Category Archives: Folk speech

Minor Genres: Proverbs – The Ox

  1. Text: “Αφού έφαγες το βόδι, φάε και την ουρά.” or “Since you’ve eaten the ox, you might as well eat the tail.”
  2. Informants Context: In Nestane, my village of birth, we were responsible for providing for ourselves on all fronts. We had constant responsibilities each and everyday so to not only maintain the properties of our families, but to also get the resources we needed on a daily basis. Chores that I often participated in included the baking of bread, attending to the maintenance of the land around our home and general household chores. Within the home, I was often responsible for preparing large meals for my family of eight people. I would continue to help do this during panagiri’s, our village festivals where everyone joined and gathered. These were difficult tasks, a lot of work. I was often exhausted by the end of each day. My job wasn’t even the most challenging. The farmers who were responsible for harvesting had enormous tasks ahead of them everyday. Near the end of the days hard work, this is when the proverb would often be used. “Since you’ve eaten the ox, you might as well eat the tail.” A person must finish what they begin. You’ve come this far – you might as well completely finish the job. Ox were an important part of the farming communities in Arcadia, hence where the term would originate. My mother used this when she was embarrassing me for being a slouch. It was a term used throughout the village. Whenever Ox were eaten, it was for festival or event, never for a normal day. They were popular animals. It could be thought of as this – the final bite, the one that you struggle to take, that is the bite that has your strength in it. So take it.
  3. Collectors Context: The value of this proverb and its meaning is outlined by the informant, but the ways in which these values and concepts surrounding the proverb relate to Greece still remains to be seen. This proverb is clearly a reflection of lower-class work ethic in Greece. The people described by the informant live by their daily discipline and deeds. This concept of finishing what one starts in a day of hard work reflects a culture that is disciplined. It reflects a culture that is intent on resolve, completing and following-through on their deeds and actions.

Fields

AGE: 87

Date_of_performance: May 9, 2025

Language: Greek

Nationality: Greek/Canadian

Occupation: Retired

Primary Language: Greek

Residence: Canada

Minor Genre: Proverb – The Wolf

  1. Text: “Έβαλαν το λύκο να φυλάει τα πρόβατα.” or “They put the wolf to guard the sheep.”
  2. Informants Context: We often had sheep around us when I was young in Greece. The shepherd was one of the most common working jobs in Arcadia, my home region. We existed in a very natural, pastoral part of Greece where wildlife was very prominent and allowed to grow. This meant that wolves often surrounded the area. The shepherds knew all about the wolves – where they existed in the region, what they acted like. The shepherd was the great guardian of his herd. The wolf is a very smart creature though, often trying to find a way to get to the flock of sheep. The wolves are the enemies of the sheep. The battle of these two animals was a common occurrence in my village, we would often watch shepherds outplay the wolves or lose a sheep. The shepherd would often lose sheep at night if anything, if the flock ever went undefended. Someone had to watch the sheep constantly, even during the night. So because of this, we developed the expression “They put the wolf to guard the sheep”. We use this expression to describe when someone is being deceitful, clearly acting in a position that they cannot be trusted in. Someone has joined or infiltrated a group to clearly destroy it.
  3. Collectors Interpretation: The themes and ideas surrounding the proverb, “They put the wolf to guard the sheep” is clearly indicative of a culture that values truthfulness and loyalty. Juxtaposing those values is a skepticism toward anyone who might practice deceitfulness or make an effort to be dishonest. One could also assume that the culture deeply prioritizes the strength and sanctity of an inner-circle, refusing to let just any stranger become closely associated with families and friends. Greeks are a culture of very keen, skeptical individuals. These concepts of truth and lies, enemy and ally are clearly at least partly informed by their observations of the natural world. The hierarchy of animals proves to be a useful metaphoric tool for the class of Greeks that grew up in a pastoral setting without having the opportunity for education. It can be assumed from this proverb that the natural world has always been a tool of education for these pastoral Greeks, informing their worldview and perceptions. Not to mention that this proverb feels closely associated with or similar to the Christian proverb, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” These similarities may also represent a folkloric culture in Greece that has been distinctly shaped by Christian theology and its ideas, reshaping Christian proverbs to suit their specific viewpoint. This is consistent with the theory of multiplicity and variation, how common proverbs are repeatedly restructured to fit the context of a certain culture.

Fields

AGE: 87

Date_of_performance: May 9, 2025

Language: Greek

Nationality: Greek/Canadian

Occupation: Retired

Primary Language: Greek

Residence: Canada

Minor Genre: Proverb – Truth

  1. Text: “Από μικρό και από τρελό μαθαίνεις την αλήθεια.” or “From a child and from a madman, you learn the truth.”
  2. Informants context: When I was a kid, I was sometimes difficult to deal with. Maybe oftentimes. I was really energetic and rambunctious. You could imagine me as being pretty ADHD. My parents always were going back and forth trying to get a handle of me, particularly my mom who was most responsible for disciplining me. I had an issue with self-regulating, often saying out of line, maybe socially awkward things that would be perceived as rude. For example, during one summer my family was having a pool day. This meant that my cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents etc were all present as we hung out. We got a great barbecue going. I have one older cousin who is my senior by about fourteen years. At this time I was probably seven years old. Long story short, while we were in the pool with our shirts off, I saw my older cousin and noticed that he was looking a lot heavier. So I just told him very directly that him and I should work out together because he’s been getting fat. I’m not sure what I was thinking because I didn’t even know how to work out at that time. My mom was in close-proximity while I said this and immediately snapped at me. She told me to apologize and take it back. I don’t think my cousin cared that much but I was pretty paralyzed in that moment. I apologized and felt like garbage. Later my Yiayia (grandmother) was talking about what I said with some of the other women, and then she pulled me into the conversation, laughing. She shared the expression, “Από μικρό και από τρελό μαθαίνεις την αλήθεια.” or “From a child and from a madman, you learn the truth.” My grandmother actually agreed that my cousin needed to get himself in better shape. I didn’t fully understand the saying at the time, but it always stuck with me. Now that I’m older, it seems increasingly clear that it requires someone unfiltered to give us full truths on difficult topics. It’s something my grandmother continues to say to this day. It’s one of her many sayings that she sourced from her time in Greece.
  3. Collectors interpretation: The concept of the child or madman as a source of truth is almost a radical concept. There are multiple possible implications of such a statement. Firstly being what the informant mentioned: the unadulterated truth will only be given by people untethered by social norms. This implies that truth is rarely spoken for in fear of people being persecuted. The second implication is that it requires the uninhibited mind of a child or crazed person in order to allow truthful thoughts to emerge. These are fascinating concepts. Ultimately, the proverb functions well because of how simple it is despite the complexity of its idea. Additionally, it feels distinctly folkloric as it stems from the small villages of Greece. The actual implications of this proverb on Greek culture are multi-varied. I believe the proverb implies that the culture is self-aware, honest about its shortcomings and irreverent of consequences. This is the mentality of a culture that values genuine honesty, even when its not practical or politically smart. This also echoes a Christian proverb: “And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.'” Children and madmen are pure in a way, abandoning political maneuvering in favor of genuine honesty, regardless of the consequences.

Fields

AGE: 21

Date_of_performance: May 9, 2025

Language: English

Nationality: American/Greek

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: United States of America

Flight Ritual

Nationality: American
Age: 57
Occupation: Dance Studio Owner
Residence: Downers Grove, IL
Language: English

Ritual:

“Whenever I fly, I say the Lord’s Prayer, then repeat “please bless this flight, please bless this flight, please bless this flight.” I do this twice on the ground once we leave the gate and once as the plane is starting to climb.”

Context:

My informant told me that she started this ritual when she was 25 years old. For many years, she had to travel almost every week for her job, so she flew frequently. However, she has a fear of heights as well as motion sickness, so flights always made her nervous. She does not fly as often anymore, but she still performs the ritual when she does. She is Catholic, so saying the Lord’s Prayer is a way to try to combat her flight anxiety.

Analysis:

What is interesting about my informant’s ritual is that she uses something institutionally recognized — the Lord’s Prayer (“Our Father”) — in a folkloric way. Her ritual is apotropaic, meaning that the intention behind her saying the Lord’s Prayer and repeating “please bless this flight” is to protect the flight she is on from any harm. What is also interesting about this ritual is her repeating “please bless this flight” three times. Early on in the semester, we talked in class about the cultural significance, specifically in the United States, of the use of threes. Interestingly enough, threes in the United States, for many Americans, represent balance, which is then equated to goodness. So, her repetition of “please bless this flight” three times is another symbol of her protecting her flight, even if she does not realize it.

Magic Superstition – Homeopathic

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Superstition:

My informant and her mom say to each other “don’t put that into the universe.”

Context:

My informant told me that she picked up this superstition from her mom. She told me: “If you say some kind of bad prediction about like an outcome or something — like if you say “I probably won’t get this job” or some other negative thing,” they will say this phrase to each other. “The belief is that by speaking that negative outcome into the universe, it manifests as a possibility that hadn’t quite existed before you saying it. Saying it makes the predictions a possible reality, while keeping it in your head remains out of reality, just in your imagination.”

Analysis:

When doing some more research on the history of manifestation, I found that the concept has roots in the 19th-century New Thought movement. It was/is believed that the mind has the power to influence reality. I find this concept really interesting because although it has been around for a while, manifestation and the idea of self-improvement has become very popular among Gen-Z. I interpreted this phrase as a homeopathic superstition because the person saying the phrase is taking action against the possibility of a negative event from occurring. There is an idea in this phrase that “like produces like;” saying something negative will then lead to something negative happening to the person who said the negative thing. By saying the phrase “don’t put that into the universe” one is warning the other person on the possibility of their luck/fortune changing.