Author Archives: Aidan Bradbury-Aranda

Breaking Glass in Romania

Nationality: Romanian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Las Cruces, NM
Performance Date: March 19th, 2013
Primary Language: Rumanian
Language: English

Breaking Glass in Romania

“Breaking glass is a sign of breaking bad luck in Romania. Its not about breaking glass intentionally, but if it so happens that glass breaks in front of you or you accidentally break glass,  you say, ‘Oh it means my bad luck is gone’.”

The informant who told me about this folk belief was born and raised in Romania until she came to high school in the US. Given the fact that she is a native Romanian, she knows a lot about the customs and traditions of the country, especially due to her large family, and the setting she grew up in from an early age.

This is a widely held belief in Romania, and can be considered a “conversion” folk belief, such as knocking on wood, in that it takes an action, the glass breaking, and converts it to a meaning, in this case bad luck disappearing. A key thing to understand is that breaking glass is not good luck, but it eliminates bad luck. Also, this is very different to a mirror breaking, because the belief in that, as it is here, is that it will lead to seven years of bad luck. Romanian culture is based heavily on the concept of luck, and due to this, there are countless folk beliefs shared among people. The informant does not remember where she first heard this belief, but it could have been her grandmother, given that she is quite prolific in remembering and still actively believing in all of this folklore.

Un Chiste de Pepito

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 86
Occupation: Doctor
Residence: Mexico City, Mexico
Performance Date: March 20th, 2013
Primary Language: Spanish

Un Chiste de Pepito

A Pepito Joke

“En los periódicos de Mexico existe un personaje muy popular, es un niño muy listo que se llama Pepito. Pero es un niño que dice muchas groserías. Bueno, uno de sus chistes graciosos es que Pepito un día iba con su abuelita tomando una paleta, cuando de repente se le cayó. Trato de levantar la paleta, pero la abuelita le dijo, ‘No Pepito, no la levantes porque ya la beso el Diablo.’ Entonces, siguieron adelante caminando cuando de repente, la abuelita se tropieza y se cae. Y le dice, ‘Pepito, Pepito, ayudame a levantar!’ Pero Pepito le responde, ‘No abuelita, no puedo porque ya te beso el Diablo!’”

“In Mexican newspapers there is a very popular character, he is a very witty boy called Pepito. But he is a boy who also says many profane things. Anyway, one of his funnier jokes is that one day, Pepito was walking with his grandmother, eating a popsicle, when all of a sudden it fell. He tried to pick it up, but his grandmother told him, ‘no Pepito, don’t pick it up because it has been kissed by the Devil.’ So, they kept walking, moving forward, when suddenly, the grandmother trips and falls. She cries out to him ‘Pepito, Pepito, help me get up!’ But Pepito replies, ‘No granny, I can’t because you’ve been kissed by the Devil!’”

My grandfather, the informant for this joke, was born and has lived in Mexico all his life.   He has seen the country change drastically and in many different ways over the 86 years of his life, and as a result knows a very great amount about Mexican culture, customs, and folklore. He often tells jokes, riddles and stories that he has garnered throughout his life, most of which he remembers very clearly and recites in the form a great storyteller.

Although the informant says that the character of Pepito is found in Mexican newspapers, he has become such an iconic figure that he has transcended comic strips and been appropriated by a large part of the population at large. A large number of Pepito jokes are created outside of the influence of the comic strip, based on people’s personal experiences and situations. In fact, the informant cannot remember whether the joke in question originally appeared in a comic strip, or whether it came about through word of mouth. Whatever the answer may be, we see in this joke a variety of themes. One is that of Christianity, and fear of the Devil. Given that Mexico is essentially a Catholic country, this theme makes complete sense, drawing on a common, religious base that most people are raised on. Superficially, however, we see the naiveté of children expressed, how when we are young we take things very literally, and in this joke to a ridiculous and henceforth humorous degree. Reading deeper into this, we see how the advice of the older generation is trumped by that of the younger, suggesting an emphasis on the importance of younger generations. Given that Mexico is a country with a particularly large population under the age of 18, this becomes instantly relatable.

 

More information on Pepito jokes can be found in the book:

Faure, J. 1200 Chistes De Pepito Y Mucho Mas. Mexico, D.F.: Editores Mexicanos Unidos, 2007. Print.

“El que madruga, Dios le ayuda”

Nationality: Mexican, American
Age: 52
Occupation: Housewife
Residence: Santa Fe, NM
Performance Date: March 20th, 2013
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English, Italian

“El que madruga, Dios le ayuda”

“The one who rises early will be helped by God”

“Ese dicho se dice generalmente a la gente que es muy trabajadora, es una expresión que  dice que a la gente que trabaja duro, le va bien. Casi la mayor parte de mis dichos los e escuchado en la casa, porque somos una familia de muchos dichos.”

 “This proverb is told generally to people who are very hardworking, it is an expression that basically says that those people who work hard will do well. Almost the majority of my proverbs I heard at home, because we are a family of many proverbs.”

My mom, the informant for this proverb, was born and grew up in Mexico, living the first 30 years of her life in Mexico City. As a native Mexican, she knows a lot about the customs and culture of the country. Besides that, she also grew up in a family that, like most Mexican families, uses proverbs very frequently in everyday speech. She therefore learned most of the proverbs that she knows in a household setting, from family members and friends. She remembers most of the proverbs that she heard while growing up given the fact that they were constantly repeated, and also because of their very memorable format, often using rhymes, alliteration, and rhythm to convey their message. Today, many of them are part of her everyday vocabulary.

This proverb emphasizes the role of religion in Mexican culture. Help from God is always asked for, no matter the situation. This proverb also stresses the value of working hard – although it does not strictly mention “hard work” the action of rising early is symbolic of this. The bottom line is that an honest, hardworking person will, in the end, be helped out, or rewarded. In a sense, it is akin to the English-language proverb, “The early bird catches the worm”, emphasizing the idea of starting work early to get a reward. Given that the help of God is the highest and purest of rewards, what more could a religious person ask for? The informant heard this proverb often from her mother, its purpose essentially to stress a philosophy of honest hard work, as well as that of a good Catholic upbringing.

 

This proverb is cited in the following article:

Foster, George M. “Character and personal relationships seen through proverbs in Tzintzuntzan, Mexico.” The Journal of American Folklore 83.329 (1970): 304-317.

“El flojo y el mezquino andan dos veces el camino.”

Nationality: Mexican, American
Age: 52
Occupation: Housewife
Residence: Santa Fe, NM
Performance Date: March 20th, 2013
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English, Italian

“El flojo y el mezquino andan dos veces el camino.”

 “The lazy and the mean take the road that is twice as long.”

“Este siempre lo decía mi mama. El flojo, es una gente que no hace ningún esfuerzo, y el mezquino es el que hace la maldad. Las personas que hacen las cosas por el mal camino les va a costar mas trabajo llegar a un buen fin. En cambio las gentes que hacen las cosas correctamente, acaban y resuelven las cosas mas rápidamente.”

“My mother always said this one. The lazy person, is someone who makes no effort, and the the cheap person is someone who does things through meanness. The people who do things through a bad way will have greater trouble getting to a good end. Instead those people who do things correctly, finish and resolve things in a much quicker way.”

My mom, the informant for this proverb, was born and grew up in Mexico, living the first 30 years of her life in Mexico City. As a native Mexican, she knows a lot about the customs and culture of the country. Besides that, she also grew up in a family that, like most Mexican families, uses proverbs very frequently in everyday speech. She therefore learned most of the proverbs that she knows in a household setting, from family members and friends. She remembers most of the proverbs that she heard while growing up given the fact that they were constantly repeated, and also because of their very memorable format, often using rhymes, alliteration, and rhythm to convey their message. Today, many of them are part of her everyday vocabulary.

This proverb stresses a philosophy of living life in an honest way. Though cheating or being lazy may seem easier and quicker in the short term, in the long term they will lead to trouble in life, and will just delay the achievement of positive goals. The fact that my grandmother repeated this proverb so many times to my mom, must mean that she firmly believed in the message conveyed in it. This proverb, then, served as a lesson to my mom – she became aware of the values that she was expected to embrace and uphold at least partially through a proverb. In my opinion, it is a good lesson to learn early, because as a child and teenager, there is a great temptation to cheat and/or be lazy in a school setting because it can be easier. Having this mentality engrained in you at a young age, although it may be tough at first, will definitely lead to a happier and healthier life.

Chinese Door Guardians

Nationality: British (Hong Kong), American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 24th, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

Chinese Door Guardians

“There’s a folk belief in China that you need door guardians. It manifests itself in two forms. One is that there is an actual door god, in traditional Chinese beliefs. He just watches over the safety of your home, and in some Chinese stories he comes to life. There are pictures of the door god and you paste him on your door, on both panels of the door, they look like actual soldiers standing at the door, the belief is that when your house is in danger they will actually manifest themselves as the door god’s spirit, and fend off whatever evil there may be. And to that effect, I think that stone lions work the same way, because they are menacing. Lions, dragons, phoenixes – those animals have specific connotations, particularly lions seem to be viewed as fierce and are used as door guards. Dragons and phoenixes also have different connotations, because they correspond to boys and girls. Dragon represents boy, phoenix represents girl. You’ll see these at Chinese restaurants sometimes, there will be a gold dragon and a gold phoenix wrapped around a Chinese character that means happiness. There are sayings associated with this, like ‘may your boy grow to be a dragon’ or ‘may your girl grow to be a phoenix’ because the dragons and phoenixes are viewed as the paradigmatic high of what a boy and girl should be.”

The informant who told me about these folk objects was born and grew up in Hong Kong for a great part of his life. He speaks fluent Chinese and has had significant exposure to Chinese culture, given the fact that he and his family still speak the language and practice many of the traditional customs. He moved to the US in 5th grade.

The informant points to the fact that animals have a strong significance in Chinese culture as forces of good and protection. Their presence as door guardians and as representations of the ideal put them in a very high place, especially in contrast to the downtrodden nature of most animals in Western culture. Although the informants family does not own door guardians, they are very common when he goes back to China. He first learned about the door guardians after visiting a Chinese temple, meaning that it is an older tradition. The belief still exists, however it has adapted based on urban living in Hong Kong and the West. While in China door guardians are very large and reside outside, in Hong Kong they tend to be small sculptures that are kept inside the house. Due to the fact that Hong Kong is quite westernized, many traditions, like this one, are downplayed for the sake of practicality but maintained for the traditional purpose of good luck.