Piece: Interviewer: “Where did you learn the superstition about waiting thirty minutes after eating to go in the ocean?” Informant: “Oh, that? Everybody did. You would be struck dead, I mean you would… you would seize up in a cramp and go to the bottom. I mean, we all lived in fear of that. I… Continue Reading »
The informant is a student from my folklore class, and we ended up meeting and exchanging stories and superstitions one night. Original Script “Barriga llena, corazón contento” Transliteration “Belly full, heart happy” Translation “If your stomach is full of food, then your heart is content” Background & Analysis This is a saying that the informant’s mom says,… Continue Reading »
The belief: “If go swimming after you eat, you’ll drown.” The informant doesn’t remember where he heard this rumor, but he thinks it was probably from a friend’s mother during his childhood. He doesn’t think it’s true now, though. In my opinion, I think this is a popular statement told to children by their… Continue Reading »
“M” is 21 year old male student at the University of Southern California, where he is a Junior studying Animation and minoring in Philosophy. M is originally from the outskirts of New York state where he describes himself as living in a rural area. He described himself as going to a high school of ~60… Continue Reading »
Context: The informant, who is Buddhist, gave a presentation at a recent retreat on spirituality that I had gone on. I asked to meet with him to talk about other Buddhist principles and lore that he had not gone over at the retreat. Interview Transcript: Informant: So, again, I was raised Buddhist. So my parents… Continue Reading »