Author Archives: Troy Furniss

Annunciation Phrase

Informant: My informant, S. G., is 19 and was born and raised in Southern California. S.G. lives in Chino Hills and has two mothers who both work as P.E. teachers for high school and middle schools. She has one older sister and one younger brother with the family having ties to its Swedish heritage.

Folklore: “How no brown cow, green green grass.” This piece of folklore is a nonsense phrase meant to be practiced by young children to learn proper annunciation when speaking. Sawyer and her siblings were all taught this phrase growing up from their parents and were meant to repeat it at least once a day. S.G. claims she was forced to practice the phrase until she reached 6th grade.

Analysis: There is no actual proof that this phrase will actually correct a child’s annunciation, but I suppose there is no harm in practicing anyway. S.G. and both her siblings all pronounce their words perfectly so there is no proof to say it doesn’t work.

Bar Joke

Informant: My informant, L.K., is 19 and was born in New York but raised in Dubrovnik, Croatia from age 5 to 18. L.K. father is working for a tourist agency and part time water polo referee and his mom is a financial manager for a restaurant in Croatia. He has a younger brother and sister with his family being fully Croatian, but has integrated small values from his time in the United States.

Folklore: “There is a black guy, a white guy, and an Asian that all get kidnapped and are being held against their will. The man who kidnapped them tells the three men that he will let them go on the condition that the size of their penis’s put together must me 20 inches or bigger. So the black guy whips it out, and it’s a whopping 13 inches! The white guy decides to go next and pulls his out. It’s a solid 6 inches. The Asian guy pulls his out last and its only one inch. The kidnapper, making good on his promise, lets the three men leave. On the way out the black guy says to the other two men, ‘Man, you guys are just lucky that I have such big dick.’ The white guy then says, ‘No, you guys are just lucky that I have such an average sized dick.’ And then the Asian guy says, ‘No, you guys are just lucky I had an erection.’” L.K. was told this joke from a tour guide when he visited Jamaica over winter break. Similarly, this joke was told in the presence of only men at night after the tour was over. L.K. said they would drink and tell jokes after the end of each day and was a nice way to end a long day.

Analysis: This joke is a classic variation of three guys walk into a bar joke. The joke focuses on the stereotype of the length of penis varies by nationality. Again, I’m fan of guy jokes and this was the best dick joke I think I’ve ever heard.

Hawaiian Warriors

Informant: My informant, D.L., is 20 and was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. D.L. mother works as an admissions director for his high school. He has one older brother who also attends USC. Both of D.L. parents are full Chinese, but have completely adopted the Hawaiian culture. D.L. spends most of his free time at the beach and considers himself more Hawaiian than Chinese.

Folklore: “There is a rule in Hawaii that you’re not supposed to whistle at night. The night marchers are ghosts of ancient Hawaiian warriors and they’re said to roam the islands at night visiting old battlefields and sacred sites. Whistling at night is said to summon the huakai po (night marchers). If you make eye contact with the night marchers, you’ll die and be forced to march with them for all of eternity. If you happen to have an ancestor marching, however, no one in the procession can harm you.” D.L. was told this story from one of his teachers in elementary school to try and scare the kids in his class as a joke. D.L. doesn’t actually believe in the myth and thinks of it as just a story to scare kids.

Analysis: This myth is more of a ghost story that sounds familiar to a story I heard when I was growing up. I look at this myth as just a scary story and nothing more.

For more information on the myth, see http://www.to-hawaii.com/legends/night-marchers.php

Demigod Maui

Informant: My informant, D.L., is 20 and was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. D.L. mother works as an admissions director for his high school. He has one older brother who also attends USC. Both of D.L. parents are full Chinese, but have completely adopted the Hawaiian culture. D.L. spends most of his free time at the beach and considers himself more Hawaiian than Chinese.

Folklore: “There is the Legend of how the demigod, Maui, was the one who created the Hawaiian Islands. Maui is said to have created Hawaii’s islands by tricking his brothers. He convinces them to take him out fishing, but instead catches his hook upon the ocean floor. He tells his brothers that he has caught a big fish, and tells them to paddle as hard as they can. His brothers paddle with all their might, and being intent with their effort, did not notice the island rising behind them. Maui repeats this trick several times, creating the Hawaiian Islands.” D.L. heard this legend growing up in school from his parents when he asked how the islands were created. He was also told after the islands really came to be with volcanoes, but he was more interested in the story version. D.L. likes how this story is a part of his culture and likes telling people about these myths.

Analysis: I really enjoyed this story and think it’s a fun and creative way to tell children how something so incredible and hard to believe could have happened. This story reminds me of the legend of Paul Bunyan and how he created the Grand Canyon when he dragged his axe behind him when he was tired after a long day’s work. It is interesting to see how similar stories originate in completely different cultures.

Summer Sun

Informant: My informant, D.L., is 20 and was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. D.L. mother works as an admissions director for his high school. He has one older brother who also attends USC. Both of D.L. parents are full Chinese, but have completely adopted the Hawaiian culture. D.L. spends most of his free time at the beach and considers himself more Hawaiian than Chinese.

Folklore: “Māui’s next feat is to stop the sun from moving so fast. His mother Hina complains that her kapa (bark cloth) is unable to dry because the days are so short. Māui climbs to the mountain Hale-a-ka-lā (house of the sun) and lassoes the sun’s rays as the sun comes up, using a rope made from his sister’s hair. The sun pleads for life and agrees that the days shall be long in summer and short in winter.” D.L. was told this story from his teacher in elementary school. The legend, Maui, plays a large role in Hawaiian folklore and is the basis of many creation stories.

Analysis: This is a fun legend that is told to kids in Hawaii. This reminds me of summer and how the days get longer. I have great memories in the summer from staying out later at the beach with the sun still out.