Monthly Archives: January 2011

Legend – France

Nationality: Caucasian, French
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Summit, NJ
Performance Date: April 18, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: French

Legend: La Velue

“My mother used to scare me into doing things by threatening that the monster “La Velue” would come after me.  It was basically this big, shaggy, monster with these poisonous spike/stinger kinds of things that hung from its body.  My mom told me that it was this weird animal thing that survived the legendary flooding without being on Noah’s Ark.”

Gillian told me about the French legend of “La Velue”, a clearly frightening monster that would appear to be incredibly scary to children.  She told me that when translated, “La Velue” means “Hairy one”, or “Shaggy Beast.”  As she described, “La Velue” is a legendary monster in French culture that is known for having survived the Biblical flood without joining the other animals on Noah’s Ark.  Gillian later elaborated that La Velue survived the flood by hiding in a cave in France.

Gillian explained that when she was little, if she misbehaved or didn’t do her chores, her parents would scare her by saying “I would listen to me if I were you, or you’ll get caught by La Velue.”  Here, her parents even combined the legend with a little rhyme to taunt Gillian.  By threatening her in this way, her parents remind her of how scary the monster is and how terrible her fate would be if she didn’t do the things she was told.  Also, by pairing the legend with a short little rhyme, her parents made it seem like the legend had even more validity because it came in multiple forms (legend and poem), and therefore must be known by many to be true.

Gillian told me that her mom learned the legend of La Velue from her parents, who are French.  The legend apparently has passed down through many generations and is well-known in France.  However the legend was never commonly used to threaten children, and this trend seemed only to exist in Gillian’s family.  In France, La Velue is used more as an excuse for bad things happening, almost as bad luck.  Velue would be blamed for creating such problems.  La Velue is also known in Portuguese cultures where it is called “La Peluda.”  (The legends of the two monsters, however, seem to be incredibly similar.) Though it is unknown how the legend spread, it is clear that this seems to be a legend that is known and told throughout many cultures.

When her Gillian’s mother had Gillian, she decided to continue the use of the legend of La Velue because it had worked when she was a child and scared her into behaving very well.  Gillian’s mother had also learned a lot about other legendary American creatures, like the Boogie Monster, and thought the concept was comparable.  Gillian got used to hearing about La Velue throughout her childhood, and says it is probably a legend she will share with her kids, as well.

The legend of La Velue proves to be effective because of the way it scares children.  In many cultures around the world, parents look for ways to discipline their children.  La Velue, like other legendary creatures, works very well because it slightly torments the children without actually harming them.  Though La Velue is a unique monster and known only in French and Portuguese cultures, the concept signifies a trend all over the world that is used in raising children.

Legend

Nationality: Caucasian, French
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Summit, NJ
Performance Date: April 18, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: French

Legend:

“Basically I heard this story that if you swim in a pool, you can get pregnant.  I think the legend goes that once a nun went swimming in a pool and got pregnant, so now people think that if you go swimming, you can get pregnant, too.”

Though she isn’t religious, Gillian told me that she heard this legend from a couple friends she had in middle school.  She said that one of her friends of her general group of friends, who was very religious said she heard the story from her parents, who received it in a funny email.  Though neither she nor her parents actually believe the legend, she were amused by it and told it to their friends.  She, Gillian, and the rest of their group from then on referenced the legend whenever they were near a pool or talking about swimming.

The legend seems to contain much irony because according to Christian belief, nuns aren’t supposed to engage in sexual intercourse, and therefore, aren’t ever supposed to get pregnant.  However, when the story came around that a nun went swimming and somehow got pregnant, it obviously became very interested and peculiar news.  If this had been a story about a random person who had gotten pregnant after swimming, it may not have had the same effect.  By including a nun, the legend seems to become much more powerful because nuns are known for not getting pregnant, and therefore the story is particularly intriguing.

This legend also seems particularly amusing to Gillian and her friends because they were at an age at which they were just learning about puberty.  Though Gillian’s friends’ parents were only slightly amused by it, Gillian and her friends were the ones who really engaged in retelling the story over and over.  This is most likely because as young girls, they were just learning about menstruation, sex, and pregnancy.  At this age, these topics seem somewhat taboo, scary, or awkward to talk about.  By participating in telling this story, they are showing a natural curiosity and interest in unknown human functions and topics that are typically left for adults to discuss.  Also, by joking around about such a taboo topic, the girls eliminate any embarrassment because subconsciously they know the story is ridiculous, as well.  However, by pretending the story is real and going along with it, they then make it less embarrassing to discuss any other beliefs or stories they heard about these topics and won’t feel as stupid about sharing anything ridiculous that they happen to hear.  In general, while this story clearly isn’t true, it’s a striking and peculiar legend that proves to be very amusing to young girls and those who discuss beliefs about pregnancy and amusing tales related to these types of bodily functions.  It also provides an amusing kind of joke about religion due to its contradictory nature.

Ethnic Jokes

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Morristown, NJ
Performance Date: April 8, 2008
Primary Language: English

Ethnic Jokes:

  • “Why do they put cotton balls under medicine caps?”

“To remind n*ggers they picked cotton before they sold drugs.”

  • “What do you call two dozen n*ggers working in a cotton field under the blazing sun?”

“Old-fashioned farming equipment!”

My friend told me these racist cotton jokes that she had heard from other friends or saw on TV.  She said that jokes like these are really common among youth, probably around the ages from 16-25, or any age older depending on how racist the person is/how much of a sense of humor they have.  She said that there is an endless amount of racist jokes, specifically jokes about African-Americans, that are exchanged all the time for amusement.

These jokes in particular deal with the reputation of African Americans having been brought to America to work as slaves on plantations.  Most often, the plantation owners were trying to grow cotton, which is why cotton is so often one of the topics referenced in these types of jokes.  In joking about cotton, one is making a direct reference to their past occupation.

By linking it with today’s items, such as medicine and farming equipment, one is carrying the racism from hundreds of years ago to present day.  In referring to farming equipment, one is saying that they are essentially worth nothing more than to work in the fields, as they did back during the time of slavery.  Also, by referring to medicine as drugs, one is equating the racism employed by plantation owners to the racism employed by people today who associate drug dealing with particular racial stereotypes.

These jokes are made even more crude and offensive by including the term “n*gger.”  This is a derogatory way of saying “African-American” or “black” and makes other races seem superior.  Though people often tell these jokes solely for humor, they still represent the roots of racism.  By referring to this race in this particular way, the storyteller is inadvertently promoting his/her race or occupation instead, and therefore feels better about himself.  However what some people may not realize when telling these jokes, even if it is only out of humorous intent, is that slavery and racism still exist in parts of the world today, and people still take offense to this type of language.

Family Tradition

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 64
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Essex Falls, NJ
Performance Date: April 24, 2008
Primary Language: English

Family Tradition:

“The family has had a tradition of having the children attend dinner parties.  After dinner, the youngest child was passed around the table from lap to lap.  As each adult was visited, he or she had to continue a story directly from the parting words of the previous adult.  Each adult made the story as difficult to continue as possible.  (This was actually true in the era of FZO.)”

This emailed description of an older LeCates family tradition elaborates on a type of storytelling ceremony for the children in the family.  My family has always enjoyed dinner parties as long as I can remember, and as long as my father can remember.  My family would often invite over our extended family or family friends in the area to enjoy dinner and cocktails for an evening in order to relax on the weekends.  As my father describes above, when he was a child, his family was in the habit of continuing a tradition of allowing the children to attend the dinner parties, and using them as a way of telling stories to provide amusement at the end of the evening.

When I was little, I had been told that children are not generally allowed at dinner parties, and they are mainly a way for adults to interact, communicate, and enjoy themselves.  So when I heard about this older tradition that I had never taken part in, (The youngest living member to act in it was “FZO,” as stated above, a nickname for my second oldest sibling and brother Chris) I was slightly surprised.  Children are often looked down upon as being uncivilized, loud, obnoxious, and particularly disrupting when it comes to mature adult gatherings.

This tradition, however, uses children in a way that allows them to participate while still having an amusing time.  By passing the child around the table to each guest in turn, the child delights in taking part in the activity as opposed to being rejected for the night, and the adults get to take part in entertainment.  By including the concept of each individual continuing the story (Most likely with a sentence or two), and with increasing difficulty, the adults devise a way for them to also be entertained by each other in a more mature fashion that still involves the children, than if they simply told a normal story.  The adults are given the opportunity to outwit and stump each other, and the child gets to participate.

Since it is also clear that since this tradition usually comes at the end of the night, one can assume that a substantial amount of alcohol had been consumed throughout dinner.  This adds to the comedy of the tradition and the humor that comes from sharing ridiculous stories.  In involving only the youngest child, the adults don’t have to bother with either holding another heavy human being, or creating embarrassing innuendos that an older child might be appalled by.   Furthermore, by continuing this tradition at every dinner party, the adults of the family create numerous amusing stories which involve much variation and humor.  Though I never got to partake in this ritual, it is obvious that has been an amusing and well-received LeCates family tradition.

Occupational Joke

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 53
Occupation: Doctor
Residence: Boonton Township, NJ
Performance Date: March 25, 2008
Primary Language: English

Occupational Joke

“My dad is a doctor, so he always tells these ridiculous and corny doctor jokes.  They’re really cheesy, but he is really nice and has a good sense of humor, so people usually laugh or giggle (or so he says.)  One of his favorite jokes that I know he uses a lot, and has used on me, is when if a patient is injured, he’ll do an action and ask the patient to imitate that action.  After having done so, he asks if that hurt the injured area.  When the patient says yes, he goes “Well then don’t do that!”

This joke is an example of occupational folklore because its context relates specifically to an occupation that is involved (here, doctor.)  While the joke is not aimed at, or about doctors, I would still classify it in this category because it is still humor that relates to sickness, injury, etc.  It is clear that Jeff has a good sense of humor and uses these jokes regularly to try to cheer patients up.  This is reasonable and to be expected from a man with a sense of humor because when a patient comes to an office with an issue, they are most likely upset about the issue and a joke would cheer them up.

This particular joke is a witty play on logic.  When Jeff asks the patient to do an action and then proceeds to ask if that hurt, he is performing what seems to be a typical procedure that doctors follow in order to attempt to figure out specifically what kind of issue a patient may be having.  However, if the patient does the action, and responds to Jeff that yes, that hurt the injured area, he uses this to make a joke.  When he responds “Well then don’t do that!” he is playing with logic in multiple ways.  First of all, he makes it seem as if the patient chose to willingly perform the action on their own without having been asked to.  Secondly, he also makes it seem as if the patient is the one creating the pain as opposed to an injury itself that he/she could no longer control.  Lastly, the joke is ironic because the patient only goes to the doctor in the first place to get the injury fixed, and saying “Well then don’t do that!” is hardly a way to fix an injury.

This joke seems to be humor that most patients should be able to appreciate.  As Dolyn says, “or se he says,” (about the patients appreciating the humor) she implies that the joke has a corny tone to it and maybe not everyone would really find it to be that funny.  Also, some patients may simply lack a strong sense of humor while in an injured state, and wouldn’t appreciate it for that simple reason.  However, this joke is still representative of an array of occupational jokes that doctors probably use to try to ease the pain of the patients and encourage them to cheer up despite their injuries.  Whether the humor is appreciated or not, it is apparent that jokes like these are often told by doctors to make patients feel more comfortable in their presence as well we making their own personality seem more likeable so that the patient is likely to return in the future after remembering the good cheer that he provided.