Monthly Archives: April 2018

Soccer Voodoo

Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Performance Date: April 23, 2018
Primary Language: English

“I played competitive soccer through most of my grade school experience. I started when I was 4 years old, in a recreational league, and then eventually moved up to different travel leagues and varsity soccer for my high school. Because I had played for most of my life, I was always really competitive when it came to specific teams that I had encountered in previous games. I always remembered specific girls that were either really good or played super dirty.”

“Before every game we would gather in a circle with our coach and discuss our game plan, lineup, and players on the other team to look out for. He didn’t know this, but after he left one girl on my team would bring out this little doll that she had gotten in Jamaica. She told us originally that it was a voodoo doll, and that if we wanted to win we had to kick around the doll and that would make their best player have a bad game. Obviously I didn’t actually believe that this would work, but we did it before every game. Each person would have to kick the doll at least once to make sure it worked. If it didn’t work we would all come up with different reasons or excuses as to why it didn’t work, like maybe we didn’t all touch it or did something wrong.”

“The girl was one of my good friends, and that I know of didn’t have any personal reasons behind this doll. She said she just saw it in a random tourist shop in Jamaica, and because she was a competitive player like the rest of us, figured that this doll could give us the pregame boost and confidence that we needed. Honestly, I think it did help us a lot. Even though we knew that kicking around a little doll wasn’t actually going to have an effect on the girls on the other team, it helped us better mentally prepare for the game and come out stronger.”

 

My Interpretation of the story:

 

It is clear throughout the story that the girls on the team did not exactly believe that this voodoo doll was directly effecting the girls on the opposing team. It seems as though it was primarily used as a mental game, for the girls to think that they have an advantage and in turn play better than they would have without performing this ritual. Traditionally, voodoo dolls have a lot of prerequisites to get them working and commonly have to be activated and have some sort of relation to the individual that it is effecting. Usually, voodoo dolls are tailored to a specific person, rather than able to be used for multiple different people. If the voodoo doll were to be used on different people, there would be no specific link between the doll or the person, which is a vital part of creating a voodoo doll. This ritual allows the team to become closer and prepare themselves as a group for the game they are about to play, but does not actually paranormally hurt anyone on the opposing team.

Saint Nicholas.

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Ocean Beach, San Diego.
Performance Date: 4/10/18
Primary Language: English

Max Feye, a Junior studying Screenwriting at the University of Southern California, who hails from Ocean Beach, San Diego, provided two pieces of folklore for this collection.

The interview was run, in his bedroom, at Orchard Avenue, on the outskirts of the University of Southern California.

Folklore Performance: Saint Nicholas.

Folk Type: Legend.

“So you’re German and American, has there been any folkloric cultural exchange between the two” – Stanley Kalu

STORY: I guess the first piece of folklore would be Saint Nicholas day, which is uhh, which is from Germany. I guess, maybe even more specifically from Southern Germany. I grew up with this, my mom and my dad are both German, so essentially there is Christmas and then there is Saint Nicholas day, which is in December. The Legend goes that the German version of Santa Clause will come if you put your boots outside the door and he’ll come and feel your boots with presents. So we always did that during Christmas.

Background Information: Born in Patara, a land that is part of present-day Turkey, circa 280, St. Nicholas was a Christian bishop who helped the needy. After his death, the legend of his gift-giving grew. St. Nicholas transformed into the legendary character called Santa Claus, who brings Christmas presents to children around the world.

Max likes this because it is apart of his childhood.  He learned it from his parents.

Context of Performance:  Christmas time in Germany.

Thoughts: Every culture seems to adopt the concept of Santa Claus as their own. Multiplicity and variation, people! Multiplicity and variation!

The Black Forest

Nationality: American.
Age: 21
Occupation: Student.
Residence: Ocean Beach, San Diego.
Performance Date: 4/22/18
Primary Language: English

Max Feye, a Junior studying Screenwriting at the University of Southern California, who hails from Ocean Beach, San Diego, provided two pieces of folklore for this collection.

The interview was run, in his bedroom, at Orchard Avenue, on the outskirts of the University of Southern California.

Folklore Performance: The Black Forest.

Folk-Type: Folk Area.

“Did you have any folkloric experiences in Germany?” – Stanley Kalu

STORY: so my mom is from a city in Germany called Stuttgart and it’s right by the black forest and that’s where the Brothers Grimm stories take place. so we’d go into the forest, when I was a kid in Germany, and we’d look for these specific types of fairies and their based on these hats that people wear. Like red furry hats with rounded tops. I forget the German word for ‘em, but they were called Pom pom fairies. There are tons and tons of stories around that forest, elves that live in tree-trunks and for sure witches that live there.

Background Information: The Black Forest is the location of many of the Grimm fairy-tales. It is said to be enchanted.

Max enjoys this piece of folklore because he actively believed and pursed the magical creatures within the Black Forest. He learned about this from his mother, who grew up near the Black Forest.

Context of Performance:  The Black Forest is it’s own context, you know?

Thoughts: I’ve always been enamored with the idea of enchanted places. I wonder if some places are said to ve enchanted because, on some level, they are.

 

 

 

 

 

To wish on an eyelash

Nationality: American
Age: 23
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/10/18
Primary Language: English

Ethan Newmayer, a free-lance photographer working for Louis Vutton, , who hails from, Chula Vista, San Diego, three pieces of folklore for this collection.

The interview was run, within his studio, at Orchard Avenue, on the outskirts of the University of Southern California.

Folklore Performance: To wish on an eyelash.

“I talked to Mike about wish related folklore, do you know any?” – Stanley Kalu

STORY: Oh, I have another one, Maria and I do this, If you have like an eye-lash stuck on your face, the other person swipes it off and then you press your fingers together with the eyelash between your finger tips and whoever pulls away the eyelash tucks it in their shirt and gets to make a wish. It’s like a wishbone, with eye-lashes.

Background Information: the tradition of wishing on a fallen eyelash comes from common folklore during the 19th century. Wishers would place the fallen eyelash on the back of their hand before throwing it over their shoulder as they imagined what they wanted.

It was also said that the devil would try to collect as much human hair and eyelashes as possible to gain power over people.

Context of performance: This has been described above.

Thoughts: I question whether most people believe in folk practices like this one or whether the act itself is simply comforting. I’d lean towards my latter statement because there is comfort in tradition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Song

Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Performance Date: 4/20
Primary Language: English

“Growing up, on my birthday my mom would always sing an interesting rendition of Happy Birthday. It wasn’t the normal happy birthday song that people usually brush their teeth to or something to make sure they brushed them for long enough. I’m not sure exactly where she got this version from, but I do know that her mom sang it to her every year on her birthday.”

“It goes like this, ‘Happy Birthday Sophia, Sophia it’s your birthday” over an and over again and she does this little dance with her arms. I think it’s really cute but whenever I sing it to my friends or my roommates on their birthday they always look so confused. I was actually called out for it once, like ‘Sophia what is that, that is not happy birthday’.”

“So my mom’s mom always sang it to her growing up, so I assume that’s why she does it too. When I’ve asked her in the past, she always just said that’s what my mom sang to me. Her mom was born in America and lived in New Jersey and she said that she has no idea where her mom got the rendition from, but knew it was important to keep it going in the family.”

“I don’t think there are any like cultural or religious ties to it, I mean I am Jewish but all of my friends who are also Jewish have never heard of it before.”

 

My Interpretation of the story:

 

This tradition seems as though it is rooted deeply in the family rather than in a specific culture or heritage. I find it interesting that most people have not heard this rendition before, as to there are many different versions and tunes to the song happy birthday. Traditions within a family, I feel, tend to last longer and go into further generations than larger cultural traditions. Larger cultural traditions can be lost in the mix as well as be interpreted differently by different followers. Because of this, the tradition can be altered within different groups of a larger group and lose its original purpose or meaning. Keeping smaller traditions within a family can allow that tradition to remain intact and exclusive, preserving those that practice its’ ideologies and beliefs. It is important for families to somewhat separate themselves from the rest of the world with their own traditions and customs to generate tighter bonds and also, keep them on the same page because they are bound for life. I think that this rendition of Happy Birthday and the fact that it is an annual occurrence allows the family to have a sort of uniqueness that differentiates them from other families and people, and gives them the opportunity to create a personal, in group tradition.