Author Archives: acchrist

Chinese Dragon Symbol

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 20
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 3/27/16
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

The informant is a junior at USC. She is of Chinese origin, but was born and raised in America. Kim talks about the metaphor of the Chinese Dragon and what it means to the Chinese culture.

Kim: “At a like festival, or you would go to a temple where they have these New Year celebrations. There are people who do dragon dances, so it’s basically like they wear like a dragon head…it’s like a bunch of people, they have like a long train that everyone- there’s a bunch of people holding it up.”

 

Me: So is the dragon a metaphor or symbol of something?”

 

Kim: “…It might just be along the line of like scaring away evil.”

 

Me: “So is that just a New Year’s…? Does the dragon just come around New Year’s?”

 

Kim: “I mean I think the dragon is like very stereotypically Chinese. I’m pretty sure we do it at other holidays too.”

 

Me: “So what is the Chinese dragon symbolic of?”

 

Kim: “I think it might be related to like the royal family…the dragon’s very regal…you know like very royal.”

 

Me: “ Is the fire breathing symbolic of something?”

 

Kim: “I don’t know. I’ve been to like the Forbidden Palace, it’s like a castle in China. So they have like all these dragon sculptures, so I think it’s supposed to represent like the emperor or something like that.”

The informant’s ideas about the Chinese dragon aren’t terribly clear, but I think it can be suggested that the Chinese dragon is a symbol often signifying great strength, power, and dominance. I think it’s a very revered figure, and If it is metaphoric of the emperor, a very powerful and highly esteemed individual, the dragon may symbolize the possess the same qualities for Chinese society. In American culture, dragon’s seem to connote a more dangerous, predator-like stereotype.

This is contradictory to the idea that dragons warn off bad affiliations, as  characterized in chinese culture.

 

For other developed conceptions of the chinese Dragon along with legends and idioms related to the dragon, see  “The Chinese Dragon: A Symbol of Strength and Power.” ChinaHighlights. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

 folklore pic

Chinese New Year

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 20
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 3/27/16
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

The informant is a junior at USC. She is Chinese origin, and was born and raised in America. Kim talks about a special holiday, Chinese New Year, and some of the traditions special to her family and Chinese culture.

 

Me: “Okay…So tell me about Chinese New Year and then, like what you do, what you and your family do…what your culture does.”

 

Kim: ”So like Chinese New Year is like the New Year based on the Lunar calendar, not the Greek Orientation I think it’s called. The calendar that we use…is based on the lunar cycle, and then so it usually falls around the end of January, beginning of February, according to our calendar. In China and Taiwan…it’s like a big holiday so the kids have like two weeks off of school and stuff…so it’s very much about like ringing in the New Year, and like being like a new person, and then like just bringing good luck for the New Year. So Traditions are, in the house, we decorate with red, and red is supposed to scare away the demons and bad stuff… back in the day, people believed in that kind of stuff, and it’s also a good luck thing, and that’s why there’s also- I don’t know if you know about like fire crackers, but it’s a really big thing that’s also to scare away- that’s where it came from, but we just do it for like fun and tradition now- to scare away like evil and bad feelings…we also hang, they’re called spring couplets which is like poems, and it’s basically like… a long piece of paper with characters, and it’s basically just a poem that’s about good fortune, good luck and stuff like that… it usually is hung upside down because if you say something is upside down in Chinese… the sound of it is very similar to, “it’s coming.” So like fortune (a chinese character)  is coming…We also clean the house…”

 

Me: “Do you guys have any New Year’s meals?”

 

Kim:” Yeah, so that’s one of the biggest things, New Year’s Eve meal, New Year’s Eve dinner, so it’s like the biggest meal…all your family comes in from everywhere.”

 

Me: “Would it be equivalent to our (American) Thanksgiving?”

 

Kim: “Yeah, definitely. We also eat specific kinds of foods like there’s this thing called a year cake. It’s made out of flour and stuff, I don’t really know.”

 

Me: “But you have it every year?”

 

Kim: “Yeah, you’re supposed to…we eat like fish and stuff… there are a lot of food specific to the New Year that are supposed to give you good luck…You’re supposed to eat like long noodles or something because that signifies a long life. I’m not really sure if that’s a New Year’s thing or a birthday thing. I know you do it on your birthday, but I’m not sure about New Years, but I’m pretty sure I’ve had to eat noodles every year. Another thing for me is like this thing called New Year’s Eve TV or something like that…it’s broadcasted in China on New Year’s Eve, and it’s basically this really long-”

 

Me: “Is It counting down to the New Year?”

 

Kim: “Kind of, yeah. You know how we have a time square thing? It’s similar, like they have people do like magic tricks and a lot of stuff for like a long time, so I don’t know how long it is. It’s like five hours maybe. So you just sit there and watch it on New Year’s Eve.”

 

Me: “How is the New Year significant to you? What do the customs mean to you personally?”

 

Kim: “So, like cause I was born here and grew up here, so I’m not very in tune with my culture, so it helps me to stay in tune…there’s a few holidays throughout the year and this is probably the big one where like I do see all my family and see like the Chinese traditions and stuff like that… Red envelopes is a thing. So like people who are married have to give you money, so once you get married you can’t receive any more (laughs).”

It’s important to note the parallels and similarities found within two different cultures: the American and the Chinese. Just as American’s have an official declared New Year’s Eve Holiday, many Chinese celebrate their own start to a new beginning. The reason of celebration for both cultures seems similar, though the dates ending the years are just a few months apart. Americans broadcast “The ball drop’ in Times Square in New York, and Chinese have a similar broadcasting for which is especially unique to their cultural celebration. One difference between the way that the cultures celebrate is that the Chinese decorate their homes with the color red to mean good fortune, while American society doesn’t seem to place great significance on one, individual color, but rather has officially paired colors with different holidays so that the colors are more of a mere association rather than underlying symbolism.  

 

Annual Critter Dinner

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/20/16
Primary Language: English

The informant is a Freshman at USC studying Biology. Originally from Charleston, West Virginia, he tells a narrative about a bizarre tradition held in his hometown.

 

Me: “Tell me about where you’re from? What is the community like?”

 

D: “So, yeah, Charleston isn’t a very big city, but it’s the capital of the state, so it’s where most of the festivals and things take place. West Virginia culture is very country… all the hillbilly people you see on TV?, that’s us, West Virginia. They’re all about hunting and four-wheel riding and things of that nature. But it is a beautiful place, though. I can’t take that from it, I love the scenery – especially in the fall. So, overall, I guess Charleston was a solid place to grow up. I’m just glad I don’t have the accent.”

 

Me: “You mentioned festivals taking place in the city. Can you tell me about a specific festival in your hometown and what your community does for it?”

 

D: “One of the festivals that is closest to me is called the ‘ Annual Critter Dinner.’ And yeah, it’s exactly how it sounds. People bring their roadkill to the community center that isn’t too far away from me and they gather around to cook it and eat it. They bring things like possums, racoons, deer, birds – all sorts of things. I, for one, have never been, and I don’t plan on going either. That isn’t for me, but the people of WV love things like that. Umm it’s an annual thing, and it’s always a surprisingly big turn out too. You see it in the papers and on TV and everything. The whole city gets involved pretty much.”

 

Me: “ When does this festival take place?”

 

D : “It’s always in December. It’s always cold outside and it’s right after a part of hunting season and it’s kind of like our own mini feast between Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

 

Me: Is it celebrating something?”

 

D: “Mmmm, I guess you could say so. People celebrate in what they’ve hunted through the season, and then other people are just proud to present their roadkill.”

 

Me: “Present it? Do you know if they have contests, like maybe over who can get the most roadkill?”

 

D: “Yeah, whoever brings the most get’s some kind of prize, but I’m not exactly sure what it is. Like I said, I’ve never been… but I also know that the person with, like, the biggest roadkill gets to eat first after everything is cooked.”

 

Me: “So what do you think this tradition brings to your city? Why is it important for your city to have an Annual Critter Dinner?”

 

D: “It’s definitely a good time for all the people that go. So for the city, it brings people together, and it’s something that’s unique to our state, so we feel a bit special. It kind of makes us stand out, because it’s an odd tradition.”

 

I think this tradition for the city of Charleston held every year speaks a lot to other places about what some of West Virginia’s people are like and what they value and celebrate as a culture. I think the citizens participating in the contests and festivals enjoy expressing their hunting culture. The Critter Dinner is a unique event to the city of Charleston, and, although it is an odd one, the festival brings citizens together to enjoy a meal, which adds to the unity and structure of the city.

 

‘We’ll Cross Every River As We Get There’

Nationality: Ethiopian
Age: 19
Residence: California
Performance Date: 4/15/16
Primary Language: English

The informant is a freshman at the University of Southern California. She provides some background information about where she is from and how she was raised in America after migrating from Ethiopia and introduces an Ethiopian proverb she learned from her family.  

Me: “Start with telling me a little bit about your dad, maybe who he was, and about how he told you the proverb.  Then you can tell me what he told you and why the saying may or may not be significant to your life.”

 

E: “Okay, so I was born in Ethiopia and immigrated here to the states when I was younger…but I was raised in an Ethiopian household, so that’s like my entire upbringing, culturally, heritage wise. My dad is a really cool guy. Probably my favorite person, like in life. Um, He parents better through proverbs, so anytime I have like an issue or a problem in my life, he’ll always hit me with one, and his favorite one to tell me growing up…um, I used to worry a lot and be like a really stressed out person all the time…and he would always tell me…’we’ll cross every river as we get there.’ And It’s basically describing a story of, like a farmer with his sheep and his flock, and how he can stand with them in a field and…maybe stress about any dangers that might come in the future or you know some predator that may come and steal his sheep or eat his sheep or something like that, or one of the sheep could get lost…there’s a million things to worry about but if you let your mind deviate on those thoughts then you kind of forget about what’s currently happening in the present moment. So the proverb is if there’s a river that you have to cross, you worry about that river when you get to that river…for now you just stay in your place.”  

 

This proverb is especially useful because I get very anxious about things that will happen in the future or that I may have little to no control over. To be able to remind myself of this saying that basically says to take it one step at a time, is personally therapeutic for me, so I think I can relate to the participant’s understanding of the proverb as well.

 

‘Never Spend Your Last Dollar’

Nationality: American
Age: 40
Occupation: NA
Residence: Dallas, Texas
Performance Date: 3/18/16
Primary Language: English

The informant was raised in Chicago, Illinois, the oldest out of three girls. She reflects on a time when her mother shared a family proverb  that was both money-oriented and passed down to the next generation by her grandmother.

 

Annalesa: “My mother was very serious about us saving money and never being completely broke or having to rely on another person for money…something that was taught to her by her mother was,’never spend your last dollar.’”

 

Me: “Why is that?”

 

Annalesa: “Because as long as you have some money, it’s a lot easier to get money if you have some money versus if you’re completely broke, even if you’re trying to borrow money…people are more comfortable giving you part of the money you need because they know that you’ve already worked to gain the other part or you already have the other part.

 

Me: “So how did this saying affect the way you and your family valued money growing up?”

 

Annalesa: “My mom recommended that every time we got paid, we got twenty or thirty dollars in quarters, and the reason for the quarters is because it’s very easy to go to the store -back then they didn’t have debit cards (chuckles)-so it was very easy to go to a store, and pay with like paper money, but it’s still you know kind of embarrassing showing up with like a handful of change, so by always getting quarters, you’re essentially saving money that’s not in your bank account, that you would not just automatically run out and spend, because back then there weren’t any like coin stars or anything like that, like it was really complicated to roll your change to go spend it at the store, movies, gas whatever.”

 

Me: “How was this idea meaningful to you?”

 

Annalesa: “It reminds me of how hard my mother worked to provide for us. She didn’t have a large support system if she didn’t have the money. She always found a way to make it seem like we were not going without.”

 

I think American society really emphasizes the value of money and the benefits to living a luxurious and wealthy lifestyle. So It makes sense to me that many families might have proverbs or sayings that underline their views in regards to monetary value. I respect the participant’s admiration for her family’s values and beliefs. It seems to me that the proverb has logical reasoning to back up it’s purpose. My overall take away is that it is important to work hard so that you can earn money, but It is also equally valuable to be wise in how you decide to use the money that you earn. Spending every last dollar leaves a greater chance that you will be dependent on others for help in the future, and I think Annalesa’s family means to emphasize independence in that they do not wish to have to rely on other people for financial support. I personally feel that it is sometimes okay to ask for help, but in order to exchange reciprocity under future circumstances, saving money benefits you in the long run.

Hard work and independence will lead to self assurance and greater confidence, two qualities seemingly important to many other areas of life, and I think the participant interpreted the family proverb in a very similar light.