Monthly Archives: March 2011

Proverb

Nationality: Belizean
Age: 35
Occupation: Youth Center Program Coordinator
Residence: Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 28, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Creole

Don’t take any wooden nickels.

…Means don’t waste your time with something that has no value, not monetary value per se. For example, if you can’t learn something from someone everyday then you shouldn’t date them. If you can’t grow from something or be challenged by it, then why do it? Take no wooden nickels.

Andrew’s commentary of this personally meaningful proverb above combines both his own personal philosophy with the original meaning conveyed to him by the first person he ever heard it from. As a young boy, Andrew said that he would often spend a lot of time with a close guy friend of his whose grandfather (a “Swedish old guy” as he described him) would tell them this proverb repeatedly. In essence, Andrew said that he grew up hearing his friend’s grandfather’s favorite saying and blessing. When I asked him in what context his friend’s grandfather would tell them this, Andrew responded that he would use it as they left or went out instead of the familiar “good bye” or “be careful” sentiments that are customarily said. He would share this proverb with them upon their departure as a reminder and blessing in hopes that they would indeed not take any wooden nickels.

This proverb definitely seems to issue a personal challenge to the person to whom it is being told. The proverb seems to challenge you to not settle for anything but the real thing so that you do not take wooden substitutes for nickels of real monetary value that can actually be used. Andrew’s initial application of this proverb to relationships fits especially well. The proverb lends itself well to relationship advice by challenging you to not settle for anyone less than you deserve. Andrew himself gave an example of this. I also think that this proverb cautions you against settling for something that may appear to be satisfactory but is still not quite what you need or want exactly. Literally, a wooden nickel may be a nice oddity or keepsake, but at the end of the day it has little other practical value because you cannot use it as currency. This idea could apply more generally to various situations as a reminder that there is no substitute for what is real and is earned like a genuine nickel.

Legend

Nationality: Persian
Age: 11
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 28, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Bengali, Arabic, Persian, Spanish

Story of Hammurabi

Hammurabi created laws one day on a stone tablet and he called them his code of conduct and then one boy talked back to the king and had his tongue, leg, and arms cut off. And he couldn’t do anything so he stayed home. They were about to him out but then his father went to talk to the king and murdered the king. (* At this point, Mahfous said that he didn’t know how the man had killed Hammurabi because his mother would never tell him because she did not want him to know the details.) And then he became the new king and destroyed this code of conduct and he created a surgery for his and gave him all of his body parts back. Like stitches basically.

Mahfous said that his mother has shared this legend with him on different occasions, mostly when they have an opportunity to just sit or talk or maybe she will squeeze in a tale or two when they have a moment together. Mahfous said that she always emphasizes Hammurabi’s strictness and the fact that everyone hated him. She always ends by saying that if Mahfous ever wants to be a king, he shouldn’t be strict like Hammurabi because otherwise the people will kill him. Mahfous also said that his mom wants him to move to Persia one day and perhaps even become king…

This incredible legend has obvious historical significance, although this exact storyline may not have necessarily occurred in this way or even at all. Nevertheless, it is rooted in the very real history of King Hammurabi and his famous, or infamous, code of laws. The true significance and what I believe is probably most meaningful to Mahfous’s mother, is the lesson of how King Hammurabi chose to treat his people and the terrible consequences of that decision embodied in his code of conduct. It speaks to what a good leader must be like and how he should treat his people; with dignity and respect regardless of their position within society. It also speaks to the political turbulence and uncertainty of contemporary times that may continue to affirm the significance of this legend and its relevance. It may seem that now more than ever we are in need of a just ruler who does not treat his citizens as Hammurabi did, whether it is Mahfous as his mom hopes so or someone else.

Folk Belief

Nationality: Chicana
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Santa Cruz, CA
Performance Date: April 17, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

If you see a hummingbird, you will have good luck.

My grandmother, and then my mom would always say this when we were lucky enough to see these rare hummingbirds by our windows in the kitchen or outside in the garden behind our house. I am not very sure about why hummingbirds are lucky, maybe because they seem to be pretty rare, but they are definitely really beautiful, small and colorful, and also seemed to bring my grandma a lot of joy. I mostly think about this saying when I happen to see a hummingbird somewhere randomly and it reminds me of my relationship with these two very important women in my life and just how much I loved listening to their stories and advice when I was smaller.

Lorena thought of her grandma and mom’s words about the hummingbirds good luck blessings as more of a saying and simple story than actual truth. Having also grown up in a Mexican family with very strong females, I would also hear my grandma often say the same thing about hummingbirds. I tend to agree with Lorena’s belief that the hummingbird’s unique colorful beauty and rare presence in our daily lives seems to emphasize the hummingbird as a special bird or creature with mythical qualities.  It is definitely more common to see countless grey pigeons in the urban concrete jungle of Los Angeles, including Echo Park where Lorena’s family resides, than these charmingly bright birds that seem to captivate so many.  This may be why both of our grandmothers remind us of the good fortune to come that a “colibri” promises. (Colibri is hummingbird in Spanish).

Annotation: The Papyrus line of greeting cards, similar to Hallmark, uses a picture of a single hummingbird in flight as its primary marketing and branding symbol. This hummingbird appears on each of its greeting cards and similar products. Moreover, each of its products includes the following brief history of the legend of the hummingbird and its symbolic significance which best speaks to the significance of this storied bird;

“Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy, and celebration. The hummingbird’s delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life’s sweetest creation.”

Legend – Hispanic

Nationality: Hispanic
Age: 17
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 28, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

La Llorona

Story about a mother who supposedly lost her three children (or died, I don’t know) and she keeps calling them. Her spirit is not at rest so she haunts them [people]. Men especially. She appears to them pretty, like the fantasy I guess, a pretty lady. They’re usually drunk. It’s easier to fool men than women, I guess. My mom told me the story, because my grandpa saw her. He was walking home and it looked to him like my grandma but my mom says it wasn’t because my grandma was at home with her. But he still went home and beat her up. And supposedly my aunt saw her, too, but it was someone she had just finished dropping off on her way back home.

Olga said that her mother would scare them with this story to make her and her siblings go to sleep at night. Her mom would say that if she didn’t go to sleep then, the llorona would come and take her away. Olga believes that the story of La Llorona is simply a legend of a mother who didn’t exactly go in peace. She also added that certain deaths can haunt you, which is what she thinks this story most strongly conveys.

The legend of La Llorona has diverse manifestations and emphasis, but Olga’s family rendition most clearly highlights the tension between gender roles. This conflict is present not only in the basic tale of la llorona, but also in her grandfather’s supposed vision of la llorona and subsequent violence toward his wife. It also directly speaks to the ideals many hold regarding women. La llorona appears to men especially as the ultimate fantasy or vision of a pretty lady as Olga said. She lures them, fools them, and then haunts them. Olga’s grandfather’s story of his experience with this woman is one that unnerves him and sparks his violent physical explosion later that night. This seems to illustrate men’s attempts to free themselves of the women who haunt them in some way, an image and a conflict that does little to empower the female’s role in this legend.

Jokes

Nationality: Hispanic
Age: 15
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 29, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

What does the whole world have in common with a jar of jelly beans?

Nobody likes the black ones.

What do you call White people inside a yellow bus?

A twinkie.

What do you call Black people inside a yellow bus?

A rotten banana.

At first, Norby was enthusiastic about sharing some of his jokes but became hesitant; eventually claiming that he needed a Black person next to him in order to tell his jokes. Then, after telling his first racist joke, he continued without hesitation this time to share the last two which build off of one another. After each joke he would stop and say that his brother had told him each of the jokes, except the very last one which he does not remember hearing from anyone specifically. He paused after the first one and commented that black jelly beans are nasty because they taste like licorice before continuing with his next joke. He did not want to comment or add much else. Although he did say that he only said these racist jokes for fun and not because he was racist or anything.

I purposefully chose to list the three racist jokes he shared with me together to highlight the sequence and also to illustrate in a sense his performance of these jokes; he said them one after another with only brief pauses to remember how each one went between these jokes. I believe that this adds to the nature of the jokes, which are obviously racist. Although he had little to comment and was reluctant to think that these jokes might have any significance other than being “fun”, I disagree. The first and last jokes are racist against African Americans, or Black people, and both betray strong sentiments of dislike. The sentiment is the same whether it is because black jelly beans do not taste good or because a rotten banana is unfit to eat and fit only for the trash; Black people are seen as unfavorable and dispensable in these jokes. Both images also convey the equally strong message that the black element in each joke ruins the rest of the jelly beans or the banana, which has larger racial and social implications. The ease with which he was able to recall these jokes and the people the jokes targeted also reveal something greater. It reflects how pervasive racist sentiments can be and also the nonchalant manner in which they are shared and perhaps even internalized without too much awareness of the ideas and beliefs at the core of these jokes. Norby learned them from his brother and then shared them with me. He also mentioned that he says them for fun or as a means of entertainment only. Also, the jokes were tellingly about Black and White people; two minority populations in the predominantly Hispanic community of Los Angeles in which he lives.