Author Archives: Alanna Jimenez

Never accept money with your left hand

Age: 23

MN: “I have Nigerian ancestry. My parents both immigrated from Nigeria at a young age, so they are, you know, American largely, but they also have their roots in Nigeria. I have many family, both there, and here. So we kind of kept a somewhat watered down version of Nigerian culture in our family for a while now. Um, I was told a lot when I was a kid or younger that I should not ever take money with my left hand. You know? If someone could be able to give me change or if I’m taking money from an adult for- for a gift, I won’t ever use my left hand to take it.”

Interviewer: “Who specifically would tell you?”

MN: “Uh, a parent, an older person, an aunt, an uncle, a grandma, would all say the same thing, have the same note. Like: ‘hey, don’t do that. That’s not good.’ Right? I never got a deep dive into why, but it was always kind of a, like, it’s not respectful. It also has some element of bad luck to it. Like, you know, it doesn’t bode well for you to take money or take things with your left hand, which, in a sense, is kind of like a more ‘evil’ or, you know? Unlucky. I think there’s a worldwide kind of culture against left-handedness in general. We have the same thing over in Nigeria, I guess. There was also, what was it? There was the… Um… pockets. Yeah, hands in pockets. That was more directly related to laziness and being seen as lazy. Like if you’re at home and, you know, you should be doing chores maybe, having hands in your pocket shows shows that you are- that you have free time. Those kind of had the same “correction” when I did those things, either taking money with the wrong hand or having my hands in my pockets. It always felt like ‘this is not good for you to do.’ So, I don’t know if they’re related in any way beyond that. But I’ve always had the same kind of like, It always had like, it always felt like those 2 things were kind of related. In a way.”

Context: As stated in the interview, the informant is Nigerian American, and grew up in the United States. During the interview, he stated that some Nigerian customs that his parents were taught may have been “watered down” the longer they have stayed in the United states. He still feels as though these customs have heavily influenced how he grew up, and he still practices many of them to this day.

Analysis: There is a strong cultural association with the idea of left and right equating to good and evil. This isn’t specific to Nigerian culture, and can be found across many cultures around the world. It’s interesting how multiple different cultures can develop similar folklore, and how those ideas can also vary depending on the family, location, or personal experiences of the person sharing those ideals. I believe this is a mix of family folklore and a folk belief/ superstition that accepting money with your left hand is “bad luck”. This also reinforces social norms, like what is considered polite and rude specifically within the informant’s family and within his overall Nigerian folk group.

The Frog in the Well

CK: “So there’s a lot of folklore and children’s stories that I read when my mom was teaching me mandarin at home. There’s one that I like a lot and it’s pretty well known, like I feel like all Chinese people know it, it’s called: The Frog in the Well / The Frog at the Bottom of the Well. From what I remember, basically, there’s this frog and he lives a content life at the bottom of a well. He has company (fish and whatnot) and food and whatever you need to be comfortable. One day a turtle comes by the well and tells the frog that he should come out of the well and the frog is like ‘why would I do that lol my life is awesome and I have everything here I need, I have a beautiful view of the whole sky!’ 

Eventually, he’s convinced to hop out of the well and once he does he sees how vast the sky actually is. He realizes how much of the world he doesn’t know about and how much he hasn’t experienced. Yeah, moral of the story is about being open-minded, venturing out of your comfort zone, in general broadening your worldview, making the effort to learn, and discovering opportunities. 

There’s some idioms that come from it.  

井底之蛙 – jǐng dǐ zhī wā – “frog at bottom of well,” you might call someone this if they are close-minded

坐井观天 -zuò jǐng guān tiān – “gazing/looking at the sky while sitting in a well,” same use case as first one but the act of being close-minded

Oh, and a lot of Chinese idioms are 4 characters it’s like a whole thing.””

context: The informant is a Game designer who studied at USC and recently graduated as of 2025. She is a first generation Chinese American and grew up with a lot of Chinese traditions. Her family is from Southern China, and her parents put a lot of effort into teaching her about her culture’s food, language, rituals, etc.

Analysis: Looking at this children’s folktale through a functionalist lens, its meant to enforce a moral function within children. Its advice on how to go about life, and a warning to avoid being close minded. It also pushes children to get out of their comfort zone in order to gain new life experiences. This is further pushed through the multiple proverbs and idioms that come from this specific tale. the phrase “Frog at the Bottom of the Well” is also esoteric language between Chinese people, since they know the meaning behind the phrase due to most Chinese children growing up hearing this story.

The Crocodile Who Walks Like a Man

Age: 20

“On a stormy night a small charter plane was scheduled to land at Boeing Field.

Authorities have never been able to determine who chartered the plane – only that the pilot and passenger were carrying illegal animals into the country.

The plane hit bad turbulence and, after noting the plane losing altitude the radio tower reported hearing a voice in the background yelling something about “it getting out of its cage.”

There was no further radio contact, but a few minutes later the plane tried to make an emergency landing at Paine Field – but failed and went down deep in the woods.

When authorities found the crash site they only discovered the pilot’s body. Coroner’s reports indicated that he died not from the crash impact, but rather from ghastly bite wounds all over his body.

A zoologist from the Woodland Park zoo studied the bites and concluded that they were probably caused by something in the crocodile genus, but with no recorded bite pattern.

Since the crash there have been numerous reported sightings of the crocodile – always at isolated houses or locations deep in the forest.

One such house was originally thought to have been abandoned until clawed footprints were discovered in the flowerbed outside a shattered second story window.

The footprints – hind legs only – were soaked in aviation fuel leading authorities to speculate that the croc may well have mutated from long years of exposure to the runoff waste from Paine Field and the Boeing manufacturing facilities.

But the company denies any such possibility and insists that such stories are merely malicious rumor designed to slander their good name.

this is the story of The Crocodile Who Walks Like a Man that my dad would tell me and my siblings as kids.”

Context: The informant is from Washington state, which is home to many Cryptids. This could be due to the amount of wilderness that surrounds the state. The informant has shared that her father grew up hearing multiple wilderness cryptid stories, and he passed these stories to her when she was a kid. She considers herself a superstitious person, and believes in many of the cryptid stories she was told growing up.

analysis: This legend is a clear statement about how manufacturing facilities around wildlife is dangerous and harms the local communities around them. Its a warning about the predatory nature of big companies, and how little they care for the general publics health as well as the wildlife around them. In a literal sense, these facilities cause massive pollution and harm to the surrounding environment and the animals. There’s paranormal consequences to allowing these companies to invade, pollute and deforest. Its a classic example of folklore used to comment on an institution or company.

La Siguanaba

Age: 23

“A Salvadorian folklore story I know is La Siguanaba. It originated from the Náhuat people. “Sihuehuet” means beautiful woman in Spanish. Its Salvadorian. The gods cursed her for neglecting her son. She was turned into a spirit who lures unfaithful men. She’s also beautiful, that’s how she lures and kills them. When they get close she shows her face, which is, a , mix of a horse or a skull- or a mix of the two, and drives them crazy. It’s basically about temptation. I had this as a research topic in high school. I wanted to learn about the indigenous tribes from where my family is from.”

context: My informant, is a 23 year old male born in America, whose parents were born in El Salvador. Both parents fled to America to escape the Salvadorian civil war. His mother is from a town called El Mozote, which was where one of the largest massacres caused by the US government took place in 1981.

analysis:

Looking at this from a functionalist perspective, the legend is meant to enforce societal norms. Neglecting your child and being unfaithful could lead to divine punishment and temptation could lead to supernatural consequences. I also believe that La Siguanaba follows a common Latin American folklore trope of a supernatural or ghost woman sent out to punish people, like with La Llorona. the informant’s retelling of the story is a way for him to reinforce his own Salvadoran cultural identity. I also believe that many violent Legends (or just legends centered around death) may have emerged due to the Mozote massacre and other horrendous imperialist acts that have been forced upon Salvadorians. Historical trauma can shape how some legends and folk tales in general are viewed, even if those stories predate such events. the passage of time can effect how those stories are remembered or emphasized.

Christmas Ritual

Age: 23

informant: “For Christmas, we read ‘The Night Before Christmas,’ and we used to like, throw, what was it? There was a thingy we would put in a bag and mash up and throw in the yard. We would call it Reindeer Food, and then [my siblings and I] would act out the story of Jesus being born.”

context: My roommate is from Rome, Georgia, and has a lot of holiday rituals that they celebrate with their family. The reenactment of Jesus’ birth was done with a nativity scene; they did not actually physically act out Jesus’ birth. My roommate, unfortunately, could not remember what they put in the bag they called reindeer food for Christmas, but did recall that they did this ritual every year when they were a child.

Analysis: This is a ritual performance, performed by both parents and children for a holiday. This is also religious folklore, since the stories of the Bible, specifically Jesus birth, is acted out and turned into a live performance using a Nativity scene. It reinforces spiritual identity, because the informant’s family is very religious, and identify as Christian. Although it is very widely socially accepted, I still think it’s interesting how intertwined this holiday and religion are, even with folkloric figures like Jesus and Santa Claus. The meaning of Christmas can change based on the folk lens you’re looking through, for example, people who are not religious may celebrate Santa more on the holiday, and more religious families may celebrate the birth of Jesus.