that—it’s made poverty even worse. Because of the topography, it (the proverb) has kind of a double meaning in that one because it is a very mountain country and then second is that in life…it is a roller coaster. It doesn’t mean that you go through life smoothly. There is always a bump. There is always a hurdle. There is always something. And just when you think you’re done, then something else comes up. So, for them it’s even more accentuated if you will because the poverty is so extreme and they’ve had earthquake where thousands and thousands of people have died. And then after that came a whole string of health problems because of that. And I think perhaps a lot of poor people feel that way and you’re leaving a daily subsistence and it’s just everyday there’s something else for you to have to deal with. There’s no coasting.”

Proverb #2- Haiti

My informant was born and raised in Haiti. She shared with me a few proverbs that she learned from her time growing up there.

When people think of Haiti, they rightly so think of severe poverty, denuded mountains, music, art, and its oral history — including proverbs of its peasants.  These peasants have suffered so much over the centuries.  Because of all that they have suffered, they have gained a treasure full of wisdom. Haitians seem to hold the mentality that a lot of things are up to them and that they can only depend on themselves. This belief that they hold is understandable; how can they trust a world that has been so cruel and unfair to them? A lot of their proverbs reflect skepticism, relentless hardship of life, universal truths about people, and at times a hopelessness or defeated attitude. Below I have laid out the proverb in Creole, the English translation, and then an explanation behind the proverb as provided by my informant:

 

Haitian Proverb (Creole)

Se je pa we ke pa tounen

Translation

What the eye doesn’t see, doesn’t move the heart

Explanation

“If you think about it literally, it’s hard for us to relate when it’s not something we experience. It’s hard for us to find empathy unless we’ve been there. So if you can see something, but sometimes unless you’ve experienced it, you can’t really understand or know the experience.”