Tag Archives: Life cycle ritual

Indonesian Wedding Ritual

Text: “You know how at American weddings, the bride throws a bouquet? And whoever catches it is going to get married next. In my family, I think this originates from Indonesia, we buy a holy chicken, like a live chicken. They buy this chicken, it’s expensive, and they keep it at the house. The parents of the groom throw it and all the moms of those unmarried try to catch it. And whoever catches it, their kid is going to get married next. When I went to my cousin’s wedding back in New York, her mom insisted that she do this tradition, even though she found it very strange in Western context. I still have the video of the chicken being thrown, because we all thought it was ridiculous. But my mom told me that it is really sacred in Indonesian culture, and everyone in our family must participate in it.”

Context: The informant, KP, is half-Indonesian and has a very strong connection to her culture. She visits Indonesia with her family every summer and has become familiar with many Indonesian traditions. She describes this celebration as one that she learned when she was younger, at the first Indonesian wedding she went to. However, she has a lot of family in the United States, since her grandparents moved here, and they do this celebration at weddings here too. She said it sounds like a silly tradition to people on the outside, but in Indonesian culture, and her family specifically, it is a sacred ritual that they must do.

Analysis: 

This wedding ritual illustrates a life cycle celebration, specifically, marriage. It manifests this life cycle celebration as folk performance. The wedding is no longer about only the union of two people, but rather about showcasing cultural values, specifically surrounding family and social continuity. It is also about creating community in a sacred way, as ritualizing the act makes it much more significant. The ritual is passed down through generations, through repeated performance. 

This act is also rooted in homeopathic magic. The chicken is a representation of marriage, and catching the chicken transfers that marriage. In many cultures, animals can represent folk beliefs and hold symbolic power. The fact that the mothers are the ones catching the chicken also shows how marriage is not just about the bride and groom, but a communal affair, shaped by family and friends.

It also reaffirms the cultural belief in fate and the social pressure surrounding marriage and fertility, specifically for women. This is especially clear because the mothers are the ones catching the chicken, which reflects the cultural pressure placed on women to find their husband and start the next generation. Women are often both the agents and subjects of marriage rituals. In many cultures, women are the ones who have to perform the ritual, but they are also the most affected by the outcome. This highlights gender expectations about marriage and status in certain cultures. In this sense, the ritual is a reinforcement of patriarchal values, where women’s roles are tied to marriage, reproduction, and continuing a family.

This is also an example of an oicotype, as there are many regional variations of this wedding tradition. It is similar to the American tradition of throwing a bouquet, but it has a variation based on local beliefs. Specifically, in Indonesia, animals often hold sacred significance, which is why they have to use a “special” chicken. 

Sudani Tradition: On Weddings

Context:

G is a 20 years old Animation and Digital Arts major from Birmingham, UK. Members of his family immigrated to Birmingham from Sudan. He is a junior at USC and has been living in the area for 3 years.

Text:

Please excuse any grammar issues, these are direct text message quotes. 

G: “at a Sudani wedding the bride and the groom spit milk at each other that is presented by the matriarch of both families”

Interviewer: “by any chance do you know background on that?”

G: “for the life of me i can’t remember why but i do know that whoever spits first is the person who is supposedly ‘in charge in the relationship’ […] and it’s for like commitment to one another ”

Interpretation:

G’s anecdote references something we’ve discussed a number of times in class – wedding traditions. To me, the significance here draws clearly on a number of common themes in folklore. For one thing, milk is white – associated with purity like many things at a wedding. What’s more, its role in nature and the human life cycle associate it with health and growth. Sudan is patriarchal in its gender roles, so I feel that this meaning is emphasized by the fact that it is the matriarch (mother figure) of each family that gives the bride or groom the milk. This is an apparent reference again to life cycle and growing out of youth. Like G said, spitting it first shows commitment and authority, though the internet mentions prosperity as well. In general, it seems this tradition is one done for luck at a major life moment, a frequent folkloric concept.

Dim Sum Birthday Celebration

Informant: N.N

Nationality: American

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): N/A

Age: 19

Occupation: Student

Residence: Burbank, CA

Performance Date: 04/26/2024

N.N is 19 years old and is from Burbank, CA. I am close friends with his brother, so N.N is an acquaintance of mine.  I asked him if there are any festivals or rituals he participates in regularly. He tells me about a life cycle celebration / birthday ritual that his family does every year for his uncle’s birthday. 

“Oh, so in my family, we have this tradition that’s all about celebrating my Uncle B.’s birthday. It all started back when I was around 10. My mom offered we do this for Uncle B. and we just kept doing it. Every year we all get together and head out for dim sum around the afternoon. Honestly, it’s less about the birthday cake and more about stuffing ourselves with all kinds of dumplings. For me, it’s just a great excuse to eat good food and catch up with everyone.”

I think that this tradition of them getting together for dim sum is really about connecting with their Chinese heritage through a simple yet meaningful ritual. It’s also lets them bond over food and celebrate someone’s birthday together which is always a meaningful way to appreciate the simple joys of being with your family. Uncle B., from my knowledge, always played a big part in raising his nephews like N.N, and now that he has his own kids too, the family would want to show appreciation for him through this birthday ritual.

Bowing Down Twice

Nationality: Korean
Age: 50
Occupation: Professor
Residence: South Korea
Performance Date: April 25th, 2020
Primary Language: Korean

Context :

My informant is an adult female who was born in Seoul, South Korea. She received Korean education throughout her life and mainly speaks Korean. She believes in Buddhism and has been attending temple events for a long time. Her family also are Buddhist and follows the Buddhist way when it comes to events such as funerals and ancestral rites. Here, she is describing why bowing down only twice is important during a memorial rite or a funeral. This piece was collected over a phone call in Korean and was translated into English.

She told me that to understand this piece, you need to understand the Yin and the Yang (negative and positive) culture of Asian countries. Yin, is the power that is believed to be dark and negative, while Yang is the positive power. 

In Korean funerals or memorial rites, people only bow down twice. It is believed that one’s first bow means the Yang power and the second bow means the Yin power. This means that the first bow is only meant for the people who are living and the second bow is for the people who are dead and no longer in this ‘living’ world. Thus, when you bow down to the families of the dead, you only bow once because they are alive, and you bow down twice to show respect to the dead. Events that require bowing down and related to death such as a funeral or an ancestral rite will require bowing down twice. 

My informant also highlighted that all bows should be performed with the utmost respect because this is a matter of living and the dead. 

Analysis :

When I was young and attended funerals, I remember peeking through my arm to see how many times my parents were bowing down. I was sometimes confused because they would bow down once in some situations and would bow down twice in some situations. This connection of Yin and Yang with the funeral culture show how Asian countries strongly believe in the ‘powers’ of negativity and positivity and its connection to Confucianism; you need to have detailed and precise actions even when you are showing respect to your ancestors.

A twist on the traditional American birthday

Nationality: Japanese-American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/18/13
Primary Language: English

Ok… so we have a tradition in the family that—probably in the summer… at least the extended family on my mom’s side—we get together in the summer and we celebrate our birthday. It’s never really anyone’s actual birthday we just celebrate everyone’s birthday on one day because of convenience and it gives us an excuse to get together. Also it’s kind of hard for all of us to get together during the year because we’re all gettin’ older now and we all have stuff to do and we could never get together on birthdays so we just created one big family birthday. We all give gifts to each other—usually small with, like, cards or something. One year my cousin got me a uh… a pair of uh…  really cool earrings… like black and gold ones—really cool! I still wear them today actually. Um… but yeah it was just something we’ve always done, something we’ll keep on doing until the older cousins get married and move away. It had nothing to do in particular with sports or anything. It just was because none of us really had time given that one of our cousins moved to San Diego and lives two hours away, and getting together on actual birthdays is way more inconvenient so… we just get together on family birthday.

 

The traditional American birthday is celebrated on the day of the person’s birth (typically for the entire day). Gifts are presented to the person who gains a year of age on that day. Birthdays are some of the few times when it is perfectly and socially acceptable to shamelessly desire to be the center of attention.

 

Haley’s family alters the traditional American birthday celebration in multiple ways: unlike the traditional birthday, her family does not celebrate on the official day of birth. An acknowledgement of the arrival of said day takes place, but no one plans to do anything special. Gifts are not presented at this time, and, thus, this family tradition strays even further from the traditional American birthday. Finally, the “family birthday” for Haley’s family is not about one particular person but rather about all. The traditional focus on one individual finds no place in this family event. In contrast, the day Is more about community and the gathering of a busy family spread out over the state of California.