Monthly Archives: May 2017

El Cipitillo

Nationality: Salvadoran
Age: 50
Occupation: Service Coordinator
Residence: North Hills, California
Performance Date: 04/20/17
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

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.

El Cipitillo is a boy that wears a large charra or sombrero. He has a little belly. He eats the ashes from leftover fires. The people that make tortilla over the fire would find footprints all over the ashes. He also likes children. If he touched you then you are left retarded.

The story of el cipitillo is often told to scare children from misbehaving. He is said to visit misbehaving children.

It is interesting to see at what lengths Salvadoran moms would go to keep their children safe. I grew up with these stories believing the to be true

La Siguanaba

Nationality: Salvadoran
Age: 50
Occupation: Service Coordinator
Residence: North Hills, California
Performance Date: 04/20/17
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

She was a woman that went out every night to wash by the river. Everyone would hear her washing. But no one would go outside. They would see a woman that had long hair that would drag on the floor. She seduced the men. The story is often told to children to scare them into not misbehaving.

My tia Estella did not listen to my grandmother and went out at night. She was using the bathroom outside and she saw a tall women standing there. The woman had long black hair. And she was washing. My tia thought it was one of the neighbors washing. She approached the lady and when the lady turned to her she was a skeleton. My tia became mute and ran away from the women.

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.

The interesting part of this piece is the similarities between this and the Llorona of Mexico. It is also interesting because my own aunt experienced it. This story is a classic tale Salvadoran parents use to keep them from misbehaving.

 

Salvadoran Joke Proverb

Nationality: Salvadoran
Age: 50
Occupation: Chief Building Engineer
Residence: North Hills, California
Performance Date: 04/20/17
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

” No te mais, aquien temio”

Literal Translation: Do not be afraid, of he has been afraid

Joke translation: Do not be afraid, of he who has peed on you

The literal translation comes from the proper Spanish from Spain. The way it is used in El Salvador is they make the last word into two words turning it into “pee.” This joke is usually told to  friend or close family member that is having a bad day or is anxious. My father heard this joke from his friends.

I asked my dad for some folklore while walking to the store.

My informant is a building engineer. He migrated to the United States form El Salvador when he was 16 years old. He grew up in a city in El Salvador. Lots of the folklore he has heard has come from his family.

What is interesting about this piece is how a slight shift in space of a word can change the meaning of the whole proverb. Salvadorans are known for being jokers. They like to call it being “trucha.”

Hajj

Nationality: Lebanese-American
Age: 22
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Los Feliz, California
Performance Date: 04/05/17
Primary Language: English

Can be referred to in different ways: one for the pilgrimage made to mecca; and the second is someone that has gone to Mecca. When someone’s has finished the pilgrimage to Mecca they would know be called Hajj- and then whatever their first name was. It is kind of like a PHD for those that complete going to back to Bali. In order to go on the pilgrimage one must be cleanse and have no debts.

My informant is from a Lebanese family. She is a college student at the California State University Northridge. She is very close with her father, often helping him run the family store. We sat down at a coffee shop to talk about folklore from her family.

The interesting part of this piece is the similarity in how those that have completed the pilgrimage are seen in a very positive and elevated status. Mecca plays such a huge role in the culture that it has its own merits when visited.

Lebanese Donkey Joke

Nationality: Lebanese-American
Age: 22
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Los Feliz, California
Performance Date: 04/05/17
Primary Language: English

My informant heard this joke from her father.

So there is this gypsy that used to go around and buy donkeys. You know the gypsies are seen as kind of tricky. He bought this donkey from this man. He goes… uh… to another village to the bazaar. The gypsy was selling the donkey over there and he sold it. So this man so now he needs a donkey. So he went to the bazaar to buy a new donkey. So he found this donkey and oh my god he liked its color; it was blue and red. He said “I’m gonna buy this donkey.” He bought it for five times more than the donkey he sold. So he bought the donkey and was riding on it home. And you know the donkey knows it’s way to the house. This donkey was going without even directions, without gps. Just going right, left, right, woooo! So this guy came down and find out his pants are all red and blue. So he looked at the back of the donkey. And it was raining when he was riding. So what happened is the gypsy painted the donkey and sold it for more. Hahaha! He bought the same donkey!

My informant is from a Lebanese family. She is a college student at the California State University Northridge. She is very close with her father, often helping him run the family store. We sat down at a coffee shop to talk about folklore from her family.

The Lebanese culture has a lot of donkey jokes. It was interesting to see how the stereotype of gypsy gets passed down into this story. Gypsy are for the most part seen as subhuman. Another interesting thing is the simplicity of the joke.