Author Archives: Stella Chen

Bloody Mary – American Urban Legend

1. Text

When asked for a folk narrative, the informant shared the below legend:

“When I was a kid there was scariest thing you could dare someone to do was turn out the lights of the bathroom and dare them to go in and say “Bloody Mary” three times in front of the mirror. Legend has it that if you did this, she would appear in the mirror and try to kill you. Naturally, it was very popular at pre-teen slumber parties. At the time, no one really knew (or cared) who Bloody Mary was – all we did know was that the chances of a ghost appearing in the mirror with always low (but never zero, which was what induced the fear in us all). For context, this was most popular when I was in the fifth grade or so (so about circa 2013). Apparently, she might be based on the historical Mary(s) at the time; the most popular being Mary I of England, who famously had the nickname Bloody Mary for her horrible deeds as ruler.”

2. Context

The informant is Filipino American and grew up in the US. They learned this urban legend in fifth grade from other kids her age at school. The informant believed a little bit that Bloody Mary might appear when she was younger.

The informant interprets the urban legend as a “slumber party dare” therefore views it more as a fun group activity among pre-teens.

3. Analysis

As someone who was completely unfamiliar with the “Bloody Mary” myth, it is interesting that the concept of “Bloody Mary”, takes the name of the Virgin Mary, who is thought of as a pure maiden that gave birth to Jesus in Christianity. “Bloody” suggests that this is an “evil” version of Mary that is different from the Virgin Mary. This name therefore contrasts the holiness of “Mary” with the disturbing imagery from the word “bloody” to make for a scary name for a ghost. However, as the informant points out, the Bloody Mary is apparently based on a ruler of England who did horrible things, therefore not linked to the Virgin Mary. This may hint at the relationship between the US and England where England may be viewed as a country that the US broke away from and became independent. Therefore the horrible ruler Bloody Mary can be exaggerated and made into a ghost that spook children. Reflected surfaces such as mirrors are often where people think ghosts may appear. This may be largely due to the influence of media portrayal of ghosts. This could point to how pop culture in the US greatly influences folklore and vice versa. In addition, the act of “taunting” the ghost and testing the limits by trying to summon the ghost seems specific to the US. In comparison in Asian cultures, children usually do not try to summon ghosts since they are afraid of them. However, there is a similarity between these cultures in that in both cultures children like to test their limits and act brave by going to abandoned or ghost mansions. This trend is a way in which children rebel against the accepted norm that one should not go into a ghost house and add excitement to their lives through their imagination and group activities.

Story of Heungbu and Nolbu – Korean Folktale

1. Text

When asked for a folktale, the informant shared the story below:

Title: The Story of Heungbu and Nolbu

Heungbu and Nolbu were two brothers whose father was very rich, and they grew up in a well-off home. Once their father died, they had to split the fortune up, but the honest Heungbu was tricked by his older brother and Heungbu had to go become a farmer to support his family. Heungbu suffered through with threadbare clothing and lack of food, but one day, his wife told him they had finally run out of food completely and asked him to go beg his older brother for anything to eat. For the sake of his children, he went to his brother and begged him for food, only to get cruelly cast out into the yard, where his brother’s wife was cooking rice. He begged her for some of the rice she was cooking, but she only struck him with the rice paddle and told him to get out. Noticing that the rice from the paddle would stick to his cheek, he carefully picked off the grains and tucked them away, then asked her to hit him again. However, she noticed this, and washed the paddle clean in water before striking him over and over on the other side.

The rice he had managed to bring back still was able to feed his family for that day, and they kept going, until one day Heungbu’s wife told him that they had once again ran out of food. He went to the brother again, and the brother taunted him and offered him rice if he would get hit.

He agreed, and was paddled until he hobbled, but the brother did not give him any food. As he walked home in shame, he noticed a swallow with a broken leg and rescued it from a snake that was trying to eat it. He slowly nursed this swallow back to health, and once it healed it flew away and came back with the seed for a gourd.

He planted this seed in his garden, and to his shock, the gourds grew overnight into huge gourds half-split open already. He split open the first gourd and found a wealth of riches, overflowing and enough to keep his family rich for the rest of their lives. Then, he split open the second gourd and found beautiful clothing and fabric. The final gourd contained magical servants, who vowed to do their master’s bidding and who were beautiful and kind.

Their quick change in fortune reached the ears of Nolbu, the jealous older brother, who quickly pretend to act nice to his younger brother to learn the secret of success. Heungbu told him the story without any hesitation, and Nolbu vowed to do the same. However, instead of saving a bird from a snake, he instead trapped a swallow and broke its leg himself, “healing” it until it got better from the wound he had inflicted.

After the bird flew away, it brought back a gourd seed for Nolbu as well. However, this gourd quickly grew into three rotten-looking and foul smelling gourds, but Nolbu split them open anyways. The first gourd contained demons that berated him and his family and beat them until they cried. The second gourd contained a mass of debtors that seized his expensive things, leaving him destitute. The final gourd contained a massive flood of sewage and disgusting water that destroyed even his house, leaving him with nothing. He had to go beg his brother, Heungbu, to take the family in, because he had nothing left. The generous Heungbu took his older brother in, and was rewarded with happiness and good fortune for the rest of his life.

2. Context

This is a children’s folk tale from Korea that the informant learned at a young age from his Korean American parents. It is less personal since it is a common story that is told to children to teach them morals. The informant interprets the tale as a story to teach morals.

3. Analysis

This tale of Heungbu and Nolbu tells a story where honesty and kindness is rewarded with happiness and fortune whereas selfishness, jealousy and greed is punished with disaster and unfortune. This seems to be a common theme in popular East Asian folktales for children since there are similar tales in Japan like the “Rolling Rice ball” tale which tells the story of an old farmer who falls and drops his rice ball into a hole where mice live. He tries to look into the hole but he ends up falling in. The mice in the hole welcome him and thank the farmer for the rice. They make him mochi (rice cake) out of the rice and give them to the farmer. When the farmer leaves, the mice offer him a box filled with riches and treasures. After getting back, the farmer’s neighbor is jealous of the farmer and hears of the story. The farmer goes to the home and drops rice in it. The mice welcome him and thank him for the food and prepare mochi for him. When the neighbor leaves, he demands the box of riches and threatens the mice. The mice are angered and attack the farmer and do not let him leave the hole. The parallels between these two stories represent the context of very agriculture based economies in earlier Japanese and Korean civilization. These motifs of slightly anthropomorphic animals that repay or punish the farmers suggest the idea that “nature” rewards kindness and punishes evil therefore revealing the belief of the natural order and distinction between good and bad and a higher power like nature enforcing it. These beliefs persuade people to abide by these rules that are understood to be the “natural law” to be kind and not greedy. The punishments in the magical gourds represent the biggest fears of Korean farmers such as violence, debt, and natural disaster. In addition, these tales tie to the idea of Karma, where good deeds are rewarded and bad deeds do not go unpunished. This helps comfort people who are hurt by “bad” people to know that they will be punished and convince them to be “good” since good will be rewarded.

The Manananggal – Filipino Myth

1. Text

When asked for a folk narrative the informant shared the myth of the Manananggal.

“My mother and father described to me a mythological creature from the Philippines known as the manananggal. She’s described to be a vampire-like creature that can separate the top of its body from the lower half, and preys on couples, grooms, and pregnant women. The manananggal is part of a group of mythological creatures generally called Aswang, but a lot falls under this category, like ghosts and ghouls.”

“A lot like the La Llorona figure in South American stories – her origin story is similar to that of La Llorona in that she was abandoned at the alter, hates grooms-to-be and is jealous of pregnant women so she eats fetuses from sleeping women. She has vampire like qualities, for example doesn’t like garlic, salt, or holy water.”

“My parents told me stories like this were passed down to “scare” or warn children from staying out late, and encouraged them to be careful of their surroundings.”

2. Context

The informant is Filipino American, and both her parents are Filipino. Her parents grew up hearing about the myth and passed it down to her.

The informant interprets the myth as a story used to discipline and educate children on how to avoid danger.

3. Analysis

The Filipino myth of the Manananggal is similar to myths in many cultures of scary monsters that prey on children and the weak. The Manananggal is a female monster, which seems to be a recurring motif, where female monsters filled with hatred and have a tragic origin story prey on those they are jealous of, in this case couples, grooms, and fetuses for the Manananggal. These kinds of tale with vengeance filled female monsters satirizes how many cultures view women as family-centered and a loving mother figure. In a way, myths like these are a rebellious act against those stereotypes by showing females that hate familial happiness. The qualities that the Manananggal has such as disliking “garlic, salt, and holy water”, are a way for people to keep the Manananggal away. These weaknesses humanizes the mythical figure Manananggal since they have weaknesses just like any human. That makes the myth more believable and less scary since there is a way to keep the monster away. The Manananggal may have been a way that people explained inexplicable deaths of grooms, couples, or failed conceptions and deliveries of babies. By creating a monster who preys on people, people can make sense and cope with unexpected deaths.

“A child is a parent’s mirror” – Japanese Proverb

1. Text

Main piece: The informant shared a Japanese proverb that goes: “A child is a parent’s mirror”.

2. Context

Relationship to the piece:

Informant: “This one I heard it from my mom”

Interpretation:

Informant:

“I think it’s both [good and bad]”

“like if a child is nasty, then the parent is nasty”

“but if the child is well mannered usually the parent is too”

3. Analysis

This Japanese proverb is similar to proverbs in other cultures like the Korean proverb “If you plant beans you get beans” and the North American proverb “an apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”. This common comparison between parent and children across various cultures shows that people often judge parents by their children and vice versa. It also suggests that a child’s upbringing is very influential to their character. It seems to suggest that the parent-child bond is very strong and is difficult to break from. However, these proverbs come from traditional and conservative views of how families are structured and do not serve to explain all families. Therefore, the idea that children reflect their parents is not absolute but a cautionary message to parents raising children and children growing under the shadow of their parents to be better versions of themselves or break away from the mistakes or flaws of their parents.

“Trip seven times, get up eight times” – Japanese Proverb

1. Text

Main piece: Informant shared a Japanese proverb “七転び八起き”.

Original script: 七転び八起き

Phonetic: Nana korobi hachi oki

Transliteration: Seven falls eight get ups

Translation: Trip seven times, get up eight times.

Definition: Persevering, not giving up till succeeding; the ups and downs of life

2. Context

Relationship to the piece:

Informant:

“I read it in a book”

Meaning:

Informant:

“I never really understood what it was”

“I think it’s perseverance though”

3. Analysis

This Japanese proverb seems to say that life is falling seven times and getting up eight times. Even though you keep falling, if you keep getting up, you will end up on your feet. It also suggests that life is full of ups and downs, and is not easy. One must keep failing then trying again to stay afloat. It does have a positive connotation as the number of falls is less than the number of getting up. This outlook of accepting the struggle yet remaining hopeful is one way that Japanese people live their life. Although the meaning seems similar, this proverb is very different from its likes in the western culture like “failure is the father of success”, where failure is suggested to lead to success. Instead, the Japanese proverb tells the people that life is hard, and one must accept that and persevere, where getting up doesn’t mean success but does mean that one can keep on continuing forward. This shows how the Japanese proverb is more realistic and practical, while the North American proverb is more idealistic. This could be traced further back to the power dynamic differences between Japan and the US since the US is a superpower whereas Japan was defeated during WWII and has been forced to remove its military, renounce their emperor, and even be under control of the US for a period of time. As a superpower, the US has the confidence to use more idealistic proverbs while Japan after WWII has a much more stagnant and cynical outlook which leads to more realistic and pragmatic proverbs.