Informant Description/ Context of performance: My friend’s aunt recited this poem to me over the phone to give me an example of African folklore. Her father passed it down to her, who heard it from his grandmother.

Original Script:

Interviewee: I’ll recite a poem my father told me when I was very young. Can I say it in my language?

Me: Of course!

Interviewee: Mkulima mwenye shamba alipana viazi,

Akachimba chimba chimba akaona almaasi

Lololo bahahati lolo bahaato ya mtu menye shamba

Akatupa jembe upande akaenda mjini,

Kununua motokari sasa ni tajiri,

Lolo bhaato lololo bahati ya mtu menye shamba.

Me: It sounds a little bit like a song; is there a particular time or place you traditionally say this poem?

Interviewee: It’s more of a story really, like a fable for children.

Me: What does it mean?

Interviewee: The translation is roughly: There was a farmer, who had a potato farm. One day as he was plowing, he saw a diamond. He threw away his plow and ran to town. How lucky, how lucky, how lucky was the farmer? He went to buy a new car and house, oh how lucky the farmer was.

Me: So what lesson or moral does this children’s poem teach?

Interviewee: Everyone wants to be rich, but luck does not come when you are just sleeping in or stay home. In order to get rich, you still have to get up and work hard! It takes strength and courage to be poor and still work hard… but one day, you could be lucky!

Conclusion (written by Interviewer): I really enjoyed this story because it was an interesting twist on the usual “work hard, you will attain success” moral. I like that they incorporated luck into the fable; it may be reflective of the class constraints in their culture. For example, in America, it’s usually more viable to say you can become successful through hard work and dedication. Perhaps in their culture, it takes hard work and luck which is why this could be a popular fable to tell children. It encourages them to work hard in hope of some luck, which could lead them to success.

Informant Description/ Context of performance: My friend tells me about a common practice/ behavior in Persian culture. 

Interviewee: Tarof is the way that like two people will interact in a social situation that involves some kind of… like gathering. For example, let’s say we’re all at dinner and it’s like a huge Persian family. When the check comes, it becomes like the struggle to pay. It becomes this whole thing.

Me: Oh, we have that in Indian culture too.

Interviewee: Yeah, but we have like a word for it. So like another example is if you’re a guest at somebody’s house and they offer you food, and you say “no thank you, I’m good,” they’ll come back again and say “no no no.. you need to have some of this.. I don’t know, pineapple.” Then you’ll say “no really, it’s okay.” This exchange is like tarof-ing; it’s like this back and forth where both people won’t give in. It’s like intense.

Me: Is it like a form of hospitality in your culture?

Interviewee: It’s like a hospitality thing, but it’s also understood that you will do this even if you’re not into like… do you know what I mean? It’s like an expected thing. You would be a fucking bad Persian if you didn’t like partake in that back-and-forth.

Me: Do you know where this cultural philosophy came from? Like where did you learn this from?

Interviewee: Literally every Persian family I’ve ever interacted with. Please look up videos on it, it’s so funny.

Conclusion (written by Interviewer): It’s interesting to see the same concept in a different culture. In Indian culture, it is customary to fight over paying for the bill, insisting on your guests eating something when they come to your house, putting your guests first, etc.. However, I have never known that exchange to have a formal word as it does in Persian culture. It is a behavior that I have seen practiced throughout many cultures; however, it does seem more intense in Persian culture as there is a very well-known established word for it. An interesting video my friend showed me to exemplify the extent of “tarof” is included in a link below. This link obviously exaggerates the practice and was created as more of a joke; however, she did assure me that it is based off of a very honest, sometimes ridiculous reality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAvzW1WZsN4