Monthly Archives: May 2011

Hardcore folk dancing

Nationality: Italian,
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: White Planes NY
Performance Date: 20 April 2011
Primary Language: English

Unwritten rules to hardcore concerts

  1. Don’t wear the tshirt of the band you are seeing
  2. When a mosh pit is being started clear off as many people as possible
  3. When standing around a mosh pit keep your hands in front of your face
  4. When someone falls down in the pit pick them up as quickly as possible
  5. Purposely hitting someone is looked down upon but accidents happen.

Tristan likes these concerts because everyone knows these rules and looks out for each other. This makes the concert a place where Tristan feels very comfortable and connects him to the music. Tristan says he’s not scared of getting hit or trampled, getting hit comes with the territory and he trusts the crowd to protect him. Tristan will continue hardcore dancing and actively participating in that subculture.

Tristan’s unwritten rules are important to him because he is passing on the traditional dancing associated with the hardcore genre. This is a classic example of folk dancing and folk customs. This type of dancing is a communal experience in which everyone swings punches while looking out for each other. If you observe this type of dance, as an outsider it would look like everyone was drunk, and fighting. To an insider, the display is an amazing expression of the music. The dancing represents the rage that the music conveys.

Tim Perille

18

1027 W. 34th St. Los Angele CA

Irish Proverb

Nationality: German, Irish
Age: 19
Occupation: student
Residence: Evanston, IL
Performance Date: 20 April 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: French

“People live in each other’s shelter”

This phrase means to Zach that people should accept and befriend honest people whose cultural differences that would have kept them apart. He learned this through an experience he had in 8th grade. He was involved with an organization called the Ulster Project. This project brought Irish teens over to America for a month to live with an American teen and perform community service acts. The purpose of this project was to show the Irish teens that people shouldn’t be divided based on historical rivalries and cultural differences. The feud between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland has caused deaths over the past centuries, and the program aims to end any anger that they may harbor to the opposing religion. Each of the Irish teens is paired with an American teen with the opposing religion. Zach said that after a month of living with this Irish kid they became best friends. He continues to go to Ireland yearly and the Irish teen has come back to Chicago for a month every year since the project, which was 5 years ago. This proverb means a lot to Zach because it has taught him that he can accept other’s differences and get to know their true personality before making any judgments on their character. He says that the best way to do this is by living with another person to experience their lifestyle and culture.

This proverb reminds Zach of his friend from Ireland. He has this proverb inscribed on a cross he wears around his neck for good luck. Zach doesn’t know where it’s from but he learned it from his friend in Ireland. If this arrived around the time of the wars in Ireland, his description is very fitting. The phrase teaches people to set aside their differences and work together.

Tim Perille

18

1027 W. 34th St. Los Angele CA

Rolling a blunt

Nationality: German Irish
Age: 19
Occupation: Students
Residence: Evanston
Performance Date: 20 April 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: French

Step 1: When you buy in Evanston its not like everyone has their own weed, you all throw five on the gram,

Step 2: The best roller present, gets to roll it

Step 3: Grab a grape swish and gut it

Step 4: lick edges to seal the two papers together

Step 5: place the weed in the paper

Step 6: roll it with your fingers maneuvering it into a circle

Steop 7: tuck one edge under and I like to do half the blunt at a time and then I roll it up and seal it together by licking the paper while pulling with my mouth

Step 8: use a lighter to “bake” the ends and the seam

Step 9. The person who rolls it sparks it and we always pass to the left rotation-wise and people will hit the blunt until there is absolutely nothing left

To Zach, rolling a blunt is an act, which can either gain you respect or shame within the present group of smokers. The person who elects to roll the blunt has to put himself out there and risk being judged. The group all watch earnestly as the roller steps up to the plate. When the blunt is done its presented to the group who sign off and give the roller respect. When the smoking begins, all the pressures gone and we soak in the atmosphere. For him smoking represents a spiritual experience where he can relax and connect wis friends.

Zach’s ritual reminds me of the dominance displays in chimpanzee clans. The roller is like a chimpanzee presenting himself to the group trying to prove himself. Then when the blunt is done, the group signs off on the blunt like Caesar would sign off on a gladiator before he was given the death sentence. The act of smoking and rolling blunts dates back to before anyone can remember there is multiplicity in variation and it is held sacred in a lot of social circles. To some, the blunt is the only way to smoke and an improperly rolled blunt is seen as an insult and a mark shame.

New Year’s Tradition

Nationality: American
Age: 64
Occupation: Attorney at Law
Residence: Gilford, New Hampshire
Performance Date: April 23, 2011
Primary Language: English

“Pop-Pop whose uh yeah was Grandma J’s father when he was uh…uh I don’t know he was uh he was definitely a child uh his—his father had him jump, uh get up on a table and and jump at at midnight when the new century, you know the year 1900 happened. And so so when when the year 2000 happened you know we were in Santa Barbara and that’s where we jumped off the uh th-th-the water breaker there and that’s where Henry’s friend you know turned his ankle or whatever. [collector interjection: “Oh, yeah, I remember that”] Yeah bu-but it was it was like we were jumping into the new century uh like Pop-Pop had. He always would talk about that so—so that’s sort of like a family story.”

My informant tells this story every year on New Years Eve, December 31st, before the clock strikes midnight, chiming in the New Year. He tells this story both to remember the positive family experience in the year 2000 and also to remember his Grandfather fondly. When he presented the tradition to his family in 2000, he hoped that by practicing the tradition his family would feel connected to their past. He also sees the tradition as an expression of excitement for the New Year. He says that the family participates in the tradition at the turn of the century, rather than every New Year, because this is a heightened moment of excitement; the future and the positive changes it can bring feel larger in this moment than any other New Year. Younger members of his family, however, have expanded the tradition and now jump off of tables every New Year’s Eve, when they are all together.

I agree with my informant that the jumping off of a table at New Year expresses excitement for the year to come. I only add that it also reflects a future oriented perspective. The family’s intense excitement for the future, as symbolized by the jump, and their movement forward suggest a desire to move into the future because it will be better than the past. The tradition does also unify the family members, which might explain why the younger members who live far away from each other participate in the tradition every year.

Proverb

Nationality: Irish, German, Portuguese
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 20 April 2011
Primary Language: English

Portuguese, Irish, German

English

19, Student

Los Angeles, CA

24 April 2011

“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”

To Brennan, this means don’t scrutinize a present just accept a gift and be grateful. Brennan says this proverb has special significance in his family because his dad and grandpa both use the phrase regularly. Brennan doesn’t have much money and so he’s really learned to appreciate the little things and be more generous from his parents and phrases like this. Brennan believes more people should be gracious and feels like this phrase should be more widespread. He doesn’t know where it comes from but it’s a family folk proverb that he continues to spread.

This folk proverb has been passed down through the Loftus family. This folklore is important because it has a positive message that teaches kids to be grateful. Folklore like this can be seen in literature and pop culture. There are variations on this folklore but the origins are unknown.

Tim Perille

18

1027 W. 34th St. Los Angele CA