Monthly Archives: May 2011

Folk Dance/Test

Nationality: USA
Age: 28
Occupation: Graduate Student at Wharton School of Business
Residence: Philadelphia, PA
Performance Date: April 25, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Greek

Zachary: Well, in our family we have a ‘folk dance move’ I guess you could say. It’s a dance that our dad and his brothers made up or adopted or something. It’s kind of a goofy move where you kick you feet outwards, alternating from right to left, to the rhythm of the music you are listening to. I don’t really know how else to describe it…Anyway, everyone in our family can do the dance and… interestingly enough most ‘non-Seelys’ can’t do the move. So now, we have this tradition, whenever our family is together, at a wedding or what not, and a cousin has a new significant other, we see if they can do the Seely dance. We’ll give them a little tutorial but we kind of try to let them figure it out. So because none of our generation of Seelys are married yet we’ve developed the belief that when one of our girlfriends or boyfriends can do the Seely dance, preferably with enthusiasm, they ‘belong’ in the family.

This tradition incorporates a few different folklore elements, the dance, the test (or right of passage), and finally belief that an outsider’s ability perform the dance qualifies he/she to be apart of the family, thus implying marriage (yet another folklore practice)! The dance importantly signifies familial identity, suggesting a sense of belonging through innate ability to perform the dance. Additionally it exposes our family’s anticipation and value of marriage. The test imposed on non family members represents the desire to ensure new members’ belong in the family.

Pretended Obscene: That’s What She Said

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: USC Rugby
Residence: Philadelphia, PA
Performance Date: 27 April 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Italian, Arabic

Italian-American

University of Southern California

USC Rugby

International Relations

Italian, Arabic, English

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

27 April 2011

Folk Speech- That’s what she said…

The context.

So I was having my head shaved by CG, my roommate, in a chair on our porch. While he was shaving my head, I stated, “make sure you rub it (the clippers) back and forth…that’s how you finish the head.” As soon as I said this, I realized the situation I had set myself up for. And sure enough, CG responded with, “That’s what she said!” We sat in silence for a second before he stated, “Sorry dude, I had to do it.” When prompted, CG stated that he understood that what he said was supposed to be a sexual innuendo. He explained that he couldn’t really remember when he first heard it or started using it, but that it was sometime when he was in middle school.

Looking at “That’s what she said,” I can definitely state that it is a form of folk speech under the specific category of the pretended obscene. The whole purpose of saying it is to make a relatively benign statement into something inherently sexual. In no form should it be taken as sexist or offensive. I have often heard woman say, “That’s what she said.” I too, recall that it was incredibly popular during my middle school and high school years. During this period, it was not uncommon to hear it on a weekly basis or more.

Rugby Song: I Used to Work Chicago

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: USC Rugby
Residence: Philadelphia, PA
Performance Date: 23 April 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Italian, Arabic

Italian-American

University of Southern California

USC Rugby

International Relations

Italian, Arabic, English

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

23 April 2011

Rugby song “I used to work Chicago”

Transcription (because it would not be the same if not sung in context)

Everyone: “I used to work Chicago, I used to work the store, I used to work Chicago, I don’t work there anymore.”

First person: “A woman came into the store looking for an abortion.”

Everyone: “An abortion from the store?”

First person: “An abortion she wanted, a kick down the stairs she got!”

Everyone: “I used to work Chicago, I used to work the store, I used to work Chicago, I don’t work there anymore.”

Second person: “A woman came into the store looking for a necklace”

Everyone: “A necklace from the store?”

Second person: “A necklace she wanted, a pearl necklace she got!” (cue masturbation hand motion)

Everyone: “I used to work Chicago, I used to work the store, I used to work Chicago, I don’t work there anymore.”

Etc.

CG explains that the Rugby song, and songs like it, is a definite part of the rugby experience and rugby traditions at USC. He mentions that he doesn’t think that that it particular to just USC rugby, and he believes that he once heard another rugby player from another school mention it. CG explains that the context to the performance of this song is very important. The songs are generally only sung when there is a large gathering of rugby players and there are copious amounts of alcohol. The purpose of the event, in his words, is to have a good time while getting really drunk. CG mentions that the majority of the rugby songs are raunchy, sexist, and offensive. He explains that it is all in good fun and in no way should be taken seriously.  He explains that the culture of rugby is defined by a duality: one offensive and dirty, the other “gentlemanly.” To explain this, CG stated, “You know how soccer is described as a gentleman’s sport played by hooligans? Well, rugby is a hooligan’s sport played by gentlemen.”

Looking at the song, and having witnessed the context that it was performed; I find that the significance behind it as reported by CG is logical. The song, without a doubt is offensive, and borders on inappropriate. However, I believe this is the reason that the rugby team sings it. In a way, the team is looking to push/test the boundaries of what is appropriate in society. It is supposed to be shocking, as participants will often comment on just how bad it is. I also agree with the statement that it is not inherently meant to be offensive. I have personally seen it performed with women present, and none of them seem offended. The purpose of the song is to be purposefully offensive, and specifically sexual. The fun comes from the fact that the participants are shouting things that are considered taboo. And in some sense, the women present find this attractive. CG told me, “the girls love it. We’d be singing some of the other songs and girls would request us to sing this one.” The second purpose of the song is to test members on rugby “lore.” After one person completes a line, another person is picked out to recite another line. If the person fails or stumbles, everybody dips there hands into their beer and throws it at the individual yelling, “Redeem thyself” until they can think of a new line. The song is a way for the team to include younger individuals and make them feel apart of a larger group.

The hyperlink below is an example of some of the verses to the song.

http://youtu.be/WPyKJxSJ2TY

Beer Pong Rules

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: USC Rugby
Residence: Philadelphia, Pa
Performance Date: 23 April 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Italian, Arabic

Italian-American

University of Southern California

USC Rugby

International Relations

Italian, Arabic, English

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

23 April 2011

Beer pong-rugby team rules

-10 cups per side

-2 beers per side

-2 players per team, 2 teams per game

– the elbow of the shooter cannot pass the edge of the table when shooting

-make 2 balls in two different cups=both balls back and the two cups made are pulled

-make 2 balls in same cup= both balls back and three cups pulled from the game

-if a person misses and the ball rolls past the midpoint of the table back towards the shooting side, the shooter can pick up the ball and shoot the ball from “behind the back”

-if the shooter bounces the ball into a cup, two cups are pulled from the game

– if the ball is bounced, the opposing team can swat the ball away

– if the ball is spinning around in the cup, and hasn’t touched the beer, a male can flip the ball out with two fingers. If female the player can blow the ball out.

-if a player makes two consecutive shots over 2 turns, that person states “heating up”

-If a player make 3 consecutive shots over three turns, and said “heating up” after making two in a row, the player can say “on fire.” When “on fire” a player shoots the ball until he misses.

– If a player makes the last cup, the opposing team gets a “rebuttal” and shoots till they miss. (1) If the opposing team falls to make the all the cups from the team that made the last cup, the game ends and the team who failed the rebuttal has to drink all the cups remaining on the table. (2) If the opposing team makes all the cups on from the shooter’s team, it becomes a “tie breaker” and three more cups are added to each team.

-if both players make the last cup, the game ends and the losing team has to drink all the remaining cups.

CG states that there is no particular reason why the rugby team uses these specific rules for beer pong. He mentions that these were the rules already used by older rugby players, when he joined the team as a freshman. Every new freshman class, CG explains that new teammates have to be taught the rules that they use. CG did mention that having come from the East coast, where the rules are slightly different, he too had to be taught.

Looking at the rules for beer pong, there is obviously significant room for variation. Generally though, the game does have a core group of rules that doesn’t change. It is not uncommon for individuals to pre-empt the game by asking the rules they are going to play. As someone who has played the game before, it is fairly common to run into individuals with different rules. Oftentimes these people are from different schools, regions of the country, or identify with different groups. When there is confusion to which rules they should play by, usually the individual supplying the alcohol or who owns the table gets to decide which rules are to be used. In some parts of the country the game is called Beirut and not beer pong.

Nigerian Proverb

Nationality: Nigerian
Age: 28
Occupation: Chemical Engineering Student
Residence: Nigeria
Performance Date: April 23, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Pidgin English, French, Conversational Arabic

“Na condition make crayfish bend.”

“It’s condition makes the shrimp bent.”

“It is because of condition that a shrimp is bent.”

My informant and I were discussing the social structure in Nigeria when he told me this proverb. According to my informant, two classifications order the social hierarchies in Nigeria: age and wealth. My informant says that elders are treated with the utmost respect; he would never dream of talking back to his parents, or even using physical gestures, such a shrug, that would imply disrespect while speaking with them. He learnt quickly as a young child that if he acted disrespectfully he would be punished harshly, often with beatings. This applied to anyone older than him, unless they were in a lower economic class. My informant and his siblings could speak disrespectfully and be “bratty” to any of the maids or nannies that worked for their family without fear of consequence. The maids would often respond to my informant’s disrespectful behavior by saying, “Na condition make crayfish bend.”

The metaphor in the proverb comes from the belief that a shrimp’s body should be straight, not curved. The shrimp’s curved body is believed to be a lesser version of the shrimp’s “original” straight body. My informant did not know why people believe this about shrimp, but he assured me that the idea is commonly accepted. The proverb implies that the shrimp’s body is bent because it was born with that way, not because the shrimp did anything to deserve the deformity. Similarly, my informant and his siblings were rude to the woman working at their home because of the woman’s economic position in life, not because of anything the women had done to deserve the rude behavior.

My informant believes this proverb means that some misfortunes are out of our control, and depend on our situation in life. Based on the context in which he learnt the proverb and Nigerian beliefs about shrimp, this seems like an accurate interpretation. Furthermore, the proverb allows members of less respected social situations, such as my informant’s nannies, to respond to their disrespectful treatment. These people may not be able to change their situation in life, but this proverb acknowledges that that isn’t their fault, and with it they can point out that fact to their superiors, perhaps in hopes of receiving recognition.