Monthly Archives: May 2012

Jinxing

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/18/12
Primary Language: English

This piece of folklore came about when I was watching a basketball game with my informant, and the player had gotten fouled and was shooting free throws. The commentator said that this shooter was a “phenomenal free throw shooter, one of the best in the NBA”, and that he had made 16 in a row at this point. My informant looked over at me and said, “he just jinxed him”, and the player wound up shooting and missing the free throw attempt. My informant said “I told you so”, and I asked him what he thought the origins of jinxing were.

My informant told me that he has been familiar with the concept for years, in sporting events, and life events in general. “I’ve learned to never try to predict things, saying that things will be good or that something will happen. I’m afraid of jinxing it” he said. When I asked my informant whether or not he really thought that this piece of folklore was, in a sense, real, he said “you never know”. He told me that more often than not, whenever he feels like he has jinxed something, it usually goes wrong.

My informant told me that he wasn’t sure whether it just felt that way, or if there really was a statistical correlation. He says that he is especially sensitive to jinxing in the world of sports. He says that he never outright says that one team will win, or that a certain player will have a good game if he is rooting for them. He said he just wants to “play it safe” so he doesn’t get frustrated afterwards if things go the opposite way.

He says that sometimes he’ll even try to jinx the team or player that he is rooting against, telling somebody that the team he wants to lose is “going to win”, in hopes that it will jinx the other team. A lot of people believe that it doesn’t work that way, he says, but thinks that he may as well try.

I believe that this piece of folk belief likely dates far back in history, as it seems to be common across the globe and a very common belief. I believe that people believe in jinxing because they only really pay attention to when the jinxing actually works. If a person or team gets jinxed one day, and they end up succeeding anyways, I believe that an individual will not pay as much attention to that event. On the other hand, if a jinx goes through and truly works, I believe a person is more likely to say, “I told you so” or “that always happens”.

Signs from the Dead

Nationality: American
Age: 54
Occupation: Orthopedist (Retired)
Residence: Portland, OR
Performance Date: 4/25/12
Primary Language: English

My informant for this piece of folklore was recalling a time shortly after her father had died over two years ago. My informant, now 54, discussed with me a charm that she spotted that brought a sort of closure to his death. She told me that outside of her home window, just a week after her father’s death, she saw a Western Meadowlark, Oregon’s state bird, flying in her backyard.

My informant says that this specific bird seen incredibly rarely, and that she had never seen one before in her life, despite living in Oregon for over 40 years. Many cultures, my informant says, “believe that the dead send messages to their loved ones in a form that they are likely to recognize as a sign that they are on their journey and that all is well”. She says that her father loved birds, and throughout his life always had a birdfeeder in his backyard. She says that she and her only sister had grown up with a love of birds because of this, and shared a deep connection with their father on this topic.

“It must have been more than just a coincidence to have one of these rare birds even be spotted outside our home, let alone hang around for almost an hour flying in our yard for my family and I to see”, she said. Even more amazingly, her sister, who lives about an hour away, and is an “amateur birder”, had the same experience just a day later! My informant remembers being in awe when she spoke to her sister and they realized that they had both had the same experience with these birds. “What are the random chances of that?” asked my informant. “It must have been dad”.

She said that both her sister and her found that a sign from their father in the form of a meadowlark was “so appropriate” and that they believe that this was a sign sent down from him as a form of parting words or symbols.

My informant’s take on this occurrence was also grounded in reality, as well. “An openness to messages and miracles from beyond reveals some pretty comforting, awe inspiring experiences”, she said. It’s a way of comfort and of closure.

I agree with my informant in this case- the rarity of such an event, especially happening to both her and her sister, points to something supernatural occurring here. I believe that this folklore, of signs sent back from the deceased, likely dates back very far, possibly to the Native Americans and beyond, like my informant said. It is a way for those still living to find comfort in knowing that their loved one is safe in whatever new life they are leading now, depending on the beliefs of those who still live. I thought that this is a pretty phenomenal piece of folklore and example of it in action, and that it is important to share and archive for the future.

Red Sky

Nationality: American
Age: 64
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Pasadena, CA
Performance Date: 4/16/12
Primary Language: English

“Red Sky At Night, Sailors Delight, Red Sky In The Morn, Sailors Be Warned”

My informant for this folk saying served in the US Navy over two decades ago, and now owns a sailboat in the Los Angeles area. My informant said that he first heard the saying in passing in training for the navy. When he asked what the phrase meant, he was informed that it was a centuries old phrase that described weather patterns in the sea.

Typically, he was told, a red sky at night means calm weather and smooth sailing. On the contrary, he was told that typically when sailors see a red sky in the morning hours, it is connected to weather patterns that call for rain, winds, and storms. My informant stated that he had done more research on this quote, and found that indeed, it does have a scientific backing.  The red color in the sky is due to suspended particles and reflections of clouds, he says, which is good at night and bad in the morning.

My informant tells me that throughout his experience at sea as a Capitan in the navy, as well as sailing his own boat, this phrase has held true “for the most part”. It’s a good way to gauge what’s to come, it’s a good predictor just so you have an idea what’s coming, he says. He says it’s never been the opposite, and that he would trust this saying over anybody else’s word.

I believe that this saying likely originated centuries ago as a warning or useful tip passed from one sailor to another. Perhaps older sailors would pass it on to their children or those new to the sea. Making it into a rhyme, and thus turning this fact into folklore, likely had to do with giving it a ring, and making it easier for sailors to remember the term. Night must rhyme with delight, so the sailors don’t get confused and think that it is the other way around. It seems that it was created as a practical rhyme to help sailors remember the general laws of the ocean at sea.

Shanghai Tunnels

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Portland, OR
Performance Date: 4/12/12
Primary Language: English

My informant grew up in Portland, Oregon, and was fascinated with ghost tales and haunted areas. He told me about the Shanghai Tunnels in Portland, which are notorious around the city for being haunted and creepy. My informant told me that as the story goes, in the 1800s there were people known as “Shanghaiiers” who worked for the shipping industry that ran through Portland’s Willamette River. These Shanghaiiers would kidnap unsuspecting men and women from bars and other places around downtown, and bring them down through secret entrances to the underground Shanghai Tunnels.

These tunnels, which still exist today, were said to have been the preferred route to take these victims down to the river where they would be shipped out and used for slave labor, and possibly prostitution. These days, it is common folklore that these tunnels are haunted with the souls of those who were taken down these tunnels and shipped into slavery. They are said to be dangerous, and one of the “most haunted places in America”.

My informant has heard these stories from many friends and peers, who tell it as a part of social interaction. There are now tour groups that will take you on a tour through these tunnels, but my informant says that they are “only for the bravest of the brave. I’d never go”. My informant says that he believes that there really were Shanghaiiers who would kidnap individuals in the 1800’s, and says that he really does believe that the tunnels are haunted nowadays.

I believe that this story may be true, based on how widespread and widely popular it is around Portland. I believe that at one point, they likely were used as underground transports for kidnapped adults and children. On the other hand, I believe that the tunnels are likely not truly haunted by the souls of these individuals. Firstly, because the individuals were shipped other locations immediately after, and secondly because the whole idea of ghosts may just be a false identity, spread throughout folklore. Nevertheless, you absolutely won’t find me wandering these tunnels anytime soon, even on a tour.

Fight On!

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/20/12
Primary Language: English

My informant for this folk term is a student and tour-guide at USC, and told me a bit of history and context of the saying:

“Fight On!”

He tells me that it’s been a term for the University of Southern California ever since the early 1900’s, when USC came back from behind in a football game and the next day a sports writer proclaimed that the USC football team “fought like Trojans” to come back. After that, the saying was commonplace; meaning that no matter whether you are behind, or the odds are stacked against you, fight on until you succeed.

This mantra has caught on heavily here at USC, and has lasted the test of time and is still a vital internal and promotional term for USC. My informant told me that he says it on every school tour that he gives to prospective students and parents, and feels that it is a special thing that sets USC apart from other universities. “It bonds us together as a community. It’s something we all know and is a part of our lives here,” he said.

Now, the term is applicable in many different areas of university-life, including academics, athletics, and social life. “Whenever I’m on my tour, my friends will see me and yell “Fight On Curt!” with their two fingers in the air making the fight on symbol”. Both the symbol and phrase are equally well known, he says. Recently, USC has launched a campaign that reads “Fight On For a Cure”, in reference to finding a cure for women’s breast cancer. My informant said that it was “cool” to see how it has progressed from just being derived from the wording of a sportswriter to such a vital part of the Trojan community. It is one of the first things you learn on your tours and orientations, and it is one of those things that you will remember about your college experience in the future after graduation, he says.

Being a USC student, I had heard that story on my own tour as a prospective student when I was on my tour around campus. I believe that it is a phenomenal symbolic message to the USC community, and that it is an important piece of folklore that not only has a plethora of different applicable meanings, but also joins us all together as the Trojan community.