Monthly Archives: May 2011

Childhood – Song

Nationality: American (black)
Age: 12
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 2011
Primary Language: English

Down down baby

Down down the rollercoaster

Sweet sweet baby

Sweet sweet don’t let me go

Shimmy shimmy cocoa puff

Shimmy shimmy rah

Shimmy shimmy cocoa puff

Shimmy shimmy rah

I had a boyfriend

A biscuit

He’s so sweet

A biscuit

Apples on the table

Peaches on the floor

Step back baby

I don’t want you anymore

To the front (jump forward)

To the back (jump backward)

To the side side side (jump side to side)

The informant learned this song/chant in elementary school from her fellow classmates. She then also taught it to other friends. The song is performed with a partner while several variations of clapping motions are made and some small jumping at then end.

For the most part the song does not have a direct meaning but is more of a innocent nonsensical rhyme. Some of the keywords within the rhyme represent things that are on the consciousness of elementary school age girls, words like rollercoaster and boyfriend.

My informant said that they performed the chant during recess and lunchtime for entertainment. These types of songs and games are definitely most prevalent among elementary school age children especially girls. Young children in English-speaking countries learn and sing variations of the rhyme. A Sesame Street episode from 1980 featured some children performing the rhyme although most children who sing the song did not learn it from Sesame Street.

Unconventional Pregnancy- Folk Belief

Nationality: Mexican American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Oakland, CA
Performance Date: March 14, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

A girl can get pregnant from swimming in water that has been ejaculated into.

 A woman can become pregnant from sitting on a toilet seat with ejaculate on it.

You can get an STD from a public restroom’s toilet.

My informant heard all of these unconventional pregnancy/sexs methods when she was in high school. She recalls being a bit skeptical about them back then when she was a 14 year old high school freshmen, but now she finds them absurd and laughable. She thinks that people continue to tell these folk beliefs is because the world is seen as a dirty place. As girls grow from children into young women they feel particularly vulernable to the world they can no longer be shielded from by their parents. Even in places that should be harmless, like a hotel swimming pool or your neighbor’s toilet can be dangerous because you never know who using it before you and what they were doing there. A thought like that can be scary and yet there is little that can be done about it, besides making sure to cover the toilet seat and to never go swimming.

I agree with what my informant said, but I also think there might another reason that these folk beliefs are spread, especially among young teenagers. I think these beliefs can act as a scapegoat for people’s sexual exploits. If a young woman who is believed to be a virgin by her family and friends becomes pregnant, the story goes from being condemning to tragic if she was impregnated by some force outside of her control. If she was engaging in a harmless and innocent activity, such as using the bathroom or going for a swim, when she became pregnant she can’t really be blamed for what has happened. Similarly to those who contract STDs from public restrooms again it alleviates blame of any frowned upon sexual activity.

Annotation: The folk belief that swimming in a pool of water that has been ejaculated into was used as a basis for a lawsuit in 2009. A woman sued a hotel in Egypt after claiming that her 13 year old daughter become pregnant from swimming in their swimming pool.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Doyle, H. (2009, July 09). Teen pregnant after ‘swimming in pool’. The Sun, Retrieved from http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2525921/Teen-pregnant-after-swimming-in-pool.html

Folk Medicine – Portuguese

Nationality: Mexican/American/Portuguese
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 24, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

“So, um, whenever you have a cold like on my dad’s side it’s like a Portuguese remedy where you cut carrots up into little pieces and then you add sugar to it. And then you let it sit and it gets soupy because you add a lot of sugar to it and then you’re supposed to like drink it or eat it. They call it carrot soup and its supposed to help. It’s gross though.

“I learned it from my father growing up. He’s Portuguese.

“I don’t think there’s any real reasoning behind it.

“When I was little my dad would always do that. He was like, ‘before we go see the doctor we’ll try the carrot soup.'”

The informant is a 20-year-old female of Mexican-American-Portuguese descent. Her father is of Portuguese heritage, while her mother is of Mexican descent. This item was learned from the paternal side of her family. The informant is currently a student in the Los Angeles area.

This folk remedy presents the use of carrots, which are typically regarded as healthy because they are vegetables. However, the informant did not have any strong belief in the validity of the cure. She regarded it as merely something her family did whether it was truly effective or not.

Potentially this can be seen as the value people place on health and vegetables, as well as an emphasis on attempts to solve one’s own illness without the aid of authorities like doctors. It shows the family’s desire to be a self-sufficient unit in curing its members’ illnesses through home-made remedies.

Proverb – American

Nationality: Mexican/American/Portuguese
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 24, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

“Not ready to face the music”

(i.e. “She’s not ready to face the music,” “He’s not ready to face the music,” They’re not ready to face the music,” “You’re not ready to face the music,” etc)

‘I learned it from my mom. She probably got it from her mom.

‘It’s like if something bad happens and they don’t want to admit it–they aren’t ready to accept the fact. They aren’t ready to deal with the reality.

‘I’m just so used to hearing it because my mom’s been saying it for a while. It’s one of her favorite sayings.’

The informant is a 20-year-old female of Mexican-American-Portuguese descent. Her mother is of Mexican heritage. The informant is currently a student in the Los Angeles area.

This proverb demonstrates the key characteristics of a proverb: it is a statement that has been passed down in fixed form, although it can be slightly altered depending on who it is referring to. It aligns with the definition of proverbs given by F.A. de Caro in Elliott Oring’s “Folk Groups and Folklore Genres: An Introduction.” De Caro states that proverbs are often metaphors. For while someone who is avoiding ‘accepting of the reality of something’ may not actually have to face music, they are avoiding the final result. Also, the proverb can be used as short-hand communication.

As far as its reflection of society, I believe this specific proverb could have a slightly negative connotation, for it is not that the subject has any influence on whether the ‘music’ plays. They are simply not ready to face it even though it is already playing. The subject–or who the proverb is being likened to– needs to face the consequences of their actions and is not yet ready to do so.

Oring, Elliott. Folk Groups and Folklore Genres: an Introduction. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 1986. Print.

Proverb – American

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 24, 2011
Primary Language: English

“Do not make yourself so big, you are not so small.”

‘It’s about modesty and being humble.

‘I learned this from my mother. Basically she just told it to me as trying to remind me to be more modest, especially in sports because I was really good at sports when I was younger. She would like say that to me if I was getting too full of myself; as a way to keep myself in check. It’s not really a Jewish saying but it relates because Jews really value modesty. It considered a really valuable trait in Judaism to be more modest.’

The informant is a 19-year-old Caucasian student in the Los Angeles area, originally from Northern California. She follows the Jewish faith. She also comes from a very large family with 9 other siblings.

This proverb serves as a metaphor for a warning to monitor one’s ego. I agree with the subject on its meaning. Like many proverbs, the fixed phrase actually contradicts itself unless the metaphorical implications are considered. In this context, the term big refers to inflating one’s ego and small refers to the negative connotation of being full of oneself. It shows that without modesty one can become a less morally upright person (in this case, considering big as a positive connotation–as in the phrase “to be the bigger person”).