Monthly Archives: May 2016

Juegos de Manos son de villanos (Proverb)

Nationality: Salvadorian
Age: 50
Performance Date: 4/8/16
Primary Language: Spanish

My informant is Alice. Alice is 50 years old and was born and raised in San Salvador, El Salvador. She lived there until she was 18 then moved to the United States and proceeded to live in Mexico for a short time before returning to the states.

 

Alice: “Ok so the proverb is “Juegos de manos son de villanos” and I heard that from my mother, I heard that from my grandmother, and basically anyone that was older then me. I even said it to my children when they were younger.

What is the direct translation?

Alice: “If you play with your hands you are a villain”

What does that mean?

Alice: “Basically what that means is when you start doing stuff to other people with your hands you’re gonna get into trouble, there’s gonna be a fight. So as siblings or kids when you’re pushing each other or playing rough games, you know, they escalate and they get rougher and that’s when my grandmother or mother would say to us when she would see it escalating, you know when I was playing with my cousins or siblings they’d say “Juegos de manos son de villanos!”

Is there a specific time you first remember hearing this?

Alice: “No I just heard it a ton, especially with my sister. As far back as I remember I couldn’t tell you when the first time was. I’ve always had it in my life”

Does this have meaning to you?

Alice: “Well I think it’s true! Something starts out as a game, even with teasing, this is more physical but it starts as a game and it escalates and leads to someone getting hurt. There’s a lot of truth to it”

 

This proverb is one that Alice had heard extremely often as a child. It seems that it was very popular and especially with her sister she would hear this warning. I think a lot of proverbs are about advice and how they are phrased make them more memorable to children and in turn are practiced more. Alice remembers a number of people telling her this one and even passed it on to her children. It is harder though to make a proverb stick in Spanish in the United States because people won’t understand it which is a barrier.

Birthday Rings (Magic/Superstition)

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Performance Date: 4/20/16
Primary Language: English

My informant is Natalie. Natalie is a 21-year-old female who attends Chapman University. Natalie grew up in Sacramento but her mother was born in El Salvador; because of this she speaks fluent Spanish and has a Hispanic influence in her life.

 

Natalie: “Ok so on someone’s birthday, my mom passed down to me that you’re supposed to take the ring you’re wearing and place it over the candle and everyone present is supposed to do it and you want as many rings around the candle as possible and I guess it’s supposed to be good luck and the person making the wish it will more likely come true with more good luck”

When did you start doing this?

Natalie: “My mom probably taught me when I was like…6 or 7”

Where did she learn that?

Natalie: “She learned it from her mom”

Where are they from?

Natalie: “My mom and her mom are from El Salvador so I guess it comes from there”

Is there any meaning to you with this?

Natalie: “It is important to me I do it every birthday and always try and get as many rings as possible, cuz if I don’t do it…I don’t want bad luck”

 

Natalie learned this tradition of placing rings over her birthday candles as good luck. I feel like there could be more to that story and a reason for a ring but if there was it got lost over time. This tradition has been passed down mother to daughter to granddaughter and they all practice it in belief it brings them good luck. Birthdays carry a lot of folklore and making a wish while blowing out your candle is common but the addition of the rings adds an interesting factor and maybe additional luck.

Persian Wedding (Custom)

Nationality: Persian
Age: 20
Performance Date: 2/27/16
Primary Language: English

My informant is Mondana. Mondana is a 21-year-old student at California State University of Sacramento. She was born and raised in Sacramento, California but her parents and ancestors are from Iran and they are all Persian.

 

Do you have any Persian traditions or customs?

Mondana: “Yeah weddings have a lot of traditions, for the bride whenever she gets married we set a table for her and the groom and on the table are spices and herbs and decorated objects and other gifts. Things like honey and sugar that represent good, sweet things. Then during the ceremony there’s a part where we drape the bride and groom over with a sheer linen and all the other married woman in attendance go up to them and rub sugar together and drop sugar on them so they’ll have a happy marriage”

Is this at every wedding?

Mondana: “Every Persian wedding that’s traditional I have seen it at”

When did you first see this custom?

Mondana: “Well probably the first wedding I went to when I was like 3 years old”

Are you going to have this at your wedding? Is it important to you?

Mondana: “Yeah I will. It is important it means a lot to my mom and my grandmother”

Is the meaning more significant or the fact that you want the good luck?

Mondana: “Oh I think, well I’m very superstitious and I want the luck, but it’s just tradition and a lot of cultures have them and it makes you closer to yours when you keep tradition”

 

Persians are a very large group of people that are very culture oriented from my experience so it is not a surprise they would have a custom at every wedding such as this one. I think it’s interesting how large a part of the ceremony the draping and dropping of sugar is compared to a Western marriage superstition like something borrowed, blue, old and new. Mondana takes pride in this custom and is adamant that she would do this at her wedding, to appease her mother and grandmother, but also because she is superstitious and custom. This custom will undoubtedly live on as Mondana has seen this at every wedding and she has no plan to discontinue the custom. I think it is a great gesture and a heart-warming feeling to know you are having the same wedding and practicing the same customs as your ancestors, and they would be proud.

The Dance Studio (Myth)

 

My informant is Laura Gabrielson. Laura is an 18 year-old, female student at USC. Laura is white and grew up in Denver, Colorado her whole life.

 

Laura: “So at my dance recital place, it’s like a community college for people with disabilities but they have this huge stage and it was where we would perform. And I guess a long time ago the stage manager was in a wheel-chair so he had to be lifted on to different parts of the stage by elevator. I don’t know if it was a hand pull one or electric but yeah an elevator. But one time his wheels weren’t locked in the elevator and he rolled off and fell and died into like this huge pit kind of thing, and now they have these boards taped out over it and no one will ever walk on it. Like you have to walk around it”

What happens if you do walk on it? Like bad luck or what?

Laura: “I think it’s just like creepy like he died there. He’s down there”

Do people think his spirit is there?

Laura: “No, literally people think he’s still down there. When the story was told it was like he’s still down there so you are gonna walk all on him”

Did you believe in it?

Laura: “I believed someone died there but I don’t think the guy is still down there. I definitely never walked on it though it was too creepy and no one did”

 

This myth is about an old man dying under a stage but it just sounds like drama superstition to me. Laura doesn’t recall any details about the man or the story and basically he just died there and is said to be down there. It’s interesting how everyone continuously refuses to step on that spot and even more interesting how normal it is. I think like with a lot of other folklore people don’t believe it but go along partially with the crowd and partially out of fear that something will go wrong. They don’t want to test fate.

 

The Evil Eye (Folk Belief/Protection)

Nationality: Indian
Age: 19

My informant is Marc. Marc is a 19-year-old student at USC but was born and raised in Mumbai, India. This year was the first time he lived in the United States but he still speaks very good English but with a noticeable accent.

 

Marc: “So in India a big belief all around is the Evil Eye. So I guess if you are bragging to someone especially if it is something you can do or you have that they can’t do or don’t have. Basically you need to be humble because if you are bragging or being arrogant about this stuff then the Evil Eye will transfer like a negative energy to combat whatever you were bragging about”

When was the first time you heard about the Evil Eye?

Marc: “Well it’s really common and well known in India there are trinkets and stuff but like the first time I think was a friend saying to another friend like bragging and someone warned him about the Evil Eye”

So is the Evil Eye a person?

Marc: “No it’s more like a negative energy or like the reasoning to why things go wrong but the eye is the face that we put to it. And you can ward it off too with like necklaces and jewelry that a lot of people wear.”

Do you believe in the Evil Eye?

Marc: “I don’t know. I believe in the idea of like if you are doing a bad thing it will catch up to you but I don’t know about the evil eye or if that’s real”

 

To me the Evil Eye in India is our form of Karma in the United States. It is the idea of if you do bad things then bad things will happen to you but Karma also has the reward aspect: do good and good will come. Marc claims how widespread the idea of the Evil Eye in India is and I think it has to do with parents teaching humbleness. Those who brag will be punished and children are far more concerned about an “Evil Eye” then their parents. It has progressed to a culture in India which brings along the merchandise such as the necklaces and trinkets for protection.

 

The Scorpion and the Toad (Tale)

Age: 19
Primary Language: English

My informant is Courtney. Courtney is white female 19-year-old student at USC. She grew up in Alamo, California. She is of Irish and English descent.

 

Courtney: “So there was this tale about the scorpion and the toad, um so there was a scorpion and a toad and they were on one side of the river and a storm was coming. A really bad storm. And the only way they could survive was to get to the other side of the river. But the scorpion couldn’t get to the other side of the river because he’s a scorpion and cannot swim. However, the toad can swim and could get him across easily so the scorpion asks the toad if he could help him get across and save his life. The toad says “Why would I ever help you get across you’ve been killing my family members and my friends my whole life and why would I help you now?” And the scorpion was like, “I’ll give you my word if you help me across I wont ever kill any of your family members or friends or you again I will live a good life of honesty and kindness. We will become friends.” The toad is still not trusting him and says that he can’t trust him after all he’s done. The scorpion then begs, “Please take me to the other side! I will owe you my life. I’ll do anything if you help me survive I promise I will be good and wont harm anyone again”. The toad finally accepts this and asks the scorpion for his word and the scorpion gives him his word. So the toad helps him get to the other side and they survive this storm and as soon as the toad turned his back the scorpion stabbed him and killed him with his scorpion tail.

Did he say why the scorpion killed the toad?

Courtney: “Nope he’s just a scorpion and that’s how the story goes”

Is there a lesson?

Courtney: “I guess the lesson is whatever you want it to be like don’t trust scorpions”

When was the first time you heard this?

Courtney: “I heard a long time ago from my Dad and had forgotten about it but then he told the story again a couple of weeks ago”

Does this story have any meaning to you or anything?

Courtney: “I don’t know I haven’t thought about it; I guess only trust the people you are close to”

 

This is a weird tale. I think Courtney is missing the part at the end where she explained the morale of the story but maybe this is how she heard it and it is definitely how she remembers it. It it typical of a tale with talking animals and a plight they have to overcome. Courtney reveals she first heard this when she was a young girl and it is an ominous tale. One distrusts the other then finally trusts him but should have continued to distrust him. Is it a teaching of a tiger never changes his stripes? Or maybe do not give second chances? What this story means to me is to trust your instinct and to look out for yourself because if the toad had he would still be alive.