Author Archives: Kayla Adams

Haitian Voodoo

Nationality: Haitian-American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: New York, New York
Performance Date: 4/2/19
Primary Language: English

Context: Informant’s father is from Haiti and grew up in an area where Voodoo was practiced. Though it may not have been the majority, there was still a presence and the practice was perceived as dangerous. Because of this, he would need to come back into the house from playing at a certain time in order to avoid being caught up in any practices in his neighborhood area.

Informant:

“The thing that keeps coming to mind is like Voodoo… which isn’t like… I don’t know. I just remember my Dad saying that like… he would play stuff… he would like play outside, and at a certain time, you would like, have to go inside because like… the Voodoo people would just like, come around the corner and do their thing and leave at night. But one day, he was like playing too late and he could hear sounds like around the corner, around the mountain or whatever, from around his house and then he saw them and they were in all white… and like, yeah.”

KA: And what is the “Voodoo people” specifically? Like, this was in…

“In Haiti.”

KA: Okay.

“This was like, when he was a kid in Haiti. Um… I mean, for my family specifically, we don’t have to like… really do anything related to Voodoo, but you shouldn’t like… not believe in it just in case anything comes true. It’s like you shouldn’t… I don’t know… I guess like… speak against the gods or like Loa or something like that. I’ve also started researching Voodoo, ’cause I thought it was interesting, but I don’t know. It’s not something that… it’s not really a thing that a lot of Haitians like… do? But it’s also like… not a thing that a lot of Haitians DON’T believe in.”

KA: So why would your Dad have to run inside and not be out?

“Because they’re also like… I mean it can be dangerous.”

Introduction: The informant was introduced to Voodoo through their father.

Analysis: I found this extremely interesting. I feel like people acknowledge Voodoo but don’t fully understand it all of the way. Growing up, I’d hear about Voodoo a little bit from my dad, but it was never an overwhelming presence in my life. The interaction I did have from him was caution though. Through the years I feel as though I’ve been exposed to it the most through popular culture which can morph the reality of it in a way, so I think it would be extremely interesting and beneficial to learn more through a lens that isn’t just one meant to entertain.

Don’t Count the Pierogis (Polish Superstition)

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Primary Language: English

Context/Background: The Informant is of Polish descent and her grandparents and mother strongly identify with the Polish culture. While she, however, does not view herself as socially integrated, she’s been exposed to many customs and superstitions throughout the years. In this context, there is a superstition around a popular Polish food.

Informant:

“So, Pierogis are basically like… this super Polish dish which… I don’t even know how to explain them in a broad sense. They’re like, very large dumplings in a way. But, um, it’s basically like… pasta and its field with… you can have cheese and potatoes, cheese and spinach… Uh, there’s pork ones. There’s not really beef ones. Never chicken. Never fish. And you basically- when you make them- they’re really hard to make… when you make them, you don’t count them because it’s like… it’s considered like… you just shouldn’t do it. Don’t. But my family’s never like, ‘Don’t count them!’ but like… we know it’s a thing.” (Informant)

Introduction: The informant was introduced to the Pierogi counting superstition by her parents.

Analysis/Interpretation: I think the notion that one shouldn’t count food is notable since I’ve heard in many cultures that counting is important since “lucky” if oftentimes attributed to numerical values and becomes culturally significant. The informant wasn’t exactly sure why this was done, and was more sure that is was just a very important rule. More insight towards numbers in the Polish culture might be helpful this context to understand the full custom.

Bad Luck Toasts (Italian Folk Belief)

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Maryland, USA
Performance Date: 4/23/19
Primary Language: English
Language: French

Context/Background: Subject is of Italian Descent and has heard superstitions around making toasts from her Grandfather and other family members. It was stated that one should never toast with anything but alcohol or it is bad luck. What is emphasized the most is the dire resentment towards toasting with water because it is worse than toasting with anything else.

Informant:

“So, it’s bad luck to toast with anything that’s not… alcohol… because… if it’s not alcohol, first… it doesn’t mean anything because it’s not a toast. But, it’s especially bad luck to toast with water… because it like… signifies death… or something? Like, I think it comes from Greek Mythology where it has to do with like the underworld. I don’t really know though; But, it was always just a thing that it was bad luck to toast with water, so you never toast with water! And you shouldn’t toast with something that isn’t alcohol, but it doesn’t really matter as much.”

KA: And where did you hear this from?

“So it’s an Italian thing I think, um, but they have it in like other cultures. I don’t think it’s that specific to Italy, but my grandfather family was from Italy and it was a lot of brothers and sisters and I spent a lot of time with [them].”

Introduction: The informant was introduced by their Italian grandfather and extended family.

Analysis/Interpretation: It’s notable that one would consider water to signify death, as indicated by the interviewee when in many regions, it popularly serves as a symbol of life. I think this serves an interesting dynamic in the idea of “toasting” overall since it indicates a sense of dismissal of a vital life sign in many cultures.

Passing Salt for Bad Luck

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Context: Informant is speaking about superstitions and then proceeds to introduce the specific implications around salt.

Informant:

[During a face-to-face conversation]

“There’s a lot of superstitions, it’s a lot of really like… like basic ones. But even in Mexico, even when I’m there, you DON’T walk under a ladder. NO shoes on the bed, no bags on the floor OR on the bed. No hats either. Um, umbrellas can be opened… and you can’t pass salt… Let’s say you want salt right? I can’t give it to you in your hand. I have to put it on the table and you pick it up.”

KA: And why’s… is there a reason why-

“It’s bad luck.”

KA: Okay.

“All of this is bad luck.”

KA: Okay, and do you know where this comes from, or is this just like… something that’s been there for a long time?

“It’s been there for a long time. Like we all do it. Um… and it’s taken very seriously.”

Introduction: This piece was introduced to the informant by their mother.

Analysis: I think there are many renditions of salt superstitions which can be found across cultures and this causes me to question what salt, in particular, symbolizes since there are so many beliefs, especially regarding back luck, surrounding it. Growing up, my mom always told me that if you knocked a salt shaker over, it was bad luck, and to undo that luck, one would have to toss the salt over their shoulder. As I got older, I was told it needed to be your left shoulder specifically by others who also had a version of this superstitious practice to reverse bad luck. To this day, I still participate in the tossing of the salt to avoid back luck and have seen more versions including this Mexican idea of not being able to pass salt.

 

For reference to another rendition of a salt superstition, refer to

Welsh, C. (2019, Jan 3). Spilling Salt. Retrieved from http://www.timelessmyths.co.uk/spilling-salt.html

Astrological Indian Wedding Ceremony

Nationality: Indian-American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 3/10/19
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Context/Background: The Informant is an Indian-American who has witnessed wedding customs tailored to suit an astrological calendar in order to promote success and prosperity of Indian Marriages.

Informant:

“When you get married and you’re supposed to check like… the person’s astrological sign or something- or when they were born and then you like compare the two. And that timing will like… determine when it’s okay for the literal marriage ceremony to take place. So the wedding can go on for the entire day, but the time the wedding ceremony takes place happens at on specific dates and times. Obviously, some people just ignore it… but like… in the summertime, I was in India and my cousin fully like… he fully got married. Like had a wedding in the middle of the night. So that happened. If you look it up online, I’m sure you’ll find something. And there’s like a special calendar that you can buy from the temple that’ll like tell you! Like, Oh! This is your day, and this is their day, like it’s cool to get married on this day. And like, yeah my grandma has one in her kitchen and she like… refers back to it sometimes, and it’s like ‘When is it okay?'”

Introduction: The Informant was introduced to this custom through her family; more specifically, her grandmother.

Analysis/Interpretation: I find this ritual interesting because I’d never seen marriages that strayed from a daytime setting. The notion that the actual ceremony should occur at a specific time is actually really sentimental and I’d find much meaning in designating a particular time to get married. I feel as though many astrological encounters have been accentuated more recently in popular culture, but to find them more engrained seriously in cultures’ traditions opens up another insight on it. This leads me to wonder how other cultures may have additional differing wedding customs which I’d like to explore in more depth.