Monthly Archives: May 2017

Filipino Birthday Tradition

Nationality: Filipino American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Chicago
Performance Date: 4/23/2017
Primary Language: English
Language: filipino

Informant:

June is from Chicago, Illinois and is a current junior in college.

Piece:

So a family tradition that we have is for all of our birthday’s um instead of baking a cake, my mom would cook a traditional filipino dish called pancit. It’s basically like noodles with like vegetables, chicken meats. All the things you would want. It’s a very healthy dish and it’s supposed to be that instead of a cake which is very fattening and sugary um something that’s healthy so you can live a longer life. There are various i guess different noodles you can use, but my parents always use i guess these same very thing ones.

Collector’s thoughts:

The idea of eating healthy food at one’s birthday in order to guarantee another year of good health is an interesting idea that makes a lot of sense. Not only does the yearly meal work as a good luck charm for good health, but also connects the informant back to his filipino heritage.

A conjestion remedy

Nationality: African American
Age: 51
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/20/17
Primary Language: English

Informant: My mother was told by her grandmother

Original Script: Take a sock and put clothes of garlic in it, then put it around you neck to clear the sinuses

Background: This was used before Vick’s vapor rub to cure congestion in the chest

Thoughts: My mom said it never worked it just made you smell bad.

Blonde in the Bathroom

Nationality: Brazilian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/23/17
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

Informant: My friend who is from Brazil

Original Script: ” A girl with platinum blonde hair was murdered in the bathroom. She looks super pale with bloody cotton ball in her nose, she looks like a corpse. You go in the bathroom and switch on the lights and flush the toilet three times and she appears.”

Background: The Brazilian version of the children’s game Bloody Mary

 

Latin evil witch

Nationality: African American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/26/17
Primary Language: English

Informant: My sister’s boyfriend was told by his father who is of latin descent

Original Script: “In latin traditions the believe in spirits, in your home when you have negative spirits,  their is a evil witch that comes while your sleeping and she suffocates you while you scream you cant move and she is their because you have allot of evil in your life. The way to get rid of her is through the jesus candles to purify the room”

Background: The story is to explain sleep paralysis

Thoughts: This is an example of the explanation of natural causes and sicknesses in the body that can’t be explaining by non-advanced medical knowledge. Folk  beliefs were used to explain these diseases.

American Proveb

Nationality: Creole/White
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/26/17
Primary Language: English

Informant: My friend, her mom would tell her this who is from the midwest

Original Script:  ‘A watched pot never boils’

Background: The meaning behind this is if you stay on top of your life, you won’t loose control.

Thoughts: I have never heard this proverb but it encourages self-reliance and accountability and in American we highly regard these traits, so it makes sense that it is well known in America.