Monthly Archives: May 2019

The Leprechaun Place

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: March 31, 2019
Primary Language: English

Piece:

JK: There was this game we would play in elementary school. It’s really weird I think we made it up. We had a leprechaun place.

I: No way! So did we!

JK: Oh! Ours was… It was a tree that had a sort of a knotted indent in the base of it, in the playground for 1st-4th graders. And kids would make dresses out of flowers or furniture out of plants or the little pizza tables to put in it. Some girls would bring in barbie furniture but that was known as cheating. When the stuff moved around the next day, it would be like “Oh the leprechaun came!” When stuff went missing we would be like “Oh he liked that.” It evolved that the leprechaun had a wife, because kids wanted to make cute mini dresses and stuff. And then the teachers got mad at us for playing the game and shut it down.

Context:

The informant went to a private elementary school in Corona Del Mar, and this would have happened between 2003-2008. Many kids played the game, and it involved creativity, which the informant made a point of sharing with me. The game was played during recess and lunch and involved children from multiple grades.

Analysis:

This game speaks to the imaginations of children. I also had a similar experience of a ‘leprechaun place’ in elementary school, as mentioned above, although I do not remember it in as much detail. However, the magic of the leprechaun place seems to be the idea of another world with other beings that are smaller than you—similar to how children must feel around adults. This game gives children the opportunity to play caretaker in a sense, such as making clothes or tables for the leprechauns. The idea that Barbie furniture was cheating the game is poignant—the children realized things they made meant more than things manufactured for them. Such a distinction implies that children are proud of their work and eager to earn recognition for it, as shown through the fact that the children would see if the leprechaun took or simply moved their left item.

French Wedding- Umbrella Tradition

Nationality: French
Age: 64
Occupation: Retired
Residence: California/ France
Performance Date: April 8, 2019
Primary Language: English
Language: French

Piece:

BM: “One of the wedding traditions still in play in the Brittany region and in the Loire region is the tradition of the umbrella.  And it is not because these regions are also famous for frequent rain. Referred to as the ‘dance of the umbrella’ this is a beautiful tradition which takes place during the evening of the wedding banquet.  It is also called the Umbrella of Happiness.  When the newlyweds open the wedding ball, the couple must dance a slow dance under a large white umbrella while the wedding guests throw streamers at them.   The streamers which stay attached to the umbrella represent each year of happiness awaiting the young couple.”

Context:

The informant is a 64 year old woman from France who married an American, although she still often resides in France. She has been to multiple weddings with this tradition being practiced.

Analysis:

This practice is very symbolic. The umbrella being white is an important element that implies a brighter future, versus the more somber quality a typical black umbrella would provide. Dancing under the umbrella perhaps is representative of standing together “rain or shine” in marriage, and the streamers being thrown remind me of rice being thrown as couples exit a chapel. An element of luck is involved with how many streamers attach to the umbrella– in essence, this stands for how there are elements of life the couple cannot control, no matter how dedicated they are to each other.

 

Sailor Ritual- Crossing the Equator

Nationality: American
Age: 68
Occupation: Professor
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: March 30, 2019
Primary Language: English

Piece:

CM: I have two stories about my grandfather. He told me a story from when he was a very young man, when he was a deep water sailor, sailing a steel hauled clipper around Cape Horn. When he left the Mediterranean to sail south, the ship had to cross the equator. The tradition went that whenever a sailor crosses the equator for the first time, he goes through a traditional ritual where he is put through a series of comical trials— for example, being doused with water— and other hazing-like activities. The Captain dressed up as Neptune and the ceremony was used to initiated the sailor into the club as a true deep water sailor.”

Context:

The speaker’s grandfather was a sailor during the early 20th century. The ship was likely American, although the informant’s grandfather was from Austria. The ritual was done on the ship whenever there was a sailor who had not crossed the equator before. The informant’s grandfather took trips through the equator working as a sailor multiple times.

Analysis:

Being a sailor is a high-risk job, particularly so in the early 20th century when the informant’s grandfather worked. This initiation ritual supports the idea that the equator was a meaningful marker to sailors. Furthermore, the ritual is an excuse to have a celebration, which on a ship with no technology to communicate with the outside world would be important for morale. The somewhat silly ritual contradicts the otherwise dangerous life of a sailor. A discussion of the various ways this ritual has been performed, especially pointing out the fact that the ritual is somewhat of an initiation practice for “landlubbers”, can be found on pgs. 154-159 of Keith P. Richardson’s 1977 article for the Western Folklore journal (Vol. 36, no. 2) titled “Polliwogs and Shellbacks: An Analysis of the Equator Crossing Ritual (Western States Folklore Society).

Sword and Sheep- A Trinity Reward

Nationality: American
Age: 68
Occupation: Professor
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: March 30, 2019
Primary Language: English

Piece:

CM: “I attended Trinity College, Dublin. There was this ritual, for undergraduates only. If you took the first (which means highest score) on your exams, you had the right to wear your sword to the commencement ceremony and you could graze your sheep on the college commons. I don’t know if anyone ever did it, it was kind of antique, but it was on the books if you wanted to.”

Context:

The informant is American, and attended graduate school at Trinity in the 1980s. While he was not an undergraduate, he knew of the tradition from other students. He took the first in his exams, but specified that the tradition was specifically for undergraduates only, so he did not do it.

Analysis:

This tradition speaks both to when Trinity was founded (in 1591 by Queen Elizabeth the First) and the importance ‘land’ held at this time. The grazing of sheep shows a dominance over the land of the College, as though the student who took the first now had some ownership over College grounds. The inclusion of the sword marks the importance of appearing powerful and able to defend yourself.

How The Spider Got Its Long Legs

Nationality: American
Age: 23
Occupation: Music Industry Assistant
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 10, 2019
Primary Language: English

Piece:

JG: Want to know why a spider has long legs?

I: Sure.

JG: My dad told me this story when I was little. Here it is: Once, there was a spider named Anansi and Anansi was a greedy spider. He was about to have dinner with his wife and his wife was a great cook. But he was greedy and wanted to go out and try his friends’ food. So he leaves his wife at his house and he goes to Rabbit’s house. He is drawn in by the smell of something cooking. He finds Rabbit cooking delicious greens. “Oh rabbit,” said Anansi, “those greens look mighty fine.” “Well they are going to be really good and you can wait for them to be done,” says Rabbit. Now, Anansi knows, if he were to wait, Rabbit would just give him a lot of chores to do. Anansi hates chores. “Oh no,” says Anansi, “I got some chores to do on my own. But I don’t want to leave these greens. So I have an idea” “What’s your idea?” said Rabbit. Anansi made a string of web-material. He tied it to one of his eight legs. “Now when you are done cooking the greens, pull the web and I will know it’s done.” So he left. Down the road, Anansi smells something really good, so he goes down the path to Bear’s house. Bear is cooking some delicious looking porridge and invites Anansi to wait for it to be done. “Oh yeah bear I would love to have some, but I still got some chores to do. So why don’t I just tie this string of web around my leg. When it’s done, you just pull on it and I’ll come on back.” And on Anansi goes visiting all of his friends. In the end, Anansi ends up with a string of web tied to each of his eight legs. Anansi thinks, “Now I just need to wait for one of them to pull the string and I can have some delicious food. Then, his foot pulls. “Oh Rabbit must be done.” Then, four of the strings get pulled, and then stretch out his legs, then 5, then 6, then 7, then 8, until all 8 of his legs are being pulled at one time. And they pulled and they pulled. And Anansi finally pushes himself down to the water, which dissolves the webs. When he comes out of the water, he finds he now has 8 very, very long legs.”

Context:

The informant was told this story as a child by his father. The informant believes his father likely read it in a book of fables and used it to teach about greed as well as tell a funny story. The informant thinks of it as a silly fable, but says it stuck with him until now, so therefore it must have been entertaining enough to remember since childhood.

Analysis:

This is a classic fable that uses fairytale-like elements– for instance, talking animals and an element of suspended reality. There is no explanation for Anansi’s greed, which implies that perhaps greed is a natural “human” urge (or an urge of living beings) we all must fight. The use of animals rather than people connects the theme of the story– greed– to an element of nature outside of humans, especially as greed causes a visual result on the spider children can recognize.