Author Archives: olord@usc.edu

Rice and Ancestors–Southern Folk Speech

Context:

Leighton Lord is my father. Given this relation to me, I was interested in procuring some folklore that both of us participated in, but obviously from his perspective as he and my mother were the ones who set the traditions that we followed. Another unique perspective he has is being instilled in Southern traditions after twenty two years spent in Columbia, South Carolina following his marriage to my mother, a native South Carolinian. He grew up in Delaware, and was fascinated upon arriving in the South and witnessing the obsession with tradition and particularly talk about ancestors. I collected several pieces of folklore from him during a recent trip he made to Los Angeles. He currently practices law.

Transcript:

Leighton: What do Charlestonians have in common with the Chinese? They both eat a lot of rice and talk about their ancestors.

Interpretation:

By Charlestonians, my father is referring to people from Charleston, South Carolina. He could not remember exactly where he heard this joke, having heard several versions of it, and even once seeing a cartoon with similar content. This was his simple synthesization. The joke is straight forward, explaining that both Southern culture and Chinese culture appreciate rice and ancestors. Though relying heavily on stereotypes, my personal experience confirms this Southern speech about ancestors. Folk stories of ones ancestors are often told at dinner parties.

Stealing a Sneeze

Context:

Madeleine Hall is a Junior at USC, studying Communications. When I was about to sneeze, she said “bless you.” When I asked why she said it before I sneezed, she told me that it would steal my sneeze, that basically I would lose it. Seeing the folkloric potential, I recorded this piece.

Transcript:

Madeleine: Okay, when someone has to sneeze, you say “bless you”, so it takes their sneeze. I have no idea where I learned it.

Interpretation: 

I was excited to have stumbled across folklore without needing to ask for it. Also, I found her subversion of the “bless you” saying interesting. By saying it before the sneeze instead of after, the sneeze is somehow stolen from you. Also, it is worth noting that she cannot remember who she first heard this from. For her, this is a common saying taken for granted. For me, this is a common saying subverted in a new way.

Nigerian Wings Proverb

Context:

Stanley Kalu was raised in Nigeria. Since then, he and his family have lived in various African countries. He currently studies screenwriting at the University of Southern California. He is a friend of mine, and he has often told me stories about growing up in Nigeria. I asked him for folklore, and without even needing to ask for Nigerian folklore, he offered up several pieces, including two proverbs. When I asked why he gave me two proverbs, he said that his mother often said them to him, and that mothers and their proverbs are so infamous that there are meme websites dedicated to them that he visits when he feels homesick. Stanley only speaks English, and told me the folklore in English.

Transcript:

Stanley: Yo, it’s Stanley. Ummmm, so, when you’re misbehaving, you come home past your curfew, your Mom or your Dad will say, “oh, so you have grown wings, eh? We will cut them off.”

Owen: When did you hear this?

Stanley: Every time I went out, throughout my teenage years.

Owen: Where?

Stanley: In Kenya. But my parents are Nigerian. So they, and actually just everywhere we lived. Basically. Yeah.

Owen: So you think it’s a traditional Nigerian proverb?

Stanley: Yes. It is very traditional. Everybody says it.

Interpretation:

Stanley explained to me that Nigerian mothers are full of reproachful proverbs. This one essentially means that if you’re misbehaving, there’s an assumption that you think you’re above the rules, that you literally have wings–ie. too much pride. Even though this is a Nigerian proverb, Stanley’s family took it with them as they moved several times. Stanley only speaks English, and this is how he told me the proverb.

“Cali”

Context:

Isabella Estrada is studying history at the University of Southern California. She is graduating this year and is in the process of applying to/hearing back from law schools. This was clearly on her mind as the first piece of folklore she gave me dealt with law school applications. She was born and raised in Torrance, California.

Transcript:

Isabella: So, uh, as a native from Southern California, we’re pretty much hip to all the California…uh, terms, terminology, anyway. It was always a joke growing up that you could tell a foreigner based on whether or not they said “Cali” to refer to California because no Californian would ever refer to our state as “Cali.”

Interpretation:

Firstly, Isabella shows pride in being from California. This is something many people do with their state, but it especially makes sense in California, a state with so many non-natives, including myself, for example. She expressed a vague superiority in knowing how to talk about her state, and how to spot out those who don’t belong. Many communities do this. For example, I once referred to a New York restaurant as “The Talkhouse,” only to be laughed at by New Yorkers who told me, “we just call it ‘Talkhouse.'” Simple uses of language can often draw attention to a visitor or immigrant.

Haunted Dorm at USC

Context:

Isabella Estrada is studying history at the University of Southern California. She is graduating this year and is in the process of applying to/hearing back from law schools. This was clearly on her mind as the first piece of folklore she gave me dealt with law school applications. She was born and raised in Torrance, California.

Transcript:

Isabella: Okay, so freshman year, I lived on campus in Pardee Tower and there was an old ghost story that the seventh floor was haunted because some girl…I think two years prior to when I lived there, she died in her room, and her roommate was gone for the weekend, her roommate didn’t find her body until she came back the following Monday. And she was just dead.

Interpretation:

This piece is interesting because the event was historical–thus not fitting into the categories of legend, myth or tale. What is folklore is the belief that the floor of the building is now haunted. Bella could give no specifics on the haunting–for instance, she could not even say for certain if the deceased student wanders the halls or something to that effect. I have often noticed people mentioning that a building, a room, etc. is haunted but they know no more information beyond that.