Tag Archives: customs

Name in the Honey Jar

Main Piece: 

“So when my grandma would think that someone had ill will towards you, she would write their name on a piece of paper and stick it in a jar of honey, and put it in the freezer. So it’s the idea that like, it would you know, ‘sweeten’ the person or like make them change their opinion [of you] or influence them in a way.”

Background: 

My informant is one of my friends who lives in Miami, Florida, and is of Cuban and Iranian heritage. This is a folk belief that her grandmother holds, and practices for both herself and the rest of my informant’s family members whenever they supposed someone had “ill will” towards them. This belief seems to have been passed down from my informant’s great-grandmother. When I asked if my informant believed in the custom, she confessed, “I think I want to believe it, it definitely gives me a sense of comfort,” then added, “I kind of feel like, ‘what do I have to lose by it?'”

Context: 

This piece was brought up when my informant and I were talking about the different kinds of superstitions we’d heard in our families growing up. Since she’d already told me a piece of Iranian folk beliefs from her father’s side, I asked if she knew any Cuban ones, and she provided me with the above piece. 

Thoughts: 

I’ve never heard of a custom like putting someone’s name into a jar of honey to “sweeten them,” so I enjoyed this folk belief for the content, but I also found it to be a good example of Homeopathic magic, whether my informant’s grandmother intended it or not. In this piece, the desired event is for the person intending to inflict ill will on— for example— my informant, to change their mind about doing so. In order to do that, my informant’s grandmother wrote the person’s name down on a slip of paper, and stuck it into a jar of honey, which is the mimetic action that is supposed to represent the kindness said person should show towards my informant instead of trying to inflict ill will. I’m not sure what putting the jar of honey in the freezer does, but the action of freezing could be to solidify the behavior that the person should show the informant without worrying that it will melt, and thus undo their way of thinking. 

However, this custom could also be interpreted as a combination of two types of magic: Homeopathic and Contagious. One element of the performance is to take the person’s name— which is deeply connected to their identity— by writing it down on paper. Contagious magic usually requires a physical part of someone’s body/identity, which can’t be done with a name, but it seems that writing it down is the equivalent of making it physical.

White Crysanthemum-Taiwan

“ Another Folk tradition or I guess a superstition is that you don’t give white chrysanthemums unless it’s someone’s funeral. If you do then it is considered extremely rude and you wish death on the person. While I was in Taiwan I don’t think I saw them in a normal flower shop but you have to order them specifically for a funeral.”

Context:

The informant found this information out while living abroad in Taiwan and asking his host father what flowers to get for his host mother’s birthday. He warned him anything but the white chrysanthemums.

Analysis:

I find it odd that a flower can symbolize such a harsh meaning, and typically when I think of a funeral I think of dark colors, black usually, not a beautiful white flower. This is a very unique folk custom that I believe is mainly tied to Taiwanese culture. 

Red Envelope- Lunar New Year

“This is a custom I have experienced myself. I lived in China for a few months on a scholarship through the US State Department to study Mandarin. While I was there I lived with a host family and one thing they did, that everyone in China does is give red envelopes during the Lunar New Year celebration. It’s supposed to symbolize good fortune and luck for the upcoming year. My host mother told me, “只给新钱,” or to only give clean new bills that haven’t been wrinkled or torn or clean shiny coins.” 

Context:

I learned this while studying abroad in Zhuhai, China. It is a city about 40 minutes away from Hong Kong by ferry. I experienced a Lunar New Year celebration and received a few red envelopes from my host family and friends on the program. 

Analysis:

This is a very widely practiced and celebrated custom. I feel so grateful to have experienced it in China where it originated thousands of years ago. I actually introduced my family at home to it and we do red envelopes now every Chinese Lunar New year.

The Rodeo Queen

Context

The interviewee is one of my housemates and we often engage in conversation about our different hometowns. This folklore about a festival comes from a dinner where the house was sharing various stories from our childhood.

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Performance

The following is transcribed from the story told by the interviewee.

“In my hometown, we had a frolic and rodeo. There were lasso cows and ride bucking broncos and barrel racing. And at the Rodeo, they would select a Rodeo Queen that will represent the rodeo until the next year. And there is always a parade right before the rodeo of all the log trucks in my hometown that would drive down the main street. And you get to eat carnival food and do the classic carnival things”

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Analysis

Carnivals are fairly common around America. What I found unique about his story were the log trucks that were paraded around. This is very specific to his hometown of Philomath where logging is the main source of income for the people that live there. Putting log trucks on display and parading them around shows how the people recognize the importance of that industry and how they celebrate it. It is meant to reinforce and instill a sense of pride in people of the industry that their town relies on. While it can seem like a festival about fun and games, it is very much about building a spirit of community and getting everyone to gather around a single and common idea. To have a Rodeo Queen is an example of creating a symbol is which people can rally around. And while America is clearly not a monarchy anymore, the concept of it is used in order to build a sense of hometown belonging.

Broken Ceramic, Broken Hearts

Context

This was an incident that occurred during my cousin’s wedding that caused quite a bit of argument within the family. ‘Jie’ refers to my older sister. The interview is with my mother as I get her to recount the incident.

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Performance

The following is transcribed from a conversation between me, (M), and my mother, the interviewee (I).

M: Do you remember the time you got really upset at jie about the gift she tried to give Dixie?

I: Yes that was really bad.

M: Can you tell me about the gift and why you were so upset?

I: She tried to give Dixie a pair of ceramic cups that she had made as a wedding gift. But! One of the cups had a crack in it. I told her to either remake it or don’t give it at all. Because it’s bad luck in Chinese tradition to give something that is broken on her wedding. And you know Dixie, she is superstitious, and you cannot do that during a wedding.

M: What ended up happening to the gift?

I: Your jie still insisted on giving it so I had to hide it during the wedding itself and not give it to Dixie. You cannot do things like that, especially at a Wedding.

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Analysis

I remember very clearly this being a huge moment of contention between my mother and sister. My sister had put in days of work in order to create something homemade and special for our favorite cousin on her wedding day, and my mother seeing the broken ceramic cup and refusing to let my sister gift it on the wedding day. I think this shows how superstition across generations can change and how it can create moments of tension. While my sister was not a superstitious person, my mother was and she knew that my cousin was as well and thus could not allow such a gift to be given. It was also a reflection of the family and my mother felt that it would’ve reflected badly on her if she had allowed such a gift to be giving by her own daughter. The superstition comes from Chinese beliefs where everything must be seen as auspicious. From the color red that must be present everywhere on the wedding day, to the multitudes of rituals of tea pouring that must be done in the correct order.