Author Archives: Jalen Cassell

Akbar and Birbal – Part One

“Akbar and Birbal were just traveling around in the wild, outside their castle, and they see this super cold pond; it was winter. And then, Akbar looks at the pond and says, ‘Whoever can stay in that pond all night and not die, shall be rewarded by me.’ Then this poor guy, like a farmer or something, volunteers because he needs the money, so he says, ‘I’ll do it!’ So he basically – yeah – he just jumps in the pond and he stays there overnight. Akbar comes the next morning and he finds that the guy is still alive, so he’s like ‘Oh, amazing, um, I’ll give you your reward. How did you do it?’ And the villager was like, ‘I was just looking at that light from the castle and it gave me strength.’ And then, Akbar was like, ‘You cheated! That light was probably warm! And it gave you the strength to stay alive!’ And he didn’t give the reward to the villager. So, the next night, there was supposed to be this huge feast at Akbar’s palace, and Birbal was invited. But it wouldn’t begin until Birbal arrived, because he was that important. So Akbar was pretty anger, so he went to Birbal’s house and when he saw Birbal, he was like, um, when he got there he say this candle on the floor, and about ten feet above it, there was this pot with rice in it. And Akbar was like, ‘Why haven’t you come for the feast?’ Birbal says, ‘I’m just trying to cook my rice.’ And Akbar replies, ‘That’s never going to work because that candle is small and far away from the pot.’ And Birbal was like, ‘Oh really, then how did the village from last night get warm from the light from the palace?’ After this, Akbar understood and decided to reward the villager afterall. So, it’s essentially a story to teach the kids that they should be nice.”

This a very entertaining story to hear from my informant. I was told that she learned this story from her father as he told it to her during before bedtime every now and again. She seemed to come alive and relive her childhood for a brief period as told the story again. I’m always fascinated to hear stories wherein wit is used to conquer practical naysayers. As opposed to the tricksters that are prevalent in European culture, I find it interesting to note, that that “archetype” is portrayed in Indian culture as more of a person who outthinks another instead of trying to make the other fall victim to a trap of some sort. Personally I find this to be a very effective to inspire kids to think outside of the box and be creative using their own means instead of trying to force another person to fail, for their own personal gain.

Dahi Handi

“Festivals are very popular in India, especially with kids. One festival in particular is called Dahi Handi: D-A-H-I H-A-N-D-I. It’s held in honor of Lord Krishna, and we – how do I explain this? There’s a pot full of curd, and it’s like, hung off of a rope, like a number of stories off of the ground, you know, with poles and stuff.  And people, like volunteers, or groups, or teams, or whatever, they basically make like human pyramids; like you know, one person stands on top of another. And like, in the end, somebody basically crawls up and smashes the pot and like the curd falls, and like there’s happiness and good times and stuff. So that’s a pretty popular festival in India.”

My informant participated in this festival every year as he was growing up. The thing I liked most about collecting this particular piece of folklore is that the game is a collaborative effort to accomplish something. I’ve personally always found the Indian culture very fascinating, hence my collecting from the vast majority of the Indian friends I’ve surrounded myself with while attending USC. One major point that I’ve found to be a constant, is their love for life and their willingness to work together for a common goal. I feel that this story exemplified that and I’m very honored that he shared it with me!

Little Things

“A Quien Cuida La Peseta Nunca Le Falta un Duro”

J: Is there anything else you’d like to share?

B: One more saying…one my mama told to me when I was little, and I keep it with me today.

J: Please.

B: A quien cuida la peseta nunca le falta un duro. It means take care of little things first and big things will take care themselves.

J: In other words, don’t make mountains out of molehills?

B: I suppose, yes, you can say so. My mama always tell me, look after your pennies and keep them in order. The pounds will follow, always. I do this to this day, and I am very happy with my savings in the world.

J: Thank you very much for sharing with me!

I love this saying tremendously as it encompasses my thoughts about life. If you always take care of the little things, and stay present minded, then the future things, the larger issues that come your way in life will take care of themselves. Something to live by and I thank my informant for sharing this with me!

Spanish Proverb

“A Quien Madruga, Dios Le Ayuda”

God helps those who help themselves / The early bird gets the worm

This particular proverb is one that is found in American culture, but my informant learned it from her father when they were living in Mexico when she was a child. Due to their strong Catholic heritage, a religion that is held by much of the Hispanic culture, this proverb becomes an oikotype that deals not with birds and worms, but rather God assisting the people of the world who first put themselves in the line of fire and risk themselves to achieve a goal.

Prayer Egg

“Depending on what type of illness you have, we have different, strange cures. The most traditional one for my family is, if you’re feeling sick, usually, stomach ache or fever, or something like that, uh…well my mother – er – both my mother and father, used to rub me down with an egg and they would pray while they were doing this. Then, you know, once they got finished, you know, rubbing me down with the egg, you know, they’d put water in a cup and crack the egg into it. After that they’d ‘read’ what the white stuff in the cup, you know, said in it. My dad is the actual one that does the readings, because he can – well, me and my older sister have always wondered how can tell what signifies what. Then the tradition is, I think, three days after you let it sit out, you flush it down the toilet. But when you do that, you can’t look at it when you flush it. You have to turn away and throw it into the toilet and flush. ‘Cause otherwise, the sickness will come back to you, is what they say.”

 

This specific cure is one that I have never heard of before and it strikes me as fascinating because it requires more than one person as two separate pieces of the ritual must be carried out at the same time. In learning this from his mother and father, my informant seemed very convinced that this type of folk medicine would be beneficial and for him it has been! Modern medicine better watch out as cultural remedies are once again on the rise.