Informant: Dr. Çulik-Baird is a 27-year-old professor. She was born and raised in Scotland, and moved to Los Angeles at 21. She recently moved to Boston for a job.

Main Piece:
Hannah: “When I was little, my mother would always warn me not to bring a bird’s feather into the house. My dad didn’t believe it, but my mother would always warn me against it.”

Interviewer: What would happen if you did?

Hannah: “Just bad luck, really. She never told me much more about it.”

Background Information about the Performance: The informant lives away from her family now but still practices this superstition that her mother told her. She said that doing so reminds her of home.

Context of Performance: This piece was told in the household of the informant when she was younger.

Thoughts: I have never heard of this superstition before, and the informant noted that it might have just been her mother’s belief. Nevertheless, I enjoyed learning that the piece kept the informant connected in some way to her family, despite living so far away.