Monthly Archives: March 2011

Superstition

Nationality: German
Occupation: Student
Residence: Seattle, WA
Performance Date: April 05, 2008
Primary Language: English

When you are on a boat or ship a lot of sailors think its bad luck to have bananas on board. Bananas at see are bad luck and can bring bad fishing/ bad catch and sickness to the crew. We never had bananas on board our ship the captain wouldn’t allow it.

Julia learned this about this superstition when she spent a semester at sea through the semester at sea program this past fall. She spent three months sailing around the world but never once was allowed to bring bananas on the boat. She said it was one of the rules associated with traditional nautical superstitions. She was told by the crew how the superstition came to be.

About a hundred or so years ago banana boats used to travel really quickly between the Caribbean and the east coast ports in the United States. The boats traveled fast to keep the bananas from going bad before the reached market. The boats traveled so fast that fisherman never caught anything when trolling for fish from the banana boats. Therefore fisherman believed that bananas on board a boat meant a bad catch.

Julia also said that she was told by some less superstitious crew members that bananas, if grown with out pesticides, often are home to lots of bugs and parasites some which can make the people on board really sick. So it is better to not bring the bananas on board period. It just keeps the crew and passengers from the possibility of a banana related sickness.

I find this superstition very unique. Julia’s explanation of the origin provides a terminus post-quem for the folklore. Folklorists know that this superstition must have started after the discovery of the Americas and American occupation in Cuba, Puerto Rico and/or other tropical islands close to the East Coast based on this specific story of its origin. I would not be surprised if the superstition dates back even earlier because sailing is an ancient practice and it is difficult to determine if the superstition were around based on a different reason before the banana boats came to be.

The term banana boat has infiltrated consumer society in the United States and the tourism industry in beach vacation destinations. A popular sunscreen brand is named Banana Boat and has a wide variety of products all advertised with a beach vacation lifestyle. Banana Boats are also popular tourist attractions in Mexico. Usually Banana Boats are a modified inflatable inner tube in the shape of a banana that 3 to 4 people straddle. The banana boat is tied to a larger boat with an engine that pulls the banana inner tube around at high speeds with the objective of seeing who can stay on the boat the longest.

This superstition, like many others is probably not going to go away soon. Although the original banana boats are no longer in use and are no longer associated with a bad catch the fact that this superstition has been around for so long and is still held by many sailors and crew (who tend to take superstitions very seriously) makes me believe that it will stick around for many more years to come.

Tradition

Nationality: Irish
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Scottsdale, AZ
Performance Date: April 13, 2008
Primary Language: English

In the Greek system when a sorority and a fraternity member are in a serious romantic relationship the fraternity guy can “pin” his girlfriend. Every system has different variations of the same basic tradition. Basically, when the guy wants to pin his girl friend he tells the president of his house who tells the president of the sorority that the girlfriend is in. They keep it a secret from the girlfriend while planning the pinning. Then one night after the chapter meeting, when the entire house is present the president will announce to the sorority to head downstairs to the dining room for a special ceremony. Right away everyone knows that it’s a pinning. All the girls make a large circle in the dining room and turn the lights down low. The president lights a candle and it is passed around the room and passed past the girl getting pinned, once it passes her the candle switches direction and moves back towards the girl to be pinned. Once the girl has it in her hand her sisters to her left and right blow the candle out, the house claps.

Once this happens the president opens the door and members of the boyfriend’s fraternity come in one by one usually dressed in suits, each with a single rose in their hand. Each brother hands the rose to the girlfriend and gives her a smile and a hug. Lastly the boyfriend comes usually with a bouquet of roses and kisses his girlfriend. Next the two closest friends of the boyfriend and the girlfriend tell stories about the relationship between them, funny, serious, anecdotal etc. Lastly the boyfriend tells his girlfriend how much he loves her and gives her his fraternity pin as a symbol of his commitment to her and her official invitation into the fraternity’s family. This is the end of the ceremony, however each fraternity has a different variation of this basic ceremony.

I have witnessed 3 girls get pinned from my sorority in this past year. The particular pinning described above was the most formal and respectful. The other pinnings were less formal and frankly, more embarrassing for the girl. Because each house cultivates its own traditions each pinning will differ depending on the house. To pin your girlfriend was once synonymous with proposing; however with time it has lost a lot of that connotation.

Currently, when a girl is pinned it means that her boyfriend is putting her first in his life. He is putting her before the brotherhood, which is a very big step for any fraternity brother. When initiated brothers take a vow of allegiance to the fraternity and pinning is one of the ways to respectfully break the vow. Also, symbolized by the rose received by each brother, when a girl is pinned she is welcomed into the house, into the family of that particular fraternity. Usually only juniors or seniors are pinned. The couple has usually been dating for more than a year as well. Pinnings don’t happen unless the relationship is very serious and long term.

Pinning is a public display of affection and commitment accepted in the Greek community and an active tradition. For sororities pinning usually embodies the girlish fantasy of a wonderful boyfriend who isn’t afraid to show how he feels, and secretly, every girl wants to be pinned at some point.

Tradition – Russian

Nationality: Irish
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Quicny, MA
Performance Date: April 01, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Russian

Traditionally, in Russian weddings receptions there is a tradition to determine who the head of the household will be. The bride and the groom both are given bread and salt from their parents. Together they (the bread and salt) are supposed to symbolize good health. The bride and groom have to take a bite of the bread and whoever takes the biggest bite of the bread supposed to be the head of the household or family. Sometimes the bread and salt are given after the civil ceremony, depends on the family.

Tom first heard about this custom from his Russian professor here at USC. Although he has never attended a traditional Russian wedding his professor has talked extensively about the differences between Russian weddings and American weddings. Tom thinks that the bread and salt were first used during the communist regime when bread and salt were scarce items and highly prized. Giving bread as a gift came to symbolize wealth, prosperity and good health (if you could afford the bread and salt you were probably in good health is the assumption Tom made).

Similarly Tom thinks that who ever can take a bigger bite of the bread, symbolizing a bigger part of health and prosperity and therefore heading the family. Usually this would be the man as men tend to have larger jaws. Tom also mentioned that if a woman took the bigger bite it might mean that she would have lots of children. Because she would be home with the children most she might be seen as the head of the household. Tom says this tradition is still carried on today but is merely for entertainment and fun rather than a means to predict a couple’s life together.

Traditions and customs in weddings are usually meant more for entertainment and are usually taken lightheartedly. This attitude however, differs depending on the religious association with the wedding. In Russia, the government does not recognize religious weddings therefore a civil ceremony is required. Because religion is removed from the ceremony, I think, Russians take more liberty in providing entertainment for entertainment’s sake rather than rituals based on religious orders. The Russian wedding traditionally is more focused on the reception and the playful nature between the bride and groom, the families, and friends. This tradition exemplifies the nature of the Russian attitude towards weddings.

Festival – Brazil

Nationality: Chinese, American, Brazilian
Age: 49
Occupation: Financial Advisor
Residence: Ossining, NY
Performance Date: April 22, 2008
Primary Language: Portuguese
Language: English, Chinese

Brazilian Carnaval

“Carnival is held four days prior to Ash Wednesday, which is the mark of the beginning of Lent. So, carnival can be considered as an act of farewell to the pleasures of the flesh as you remember from the Christian studies. Brazilian carnival is very distinct, because it has used the occasion to express its culture and regional manifestations.

Carnival is a national festivity, but more to the young people. Families look more for peaceful places to rest, such as beaches and resorts.  It’s a common that businesses only start after carnival, since it usually takes place in the beginning of the year sometime in February. So, nobody wants to do much before carnival. Carnival happens in the summer, so the dress code is very casual, even in the expensive clubs. Men typically wear t-shirts, shorts, sandals, shirt, and pants. Women wear semi naked to very casual dress.

The famous carnival is in Rio, where there are the famous samba schools, very large well financed organizations that work the entire year in preparation for carnival. They parade over four entire nights as part of the official competition. In the northeast, specifically in Bahia, the carnival is different, but also very famous. The fun takes place more in the streets, where trucks are equipped with giant speakers and a platform where musicians play, called “trio eletrico”.  Massive numbers of people follow the trucks singing and dancing. The music is also different in the northeast. They have many regional rhythms, including axe and frevo especially.

I spent almost all carnival during my college time in the northeast, especially in Bahia and Pernambuco. My best trip was a almost 30 days or more travelling with 3 friends in a trailer and a jeep from SP to Rio Grande do Norte, which is the farthest tip of northeastern Brazil. During carnival, we enjoyed the street fun, went to clubs sometimes, and also enjoyed the beaches which are beautiful and vast in the northeast as you know. Tried a lot of typical northeast food (very spicy, lots of seafood) and learned some of their culture, although at that time we were more interested in fun like you. You can imagine carnival, the dirt and lack of hygiene, which lasted four days in the streets, were the only drawbacks that I can remember.” – Peter Wen

Analysis:

My dad told me about this history of this festival, which did not originally start in Brazil. The word carnival dates back hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Catholics in Italy started this tradition of holding a wild costume festival right before the first day of Lent. Because Catholics are not supposed to eat meat during Lent, they called their festival “carnevale,” which means “to put away the meat.”  The word is derived from the Latin words, “carne vale.” As time progressed, carnivals in Italy became famous and spread to other Catholic parts of Europe. As these European countries started to colonize parts of the Americas, the tradition of celebrating the carnival spread into those regions as well. The Portuguese brought Carnaval to Brazil. It is the last week to partake in festivities before the period of “quaresma,” a time when Catholics celebrate Lent and cannot have sex or eat meat. He even mentioned how the popularity of Carnaval has influenced another festivity-related event, Carnatal. This festival usually takes place before Carnaval, during the month of December in Natal (the capital of the Reio Grande do Norte state in the very northeast of Brazil). The name combines the words “carnaval” and “Natal.” During this festival, people also play traditional Carnaval music and dance and sing in the streets for about a week’s span. As we learned in class, this would exemplify the idea of multiplicity and variation since these Brazilian festivals sprung from the original Carnival celebrated in Europe.

My dad elaborated more about his memories of Carnaval than the actual history of the festival (he has lived in Brazil for approximately 20 years). Both locals and tourists engage in the same activities, some of which include dancing, singing, and feasting. He says:

“But one thing I can say about the people I saw on the streets, at the clubs and everywhere is that they wanted to have fun more than ever during those four days, like the farewell party. They forget the sadness of their lives and throw themselves into partying and whatever else comes during those days. My first time in the northeast during the Carnaval time was very unique. Being Asian and very few in those areas at that time, I could call attention wherever I went, specifically when I exposed myself sometimes dancing on the tables around the hundreds of kiosks, which was common for carnival on the streets. Friends who travelled with me were fun and also intellectual, so we had good debates during our trips, although less in degree if I compare to the States.  Those years of travelling were important to me as a way to learn to be more independent and confident, since I was still leaving with my parents until coming to the States, a different concept in Brazil. In addition, seeing different parts of the country, I felt more Brazilian and understood more of what Brazil was all about.”

The week of Carnaval is explored in the article, “Sex and Violence in Brazil: ‘carnaval, capoeira,’ and the Problem of Everyday Life,” by J. Lowell. This article basically explores how the themes of sex and violence are manifested in the annual festival of Carnaval and the traditional Brazilian dance, capoeria. It is a popular misconception to think that Brazilian Carnaval is “the furthest possible departure from the ordinary experience.” (540) This article tries to argue the contrary; that the rituals and traditions performed during Carnaval accurately reflect the everyday Brazilian experience.

The festival is much more than just a week of partying as demonstrated in the article. It is important for both native Brazilians and tourists to be aware of the festival’s origins and develop an appreciation for its religious and cultural meanings. According to a Brazilian friend of mine at USC, most young people today learn about the history of Carnaval from their history or Portuguese teachers, rather than their parents, which shows how uninformed native Brazilians are about their own culture’s traditions, let alone tourists who are generally more interested in the partying aspect than the historical significance.

Annotation: Lowell, J. “Sex and Violence in Brazil: ‘Carnaval, Capoeira,’ and the Problem of Everyday Life.” American Ethnologist (1999). JSTOR. 22 Apr. 2008.

Tradition/Food – Chinese

Nationality: Chinese, American, Brazilian
Age: 47
Occupation: ESL Teacher
Residence: Ossining, NY
Performance Date: April 15, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin, Cantonese, Portuguese

Mooncakes on Chinese New Year

“Mooncakes represent the full moon, which is the beginning of spring for the Chinese. Mooncakes are round and with black or red bean paste and yolk in the middle representing the full yellow moon in the dark evening sky. Chinese will gather outside the full moon to delight themselves with the moon cake” –Lee Lee Wong

Analysis:

The moon cake has been around since the 13th century Ming Dynasty and was commonly eaten during the Mid- Autumn Festival. The story in which it originated can be found in “Traditional Chinese Folktales” in the section titled, “The Secret in the Moon Cake.”The ongoing battle between the China and Mongolia was a rough time for the native Chinese. The Mongolians patrolled the city and stationed themselves in almost every home. Through collaboration with an old friend, General Ju came up with an ingenious plan to overthrow Mongolian dictatorship. They decided to set up a booth at the central marketplace to sell their delicious moon cakes, whose sweet bean paste attracted a huge crowd. Every time they sold a moon cake, they would give out a “bonus” moon cake, which contained all of the same ingredients except for a red mark that decorated the top of the pastry. Inside every moon cake marked with a red dot was a tiny piece of rolled paper containing the memo, “On the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival, when you see bonfires in the hills above the city, kill the Mongol soldier in your house.” Sure enough, on the day of the Festival at the time specified, huge fires broke out and all the Mongol soldiers quartered in Chinese family’s homes were killed as planned. The Mongol general made a last attempt to control the chaos by ordering the few remaining generals to fight. However, in the end, the Chinese prevailed and General Ju was hailed by the people. His victory earned him a seat on the Imperial Throne. Today, Chinese people eat moon cakes during the Mid- Autumn Festival. It is common for some to decorate their moon cakes with red coloring in honor of General Ju’s triumph over the Mongolians. The red is supposed to symbolize freedom and honor General Ju’s courageous efforts.

Like my mom said earlier, our family eats moon cakes around Chinese New Year. Since they are hard to make, we usually buy them at Chinese supermarkets in Flushing, Queens where my grandparents live and where we usually spend the New Year. Traditionally, moon cakes are eaten with tea. The moon cake is denser and richer than most Chinese pastries, since it contains rich products like the lotus seed paste. The saltiness of the yolk in the center balances the sweetness of the cake. The top of each cake has a Chinese imprint of a character, which usually represents the words “harmony” or “longevity,” and surrounding images for decoration, such as the moon or flowers. (Wikipedia.org) According to my mom, each cake is also expensive, starting off at $10 a moon cake (to feed one person), which is probably why they’re most commonly eaten during major Chinese holidays. I’m not sure whether or not people still eat moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival because my family does not celebrate this holiday.

Annotation: Chin, Yin-Lien, Yetta Center, and Mildred Ross. Traditional Chinese Folktales. New York: An East Gate Book, 1989. 171-180.