Author Archives: shgreenb

Green Hats in Chinese Culture

Main piece:

Green hats in Chinese culture means that your spouse is cheating on you. Chinese people avoid green hats.

Background information (Why does the informant know or like this piece? Where or who did they learn it from? What does it mean to them?):

My parents, my mom and my dad. I was at the Nordstrom Rack with my mother one day and I came across a green hat, and I wanted to buy it but my mom wouldn’t let me. She said it was bad luck. I was eight or nine at the time. She was just like- it’s a bad thing. If you wear a green hat, it’s just bad, like why would you do that, you know? If I see someone wearing a green hat, I’ll think about it and laugh about it to myself. I would not buy a green hat.

 

Context (When or where would this be performed? Under what circumstance?):

I wouldn’t talk to people about it. If I see someone wearing a green hat, and I’m close enough with them and already talking to them, then I might be comfortable enought to share that little tidbit of my mind. Like I wouldn’t go up to a stranger and be like “Did you know?!?!” It’s not something I tell people, I have to be comfortable enough with them to talk about it.

Personal Analysis:

The forbiddance of certain colors has always been fascinating to me as an American- our culture has very few colors that explicitly mean one thing when coupled with an article of clothing or an item. Wedding dresses are white as a symbol of purity; we wear black at funerals to express mourning or loss. However, there is nothing as explicit as “This color and this article of clothing means someone is cheating on you.” It is interesting to see, in a culture already dominated by tradition and custom, how far these beliefs will extend into society. It also hints at the unwillingness to be direct, whether verbally or in action.

 

Annotation

Here is another version of the green hat warning, though it explicitly refers to a woman cheating on a man.

“In China ‘wearing a green hat’ (戴绿帽子 or dài lǜ mào zǐ) is an expression that Chinese use when a woman cheats on her husband or boyfriend because the phrase sounds similar to the word for cuckold. This apparently dates back to the Yuan dynasty when the relatives of prostitutes were forced to wear green hats.”

“Green Hat a No-No.” Randomwire. N.p., 03 Dec. 2009. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.

Peach Boy

Main piece:

There’s this really old couple, they’ve been married for years and years, and they haven’t been able to have a baby. And so, they’ve been praying to the gods, whatever japanese gods there are, and finally one day, as the woman goes to the river to do her laundry, she finds a giant peach floating in the river. She was like, “wow! It’s not the season for peaches! This will be great to take to my husband!” So she takes the peach home and brings it home to her husband for dinner. It’s like, keep in mind, it’s a giant peach. The husband, the old japanese husband, goes to cut the peach, and all of the sudden, the peach breaks in half, and there’s a child in the peach, and he goes, “Stop! I am the child you’ve been praying for! Sent by the gods!!!” And at first the old couple were in shock. And then realized they were blessed, and raised the child as if it were their own son.

The son grew up to be a very strong and handsome young man, and he turned out to be a great warrior. All of the sudden, the town criar, or the emperor’s messenger, came and announced that the princesses and their maidens had been captured and now they’re on an evil island. So peach kid goes to his mom and dad and is like, “Hey! I can do that! Will you let me go on this journey to rescue the princesses and their maidens? It would bring great honor to our family.” The mom doesn’t really want to let her son go, but… So she says “Son, I’ll sleep on it.” So the son wakes up in the morning and finds a travelling pack filled with rice cakes and other supplies and a note from his mother allowing him to go but telling him to find some friends along the way.

So, in sequential order, and the abridged version of this, he befriends a dog, a monkey, and a sparrow by giving them rice cakes! And they all are brave animals and want to help him in this noble quest. They like… for some reason got a boat, and sailed to the island where there’s a giant castle guarded by demons. With the sparrow’s quick wit, because he was able to fly around the top of the castle, and the monkeys intelligence, and the dogs strength, they were able to get into the caste and rescue the princesses! And before they killed the king demon, they held a sword to his throat and forced him to tell them where he kept all his treasures. So after they found the treasures, they killed the king demon, put his head on a stick, and sailed away with the head of the king demon, the princesses, and all the treasures. They came back and presented to the emperor his returned princesses, um gold, and the head of the king demon. The emperor let the boy take the gold home for his family, and the parents were very grateful. They were really poor, by the way. They lived in a hut. And so they never had to go one day hungry ever again. All from a peach, you know? You never know. So the son and the parents and all the animals lived together happily ever after with all their money.

 

Background information (Why does the informant know or like this piece? Where or who did they learn it from? What does it mean to them?):

I heard it from my grandmother and she lived in Korea during the time that Japan was in control of Korea. In her culture, there were a lot of both Korean and Japanese influences, so she used to tell all these weird fantasy fairy tales to me as a kid. It’s symbolic to me because it ties me to my grandmother and the memory of her.

 

Context (When or where would this be performed? Under what circumstance?):

It’s a kids tale. It’s like found in japanese fairy-tale books. My grandma told me when she was babysitting me. I was really sick and had nothing better to do but she didn’t want me watching any more tv.

 

Personal Analysis:

Despite having attended an immersion school with both Spanish and Japanese programs, I have never heard this story before. It incorporates the importance of honor and valiance in many Asian cultures. The most interesting component of this retelling was that the informant said it was a traditional Japanese folktale, though her heritage is Korean and Chinese. This statement leads me to believe that although it may be associated with Japanese culture, the tale may have been dispersed throughout Asian culture as a whole. Despite how isolated the country of Japan was until the twentieth century, the informant’s Korean grandmother knew the tale and could recount it with confidence. However, it was never claimed as Korean by the informant- the credit was given to Japan. It makes me wonder why, as Asian cultures are known for taking pride in their country’s heritage, this tale wasn’t immediately accredited to the grandmother’s country of origin.

 

Annotation: This story is a retelling of the classic Japanese fairy tale, Momotaro. The story can be accessed through classic Japanese folktale storybooks, or individual published retellings. Below is a link to the “Peach Boy” folktale.

http://www.candlelightstories.com/2011/03/13/peach-boy-a-folktale-from-japan/

Don’t Tread on Me!

Main piece:

So, uh… in baseball, there’s a universal superstition that in the way on to the field and off, on defense, it’s customary to step over the white line. Never on the white line! Because if you don’t, it’s believed that your team will lose.

 

Background information (Why does the informant know or like this piece? Where or who did they learn it from? What does it mean to them?):

Playing baseball. I don’t like it… I have to do it. It’s not about whether you like it or not. It’s about whether you like winning or not. It means the difference between victory and defeat.

 

Context (When or where would this be performed? Under what circumstance?):

It would be performed on the baseball field. On every baseball field, everywhere. Only during games. The superstition probably came from not wanting to mess up the line. I bet someone was like, “Man, I hope no one steps on this, I just fixed it. Uh… don’t step on this line, or you’ll lose!”

 

Personal Analysis:

This folk belief was discussed in class as well, so it was interesting to see it revisited outside the confines of a folklore class. The informant had some insightful comments about the origins of the folklore itself, and I must agree that the ritual came to be after a white line on a baseball field was scuffed one too many times. Baseball is one of the most superstitious sports, known for rituals and beliefs that seem outlandish from an outside view but are incredibly coveted by the practitioner. I was lucky the informant was comfortable enough to divulge this ritual with me- most are kept in secrecy, from fear of the act working beneficially for the wrong team.

From Foot, to Hand, to Head

Main piece:

If you touch paper with your foot, you must touch your hand to the paper, and the hand to the forehead.

 

Background information (Why does the informant know or like this piece? Where or who did they learn it from? What does it mean to them?):

It applies to most paper substances. It came via india culture school called Chinmaya Mission. Basically hindu Sunday school. It wasn’t an official lesson, it was just something people had to do. It’s really important to me. It’s the idea that paper is knowledge and you should never step on knowledge is the idea. It should be held in respect.

 

Context (When or where would this be performed? Under what circumstance?):

Anytime, unless it’s physically impositive. I;ve done it alone, I’ve done it around people. The only time I haven’t is when it’s extremely inconvenient. Like if a college room is strewn with tons of papers or something.

 

Personal Analysis:

We see many Indian students here at USC that are incredibly hard working, intelligent people- the informant included. I was interested to hear about this ritual, but was not surprised at its explanation. The informant holds academics in high regard, putting his focus on education much higher than some of his other extracurricular activities. His household, from stories he has told me before, held the same values.

The Choice of a Lifetime

Main piece:

In Korea we have this thing where on the baby’s first birthday, it’s called Dol, what we do is we put various items in front of the baby. Classic items include yarn, pencil, money- and people put other stuff, they cater it so like they’ll put fruit or something, they’ll generally cater it. And you put them in front of the baby, and whatever the baby chooses, it predicts their future. So, each item represents a different future. The yarn represents longevity. The pencil represents academic prowess. Money represents wealth. Sometimes food can represent always being food, or like fulfillment.

 

Background information (Why does the informant know or like this piece? Where or who did they learn it from? What does it mean to them?):

My family. I have siblings, so for my siblings’ first birthday, we did that. I wasn’t alive for my sister’s, but… we did that and we have photos. It’s a huge thing. I’m pretty sure it was the biggest birthday party of my life and I don’t even remember it. I like it the same way that people like horoscopes. I think that having some sort of prophecy is really intimate especially if it’s about yourself. Personally, it feels like our family’s results were pretty correct in the sense that my sister got yarn, and she’s very dedicated to being healthy. She’s the health nut in our family. My brother picked money, mostly because my dad like pushed it towards him, but he’s very frugal. And i picked the pencil, and I really like writing, so I like it because to me, it’s something I share with all my siblings and it’s something that korea has been doing for a very long time. It originates from when korea was really poor, so baby’s wouldn’t make it to their first birthday. So when they did, the whole village came together and everyone provided a dish of some sort. Having a lot of dishes and food is integral to Dol, and for me, growing up, when I look at the photos, there’s not a lot of food, but there’s still a lot in comparison to what I usually had. So it was a very special occasion because it represented a day where i guess my family could go all out. It’s something I want to do with my kids, definitely. It’s a tradition that resonates with my country’s history, my family’s history, and possibly future. It’s a cute celebration of life, and possibility.

 

Context (When or where would this be performed? Under what circumstance?):

The ritual is done in a home, or now a lot of rich families rent out venues for it. If you know any rich korean families who have a child that is about to turn one, you should know they’re going to have a party and kind of invite yourself to one. Family, really close family, or friends who are as close as family are invited. But oftentimes, some rich families will invite a lot more people, expecting gifts. Some families, they might put something down that represents marriage, and it would be sort of great if a girl picks that one because it means she won’t be a widow or an old maid. I don’t know anyone that’s done that, I think it’s a pretty old one.

 

Personal Analysis:

Korean culture is very much centered around family, both the making of a family and the upkeep of the reputation of the family. From the start, knowing what your baby will become or what interests they may have would readily equip the parents for the future. Parents then could plan around the choice, giving their child a lifestyle catered to the object they chose. I believe it’s rather soon to decide the fate and future of a child, but since I am an outsider to the culture, my values are not aligned to the Korean family dynamic.