Monthly Archives: May 2024

A Little Irish Saying

Text – Narrative Folksong

The phrase “Take the high road” origins can be potentially traced back to the old 1800’s folksong, “The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond.”The phrase has now been taken out of context to mean something more about being the bigger person rather than its literal use in the song. Claire talks about how her father uses this phrase and how it has impacted her life through young adulthood.

Context –

CB: I mean, my dad is always, like, saying, sayings, so I’m trying to think of them. I don’t know, he’s always just, like, saying to “take the high road”. That’s something I think about a lot.

Interviewer: Why do you think you think about it a lot?

CB: Cause you have to, like, physically make the choice to do it. If it comes naturally, then you’re a really good person. Whenever I think of taking the high road, I have, like, a visual image in my mind of overlapping highways and you’re just making the decision to look at the skyline and keep going rather than stay in whatever is underneath you and bogging you down.

Interviewer: Hmm. That’s cool.

CB: Yeah. And I think it’s ’cause I used to be, I used to like feel like, especially in high school, in the beginning of college, I used to feel like I needed to fight every fight. Yeah. And resolve every issue. But I had to learn how to let things go, and the image really helped to remind me of that.

My Interpretation –

CB has been one of my closest friends since 1st grade. Seeing her progression into the person she is today and learning about how this phrase helps her dictate the way in which she walks through life makes so much sense with her character. As we get older and get over the cliché-ness of famous sayings, we start to realize the truth behind the words and why they became cliché’s in the first place. Sometimes all it takes for a saying to kick in and shake things up is proper timing for the person being told the phrase too. While Claire had heard this saying from her dad for years, it finally took full effect when she moved to college and got to let the thought finally marinate in her head and then apply it in her own way see fit.

Text:

The ‘Joota Chupai’ ritual is a playful custom at Indian weddings where the bride’s female relatives, often sisters and cousins, spiritedly steal and secrete the groom’s shoes. This lighthearted heist is enacted during the ceremony when the groom is required to be barefoot, setting the stage for a spirited negotiation for their return.

Context:

Recounting the jovial antics from his brother’s wedding last year, my friend narrated the high-spirited ‘Joota Chupai’ episode. As tradition dictates, the bride’s kin seized the opportunity to hide the groom’s shoes, demanding a sizable ransom for their safe return. The situation escalated into a humorous turn of events at sundown when the need for a picturesque sunset photo session led the furious bride to intervene, overturning the ritual’s usual outcome and the groom’s shoes were returned without the customary financial exchange.

Analysis:

The ‘Joota Chupai’ ritual transcends the mere act of playful mischief; it is emblematic of the cultural fabric that interweaves familial bonds, societal expectations, and the negotiations between tradition and modernity. This practice, underscored by Deirdre Evans-Pritchard’s analysis of authenticity in cultural expressions, suggests a complex interplay between established customs and the evolving dynamics of contemporary weddings. While the ritual typically concludes with the groom acquiescing to the monetary demands, this narrative reveals an intriguing deviation. The bride’s insistence on retrieving the shoes to capture the perfect wedding moment underscores the adaptability of cultural traditions in the face of practical circumstances. It demonstrates a shift from the ritual’s traditional financial objective to prioritizing the aesthetic and emotional value of the wedding experience. This incident not only reflects the fluidity of cultural practices but also highlights how individual agency can redefine traditional roles and expectations. The negotiation process inherent in the ‘Joota Chupai’ serves not just as entertainment but as a microcosm of the give-and-take present in familial relationships, where cultural rituals are subject to reinterpretation in response to immediate personal and collective priorities.

Text:

Within the Sindhi community, ‘Chetti Chand’ marks the celebration of the Sindhi New Year. On this auspicious day, it is customary for my friend’s family to wear white attire and practice vegetarianism, abstaining from meat for the entire 24-hour period.

Context:

During a conversation, my friend reflected on the annual tradition his family observes during ‘Chetti Chand.’ For the past decade, his family has enforced a strict ban on consuming chicken, urging him to avoid social outings and to dine at home instead. He recounted a memorable clash with his parents, sparked by their insistence on him wearing white clothing in adherence to the New Year’s customs, indicative of the tension that can arise when personal desires encounter cultural expectations.

Analysis:

The observance of ‘Chetti Chand’ in my friend’s Sindhi family is a vibrant example of religious folklore that intertwines personal purity with cultural renewal. Wearing white symbolizes a state of cleanliness and new beginnings, akin to the fresh start promised by a new year. The abstention from meat is a practice deeply rooted in many cultural traditions as a form of purification, reflecting Valdimar Tr. Hafstein’s notion of collective tradition. Here, the family unit serves as the custodian of cultural heritage, with practices such as these ensuring the transmission of values across generations. The resistance my friend exhibited towards changing into white attire speaks to the friction that can arise when modern individualistic tendencies meet the collective expectations of tradition. This tension is representative of the broader dialogue between contemporary personal identities and longstanding cultural practices. The familial insistence on observance points to the depth of cultural identity within the Sindhi community, and the importance of such rituals in reinforcing the communal fabric. The ritual here is not merely an act of refraining from certain foods or adopting a dress code but a reaffirmation of identity and belonging, symbolizing unity and continuity within the community, and illustrating the cultural significance embedded in seemingly simple acts.

Text:

In a particular birthday tradition known as ‘birthday bumps,’ the individual celebrating a birthday is subjected to playful kicks and hits by friends, signifying their right to do so on this occasion.

Context:

My roommate’s recounting of birthdays spent at an all-boys boarding school painted a picture of both celebration and apprehension. The day would command a compulsory treat for all, paired with the ritualistic ‘birthday bumps.’ This tradition, seemingly harsh, was upheld even in the presence of authority figures who stood by, recognizing the practice as customary. Although the physical aspect of the ritual was moderated in his college years, the essence remained through symbolic gestures like a slap on the back or the more mirthful cake smashing.

Analysis:

The practice of ‘birthday bumps’ embodies a folk custom that acts as an informal rite of passage, echoing the trials one undergoes to enter a new phase of life. This ritual, while appearing merely as a form of entertainment or a test of endurance, carries deeper cultural and personal significance. It is a manifestation of the community’s acknowledgment of an individual’s transition into a new year of life, as well as a reinforcement of social bonds through shared, albeit challenging, experiences. Ray Cashman’s research into visual displays of identity in Irish nationalism suggests that such customs function similarly, where actions and symbols serve to reaffirm connections within a community. The physicality of ‘birthday bumps’ is a tangible expression of this social fabric, a collective embrace through playful yet ritualized aggression. Furthermore, it reflects the implicit understanding and acceptance of certain levels of discomfort in the service of tradition, paralleling other cultural practices where symbolic actions are believed to confer blessings or good luck. This tradition encapsulates the juxtaposition of individual endurance and communal celebration, uniting the group in a singular, memorable moment that marks personal growth and social continuity.

Text:

On recounting familial traditions, my brother illuminated a practice our grandfather adheres to during Diwali, the quintessential festival of lights in Northern India. Amidst the festivities, a peculiar custom is observed: the search for lizards on the exterior walls of the home. These creatures, typically mundane and unnoticed, are sought after on Diwali night as harbingers of good fortune and wealth.

Context:

This ritual, as my brother narrates, unfolds each year without fail, where our grandfather would lead us on an expedition to discover lizards clambering on the walls. The belief holds that spotting these reptiles during the luminous celebration signifies impending prosperity. Intriguingly, this auspicious omen is exclusively tied to Diwali night — it is as though the lizards emerge from their concealment solely for this event, or perhaps our perception of their presence is heightened by the belief’s gravity. On all other nights, these lizards retreat into obscurity, going unnoticed by my brother and the rest of the family.

Analysis:

The practice of seeking lizards on Diwali night can be classified as a folk belief, deeply ingrained in the cultural fabric of the celebration. It’s a manifestation of the principle of sympathetic magic, particularly homeopathic, wherein the appearance of a creature is symbolically linked to prosperity. Just as Frazer discussed the symbolic use of objects in rituals to influence outcomes, the spotting of lizards is a physical representation of welcoming abundance. In Larry Danielson’s exploration of religious folklore, he notes that such traditions often emerge within communities, not through institutional decree but via the organic spread among individuals — a sentiment that resonates with our grandfather’s personal endorsement of this custom. The lizards’ nocturnal visibility on Diwali may be seen as a confluence of belief and tradition, where the collective spirit and heightened energies of the festival could cast everyday occurrences in a mystical light. The specificity of the timing underscores the contextual significance of the belief — it is not the lizards themselves but their association with the festival that carries weight. This belief, ephemeral as the festival itself, is a reflection of hope and the human tendency to seek signs of future prosperity in the world around us, an embodiment of collective optimism that momentarily transforms the mundane into the auspicious.