Author Archives: Allison Avila-Olivares

Saddle Road

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Kailua-Kona, HI
Performance Date: 4/25/2015
Primary Language: English

“There’s a well-known road called Saddle Road, connecting Kona to Hilo. West Side to East Side. They paved it so it’s safer and quicker now. But it used to be very pot-hole-ey…It’s dangerous to drive there at night because fog settles there since it’s at high elevations… I hate that road…I never go on it. It’s a lot of open farmland so there aren’t a lot of people on it.

Anyway, there are two variations I know of. One of them is that if you’re driving at night and you see an old woman, you have to pick her up and take her where she wants to go. Supposedly the next time Kilauea erupts, if the lava flow is heading towards your town, the lava will go around your house. Supposedly it’s because this woman is Pele, the goddess of fire. If you don’t pick her up, and Kilauea erupts, then the lava will destroy your house. The second variation of this story is that there is a woman with a dog who you’re supposed to pick up….Supposedly a man picked up a women with a dog and took her where she wanted to go, and when Kilauea erupted, the lava missed his entire town.”

Context/Analysis: The legends of Saddle Road are significant to the informant because she does not like the road. This is how she travels to Kona from Hilo, so it’s very familiar to her. She would rather go around the Island, which would take roughly 7 hours, but when she must use the road she doesn’t hesitate. Ultimately she tries to avoid driving down saddle road at night to avoid the responsibility of picking up strangers in her car. The informant first heard of the legend at a slumber party she attended when she was younger. The girls were looking to tell scary stories about their own island. They wanted to know the legends of home. Ultimately, this legend suggests the traditions of old Hawaii: how the belief of the ancient goddess Pele is still significant today and is still widely believed by most Hawaiians. Hawaiians use this myth as an explanation for the travel-path of the lava from Mount Kilauea.

The Legend of Buster Brown and the Queen

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Kailua-Kona
Performance Date: 4/25/2015
Primary Language: English

“My school is in this this town called Whi-Maia, with lots of hills. The two most prominent hills are Buster Brown and Lailai. People like to hike ‘em…Lailai has a specific story behind it. During our graduation our teacher told us during our hula-practice because our dance had to do with hills. In the past one of the ancient queens lived on Lailai…There’s a bunch of like rocks scattered below…at the base…like there are just these boulders at the bottom. I think the hill was Buster Brown actually. So anyway, the ancient queen lived on top of the hill and every night she would send her warriors to protect around the hill, but then she would turn them back to stone during the day. So when she died, no one could turn the stones into warriors. That is the reason why there are lots of boulders surrounding the hill.

Context/Analysis: The informant first heard this legend when she was practicing her Hula-dance for her graduation. She heard it from her teacher. It is not significant to the informant per se, but it is significant to her teacher since she grew up near the hill and played there as a girl. The informant felt as though her teacher had generously shared the legend with her and her classmates, so she’s never forgotten it. The myth of Buster Brown Hill shows the significant of Hawaiian storytelling in modern Hawaii. The myth relegates on an ancient Hawaiian queen as the explanation for the formation of these rocks at the base of the hill.

 

Trading Kandi

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 27
Occupation: Student/Taxi-Driver
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/25/2015
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English, French

“Trading kandi is part of rave culture. I don’t know how it started, but you know those edible candy bracelets? I think that’s how the custom started. I think people started abusing the candy bracelet trend of the 90’s and replaced them with drugs. Because of that, people started recreating these “drug bracelets” with actual beads to make them safer. I think after that, trading kandi became a thing. And candy is spelled k-a-n-d-i. Kandi is the actual bead bracelet just so you know….But yeah, so anyway, the custom evolved as just a way to say ‘thank you’ to a person you’ve met at a rave, like to say ‘hey, you’re cool I like you.’ When you give a bracelet to someone, you’re sort of giving a part of yourself. Some of your happiness. The bracelets kind of represent ‘you’ because you made it…But anyway, what you do is you go up to someone and say ‘hey you wana trade kandi?’ And if the other person is cool with that, then each person makes a peace sign with their fingers. Then you make a heart with the hands of each person…like this…Then you hold hands again as a sign of “unity.” And then you actually lock hands with the other person, say “respect” and the person with the kandi slides off the bracelet from their hand directly onto the other persons. After that, you hug. And that is trading Kandi.”

Context/Analysis: The informant first heard about the rave custom of trading kandi at his first rave. While he was waiting for his friend who was in the bathroom, this girl asked him if he had kandi. He said no, thinking she was looking for ecstasy pills. When he realized that was not the case, the girl showed him the process of how to trade kandi, and he received his first rave bracelet. The informant still has his first piece of kandi, indicating how significant it is to him. He informed that it felt nice to be connected to a complete stranger. He felt welcomed at the rave and has fallen in love with them since then. He has been going to raves for 5 years now. Ultimately, this custom is a ritual of initiation for people who have just been introduced to raving. Once you perform the ritual, the “newbie” raver has crossed a liminal and has been symbolically accepted into the rave culture.

 

The Dol

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: El Centro, CA
Performance Date: 4/15/2015
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

“Back in the old country when medicine would be scarce and people would die incredibly young, it was a feat for a baby to live past the age of one. That is why now, the baby’s first birthday is incredibly important in Korean culture. It is…so highly celebrated…On a first birthday, it is traditional to put out objects that can determine the baby’s future. Like, they put out money, a pencil, a microphone…and some other items. I forget. I haven’t been to a Dol in such a long time. Actually they just put out the microphone. Like, since the tradition was available for years, now because the entertainment industry is recent. Basically, the baby will crawl to oneo f the obejcts. If the baby crawls to the pencil, they will become a teaher. If they crawl to the microphone, they will be famous, and if they go to the money they will be rich.”

Context/Analysis: The informant first heard about the Dol tradition during her own Dol, but does not really remember it because she was so young. Later in her life, she went to more Dols and gained more information on how they proceed and are performed. She has been to two other Dols. They are significant to her because they were the Dols of her first cousins. The Dol is a tradition that has been significant/practiced since Ancient times. It is supposed to symbolize a liminal point, in which after your Dol, you have chosen your future.

For another version of this, please see: Sung, Hannah. What a Dol. 29 Vol. Toronto: Rogers Publishing Limited, 2012.

The “90-Degree Angle” Bow

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: El Centro, CA
Performance Date: 4/15/2015
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

“I think all Koreans regard humility and respect. They really do, yeah. I remember when I was younger, from just when I was a girl, my mother made me bow to all adults. And the precision of the bow. She made me practice it. My body had to be bent at a 90 degree angle. Always to my elders.”

Context/Analysis: This is a custom that is performed by all Koreans according to the informant. She first heard it when she was extremely young (probably age three). This is when she first began to walk and speak. It is important to bow at 90 degrees because it is the perfect angle of respect. Too deep of a bow is just not customary, and a bow that is not deep enough is considered rude. When you bow, your shoulders must also move with you, it is not enough to just bend your head. This custom is significant to the informant because it gives her a sense of national identity: although she is Korean-American, she enjoys connecting with her “Korean side.” This custom indicates that even though it has been a tradition for years, it is one that people hold on to. It is part of the Korean heritage.