Monthly Archives: May 2011

Riddle

Nationality: Portuguese, Irish German
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 22 April 2011
Primary Language: English

Portuguese, Irish, German

English

19, Student

Los Angeles, CA

24 April 2011

What word can be written forward, backward or upside down, and can still be read from left to right?

A: Noon

Brennan heard this riddle from his friend and it stuck with him because he prefers riddles that are possible to figure out. He doesn’t know where the riddle comes form but he has a certain way of performing it to confuse the victim. As Brennan tells the story, He speeds over the directions so that they get lost on the person, which makes it way harder to figure out. He said he learned how to stress unimportant elements and de-stress important ones to throw off the listener. This kind of control compliments the folklore of the riddle.

Riddles are interesting pieces of folklore. They are most often seen in liminal places and times because they break the ice and are acceptable at those occasions. This is a traditional riddle meaning one can figure out the answer from the question and it’s not trying to be too tricky. Riddles like this one need to be collected because they preserve the tradition of riddling. You can find riddles like this throughout history like the riddle the Egyptian Sphinx used to ask.

Tim Perille

18

1027 W. 34th St. Los Angele CA

Joke – Racist – African American – Texas

Nationality: American
Age: 50
Occupation: Construction
Residence: Austin, Texas
Performance Date: April 2011
Primary Language: English

“Run Nigga” Racist Joke

Joke – Racist – African American – American, Texas

“So Johnny’s in class one mornin’… little black boy Raymond comes walkin’ in and he’s all smiles ear to ear and he tells Johnny, he says, ‘my daddy got a new car yesterday, and Johnny, guess what his horn sounds like?’ And Johnny says, ‘I dunno, what’s his horn sound like?’ Raymond says, ‘well, when daddy pushes that horn, it says ‘haaaawnky.’ [informant laughs]. Now, he thought that was pretty funny. Johnny just kind of looks at him, and Johnny says, ‘Raymond, that ain’t nothin’. My daddy got a chainsaw and when he starts that thing up it says, ‘runnnnnn nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga nigga.’”
(Note: Joke makes much more sense when heard. See audio file).

The informant made it very clear that he is “not racist” as he told me this joke, as people often do when telling jokes framed around racial stereotypes and conflict. He also made it very clear, before telling me the joke, that it is “really racist.” The informant is fifty years old and from Texas, and has lived there all of his life. He claims that jokes such as this are still used among close friends, but that “it’s just funny, we’re not racists.” He also claims to have “black friends,” as if that serves as some sort of justification or proof that he is not racist. He claims that jokes such as these stem from the racism that existed in the south during his childhood. The informant told me how he remembers when schools were desegregated in the south, and how “the blacks were brought over in busses” to his school. He stated, “they didn’t want to be there as much as we didn’t want them there.” He claims that much of the conflict was two sided, a kind of mutual racism.
I agree that these jokes stem from a generation that experienced extreme racial conflict, but the fact that they are still used implies that they are still considered humorous. The fact that people still find these jokes humorous hints at the state of racism today, and shows that although it is much less prominent that in previous generation, subtle racism does still exist. Furthermore, this joke uses pejorative terms for both white people and black people (being “honky” for white people and “nigger” for black people), but the fact that the white person “wins” in the end shows an attempt to assert racial superiority. Simultaneously, the joke implies that white people are not the only perpetrators of racial stereotypes, perhaps in an attempt to justify these racist ideas.

Folk Recipe/Foodways – Chocolate Cake

Nationality: American
Age: 74
Occupation: retired
Residence: Marble Falls, Texas
Performance Date: March 2011
Primary Language: English

Folk Recipe/Foodways – Little Nonnie’s Chocolate Cake – American

“For every birthday in our family, I make the same cake. It’s a recipe from my great-grandmother… she was born in Chicago, but her parents were from Ireland… and she married a German man. I don’t know if she made it up or not, but it’s been the same cake at every birthday since she was alive. It is a dry cake, and it’s supposed to be, but the icing is amazing. The cake is made like regular cake: flour, eggs, butter, and cocoa powder. But there is one secret ingredient that gives it the unique touch, and that’s sour cream. Then the icing is made with powdered sugar, butter, chocolate, and coffee… so the cake ends up being sort of a mocha chocolate cake. And it only works if you do it an exact way… if you try to double the recipe, it won’t turn out right. But this cake is a family tradition because every family member always gets one on their birthday… and everybody loves it… it’s their favorite. And it’s always the grandmother that makes it. We call it ‘Little Nonnie’s Chocolate Cake,’ that was my great-grandmother.”
The informant believes that this cake is important because it is a family tradition and gives the family something to look forward to, and something they all have in common: they all love this cake.
I agree with the informant in that this cake provides a commonality between family members, and gives them a characteristic that identifies them as members of this family. Furthermore, this cake ties them to their ancestors and their family history. Although this cake isn’t necessarily German or Irish, it makes the family think of these people and where they came from, and their heritage. Additionally, the idea of a “secret ingredient” makes it that much stronger of an identifying characteristic. Only the family is aware of this “secret,” so it binds them together, and makes them feel as though they are unique as a family unit. The fact that the grandmother always bakes the cake allows her to be tied to the younger generations, to teach them, and nurture them. An intergenerational link within a family is extremely important, as it allows for family heritage to be passed down. Additionally, this cake alone serves as an excuse for the family to gather, which gives it a social aspect.

State Trooper

Nationality: Hispanic; Mexican; American
Age: 70
Occupation: Cosmetologist
Residence: Three Rivers, CA, USA
Performance Date: March 24, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

The following is the performance of a joke from my grandmother: “I heard this joke from one of my clients…it’s a good one. So, an old man decided that life was passing him by. He had been successful during his life and made a lot of money, and decided it was time to spend it. So, one day, he went to a Porsche dealership and bought the fastest car they had. He immediately took it for a cruise. It was like magic…the car was smooth, fast, and he began to accelerate on the flat, straight, open road….75 mph…85 mph…95 mph…and just as he was peaking 100, he flew past a State Trooper that flashed his lights and gave chase. The man thought he could outrun the Trooper, and sped up, giving himself the thrill of his lifetime…105, 110, 115. The Trooper wasn’t stopping the chase, and the man thought he better stop, so he pulled over as fast as he could and waited anxiously for the uh, the uh Trooper to walk up to the window. So, the Trooper walks up, takes a look at the outside of the car, then the old man inside. ‘OK, I’ll tell you what I’m gonna do,’ he says. He says, ‘I can see what’s going on here…it’s late, no one was on the road, and I was just getting off my shift…so I’m gonna make a deal with you. Give me one good reason why you were speeding up, and I’ll let you go with a warning.’ The old man thought for a couple minutes, and after a few seconds said, ‘well, officer, see my wife ran away with a Trooper thirty years ago, and I thought you were bringing her back.’ The old man was let go.”

My grandmother felt this was comical because of the punch line, when the old man essentially puts down his wife by implying that he would drive 115 mph to get away from her. While this is comical, I would expand on this to reveal the overall societal implications of what that signifies. It shows the classic example of the male seeking independence, free from the constraints of a women or even the law. Thus, it is not only a negotiation and signification of identity between men and women, but also between the man and social structure (the law enforcement). This gap between the every man and structure is deconstructed by the mutuality expressed via the man’s wife, who he wittingly says eloped with a law enforcement officer. In this way, the authority is questioned (after all, what respectful officer would take someone’s wife?), yet simultaneously is given a light side by showing compassion and understanding for the aging man. On this note, the idea of age is also expressed, and its ability to long for the adventurous and youthful individual within. There is then much beneath the surface of this humorous joke.

High School Senior Class Tradition

Nationality: Mexican; Slovenian; American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Performance Date: April 20, 2011
Primary Language: English

A classmate informed me of the following tradition at her high school: “It’s a tradition for the graduating senior class at my high school in Virginia to get a wall – every person gets to write on it, who is a part of the class. There are only about 70 seniors every year, and the wall in painted a background color for them. People usually put significant quotes, and it’s always done at the end of the year. Started in cafeteria, and has moved to halls and stairways … but always on the walls of the hall or stairway. People in school are very close – the school goes from 6th-12th grade with only 600 total students…it’s an alternative to others in the area. It also promotes the arts, and is, or feels much more relaxed. It makes sense that, uh, what would be considered defacement is encouraged. It’s a way of remembering the previous classes – it’s inspiring.”

I agree with the idea of this tradition being inspiring and performed as a way of remembering those who came before you. Likewise, it is a means of preserving where you have been for those writing on the wall. Borrowing Van Gennup’s idea of rituals and “liminal stages,” this fits within the notion of the liminality of ending high school and commencement. It is a beginning and an ending, the conclusion of childhood with the onset of being an adult and all that is encompassed with it. Very often this time of an individual’s life is celebrated, and this example provides one more of the many ways in which group identity plays a part of the process. As the informant mentioned, it is a small school, everyone knows each other, and the writing on the wall is not only tolerated, but encouraged by the school’s administration. This definitely showcases one of the defining qualities of folklore, that of letting people know to which group they belong. Those who write on the wall know they have been part of this school, they will leave a part of themselves with the school, and the younger students see these textual memories throughout the year as a reminder of who they are and who they will be upon their graduation.