Tag Archives: magic

The tale of the Stuttgarter Ratskeller

Text: “One popular legend in Stuttgart, Germany is the tale of the Stuttgarter Ratskeller. According to the legend, the Ratskeller (City Hall cellar) was once home to basically a group of goblins or dwarfs known as the Stuttgarter Männle. The story goes that these goblins would steal food, spill wine, and generally wreak havoc. The citizens of Stuttgart tried everything they could to get rid of the Männle, but nothing worked. One day, a cook came up with a plan. He prepared a large vat of stew and laced it with a potent sleeping potion. He then placed the stew in the Ratskeller, where the Männle could smell it from their hiding place in the cellar. As soon as the Männle tasted the stew, they fell into a deep sleep, and the cook quickly sealed the cellar shut with a large stone slab. The Männle were trapped inside, never to cause trouble again. The Stuttgarter Ratskeller is still sealed and people say that the goblins still sleep beneath the city streets.”

Context: BA is one of my closest friends and was very happy to be sharing folklore from his hometown. Apparently, this is a very very popular folk tale that is told even to tourists visiting Stuttgart. BA was told this story by his mother when he was about 8 years old and BA claims he always thought it was funny. He always knew it was not a true story but also thought it was very cool how an effort was made to keep the ratskellar closed. He also recalls how when he was little he was more keen on the possibility of the story being real but now he obviously knows it is untrue. BA believes this is a tale more suited for younger audiences and tourists unfamiliar with the folklore of Stuttgart.

Analysis: This was a very fun tale and I actually found myself to be very intrigued. BA was also very well versed when telling it, which showed me it was an important piece of folklore from his hometown. The story is typically told by locals and tour guides who want to share the city’s rich history and culture with others, but it is kept alive within the community itself usually from a mother or father to their own children. The legend of the Stuttgarter Ratskeller is an example of a classic folk tale that tells the story of mischievous creatures who are eventually defeated by human ingenuity. The tale reflects a common theme in folklore where humans overcome supernatural forces using their intelligence and cunning. The story of the Stuttgarter Männle is also a way for the people of Stuttgart to connect with their past and honor their ancestors. The city has a long and storied history, and the legend of the Stuttgarter Ratskeller is one way for the people of Stuttgart to remember their past and preserve their cultural heritage. Additionally, the legend of the Stuttgarter Männle is a fun and entertaining story that captures the imagination of both children and adults. The tale has been retold in many different forms, including plays, books, and movies, and it continues to be a beloved part of Stuttgart’s folklore. But, from what BA told me, it seems to be more suited for a younger audience.

Spoon Under Pillow for Snow

CONTEXT: TL is a fourth year student at USC. He is originally from Connecticut and first heard of this ritual from his classmates in elementary school. He does not believe that it works, and no longer participates in the ritual, but did for a short time as a child.

TEXT:

TL: So back in elementary school the night before a projected snow day, I would always put a spoon under my pillow as a superstition for snow. I also did the wear pajamas inside out too, and I learned this from my classmates who told me about doing that. This was like first or second grade.

Me: Do you still do this now?

TL: No

Me: why not?

TL: Because superstition does not impact whether or not it is a snow day. The weather impacts whether or not it is a snow day. And the judgment of the school board is what determines if it’s a snow day or not. I stopped doing this at probably 8 or 9. It was just any spoon I had in the kitchen.

ANALYSIS: This is a ritual that I have heard of before. It is a piece of children’s folklore ritual with the intent of creating enough snow that it is not possible to make it in to school. This is from a time before virtual school days, and in a region of the U.S. that gets a fair amount of snow per year. Snow days probably appear illogical and a little bit random to young kids who do not follow the weather, but as they grow older and begin to follow weather predictions and understand that how snow days are determined, the mystery disappears and so does the magic quality of the ritual. It is a sign of growing older categorized by the end of the mystery and the end of school.

Fortune Keeping

Context:

A is a Pre-med biology major at USC, currently a freshman. A is a Vietnamese American who grew up in Vancouver, Washington a short drive from Portland, Oregon. 

Text:

A: Okay, so I’ve learned this at a very young age, but my family has told me that fortunes come true. Like, the fortune in the fortune cookies. I keep the slip of paper in my pocket like, as a way to make it come true. Keeping it with me helps make sure the fortune will come true, but if I don’t want this fortune to come true, I won’t keep it. 

Me: Do you ever lose them?

A: I keep them for as long as I think I need the fortune. Like, if I think it came true, then I’ll throw it away. 

Analysis:

The fortune tellers A is talking about are finely printed words, usually in a vague phrase or arrangement, that come from restaurant complementary cookies. As fortune telling is a way of predicting or controlling the future, I think what A experiences reading a fortune teller is something along the lines of superstition and homeopathic magic. Fortune tellers are usually signs, a specific message from the universe or time or fate telling you something important will happen. A believes this sign and wants this future to be his, so fortune tellers encourage some change in behavior to bring about that important thing. To bring fortune into reality, it is important for A to keep evidence of the future (the fortune paper) with him, as if to constantly be summoning it into his reality. Through this “like produces like,” A believes the paper in his possession (representing good fortune) will eventually produce what is predicted on the paper (actual good fortune). For A, he associates the paper with telling the future and keeps the fortune with him to invite the future to happen. He chooses to indulge in a sense of control or a kind of understanding over the world, where there is usually something wholly unpredictable. 

Coins on the Ground

Context:                                                    

O is a Pre-med biology major at USC, currently a freshman. O is a Vietnamese American who grew up in Vancouver, Washington — a short drive from Portland, Oregon. 

Text:

Me: Do you have anything you collect or do for good luck?

O: Yeah, actually I collect coins. Not just pennies, but like all kinds of coins.

Me: Really? How do you find them?

O: It’s really ridiculous, I just pick them up from the ground and keep them in my pocket, because I think they will bring me good luck.

Me: From the ground?

O: Yeah, they would be lying on the ground while I’m walking and I’ll pick them up, put them in my pockets.

Me: Do you keep the pennies forever?

O: No. I take them out and put them back on the ground once I think I don’t need the luck anymore. Like, the luck can go to someone else. 

Analysis:

O demonstrates some form of sympathetic magic. He connects receiving luck to picking up coins from the ground, both how lucky he is to find the coin and the luck the coin itself gives him. The luck O has that initially gives him the coin is somehow transferred into the coin, where there is some exchange between him and the coin that gives him luck with the penny as a conduit, collecting and releasing luck for anyone to pick up. The idea of quantifying luck or magic seems like contagious/contact magic, where magic or superstition can transfer from one person to the next with the penny is added as a middle man. Keeping the coin is somehow magic that ensures the luck will be sustained in him while giving it away is also magic, ensuring that luck will be passed on to the next person. If luck was the contagion of magic, the coin would be patient zero.

乖乖 the Taiwanese Snacks

Background:
The informant is a 21-year-old woman who lives in Taiwan. When asked about some folk beliefs that she knows, she told the collector about a superstition regarding a brand of Taiwanese snacks and machines.

Text:
Collector: Do you know any folk beliefs?

Informant: Oh yeah. This happened couple days ago in the office where I’m interning for. There was this copy machine that was always jammed and apparently the manager tried to fix it many times already. The machine was jammed again and after the manager fixed it, he asked me to grab a bag of 乖乖 (kuai kuai) from convenience store.

Collector: Can you describe what 乖乖 is and why did he ask you to do so?

Informant: 乖乖 is this snack made out of corn i think. It has many different flavors and it’s really popular in Taiwan. As of why he told me to do that, it’s because the brand name 乖乖 means to be obedient. He put the 乖乖 on top of the copy machine to tell the machine to behave. I know a lot of other occupations do the same thing. I’ve seen bus drivers, scientists, and some stores on top of their cash registers.

Analysis:
The Taiwanese folk belief regarding the snack 乖乖 and machines is a form of homeopathic magic. By putting something that literally says “behave” on top of something that is not behaving, the performer of the magic attempts to change the current status of a machine according to his or her want, which is for the machine to stop malfunctioning. Besides magic, reception theory proposed by Stuart Hall can be utilized to further analyze the popular superstition in Taiwan. 乖乖 is a snack that is meant to be eaten; however, the consumers of the snack give a new meaning towards the product that the producer never intended for it to be. For more information and picture reference, please read this BBC article.