Emily once told me that there was a flashing headlights gang initiation. If you are driving at night and see a car with no headlights on, do not flash your head lights. This is an initiation game of the gang–the first car that flashes the head light will be the target of the gang. The gang member will turn around and chase the people who flash the light and shoot them.
Monthly Archives: May 2017
dream of tooth falling
Original Script: If you dream of your tooth falling out, that means someone you know will leave the world. And there is one day I had the dream of tooth falling out, several days later my grandmother passed away.
Background information about the piece: In Chinese folklore, there are lots of stories of dream interpretation. For example, if you have a dream of seeing a frog, you will make a fortune very soon.
Thoughts about the piece: The interpretation of the dream in Chinese folklore always relates to mysterious predictions. However, the interpretation of the dream in the Western world is more scientific. For instance, my friend in the US tells me that if you dream your tooth falling out that means you need to cut back on the candy and sweet food.
the barking dog
anOriginal Script: “After dinner, I was laying on the sofa and watching TV with my husband as usual. Suddenly, our dog Meme became very manic; he was barking at us and running to the front door. Meme is three years old and has never been like that; he used to be very quiet. My friend even asked me if Meme was dumb because he never barks. So my husband and I both thought this was very strange.We walked to the front door and look through the peephole. However, it was dark outside and there is no one there but the flower pot was knocked over. My husband suggested if it was an earthquake, but we live on the 19th floor and we could definitely feel the shake if there was an earthquake. And it can’t be people who live here passed by because Meme would not bark at our neighbors. There are always some stories about the supernatural ability of animals. My husband and I were timid and did not walk out to see what happened.”
Thoughts about the piece: There are lots of stories of how animals can predict danger. This is might because animals are always thought to be the friend of human beings.
Brujo
This is a true story about magic:
“Your great uncle was a brujo (Witch). And he had killed someone. It was from my mom’s side of the family, I don’t know. My mom was small and lived with the mother of the uncle. The uncle had a fight with a neighbor, and killed them. The police were looking fro him at this point. He went to go visit my Aunt Rosa. She asked him what he had done. He asked if he could stay there for awhile. The police came looking for him. They asked if a man had entered the house. The police entered the house to search. My aunt responded no. He was in the kitchen and there was a bunch of bananas. He had transformed himself into the bananas. My Aunt asked where he had gone, and she saw him fall to the ground as bananas and transform into a man and leave.”
My informant is a service coordinator. She likes to help people. She also migrated from El Salvador to the United States. Most of her stories are from her mother or personal experiences.
I talked to my informant over coffee in our house.
It is interesting to hear a story explaining how our family comes from a line of witches. Another interesting thing is how the story changed from the last time I heard it. I have always wondered why my great uncle would turn into bananas. It is always interesting to learn about your family history.
Yellow String
“The informant wears a yellow string tied around her wrist. It was given by her mom for luck.”
After thoughts: The strings are called blessing cords and used in Buddhism practice. In the traditional practice, the Lama ties a knot in the cord and blows a mantra into it which makes a blessing. This allows you to take your teacher with you wherever you go. This is similar to many other religious traditions where the teacher is associated with spiritual blessings. They are meant to touch your body and purify any negative mantras.