Author Archives: Cameron Pettigrew

The Old Goats Have the Hardest Horns

Nationality: Norwegian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles/Norway
Performance Date: 4/22/15
Primary Language: Norwegian
Language: English, French, Danish

My informant is a friend and sophomore student at USC from Norway. She lived for the majority of her life in Norway before moving and living in Thailand, Dubai, and Namibia until she attended college. Having lived for over a decade in Norway, Norwegian is her primary language.

 

“De gamle bukkene har de stiveste hornene, which, this basically means eh…it directly translates into ‘the old goats have the hardest horns’. Meaning that eh…the older you get the wiser you get.”

 

Analysis: This proverb speaks to a relatively universal idea that age brings wisdom. It is widely accepted in many cultures that the older members of the community are the ones that are most respected and have the most knowledge. My informant told me that her parents used to tell her this when she was younger in instances where she was impatient, made poor decisions, or was acting “smart”.

 

La Chupacabra

Nationality: American (Puerto Rican)
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/20/15
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

My informant is a freshman at USC. He is half white and half Puerto Rican but was raised solely by his Puerto Rican mother and grandmother along with his younger brother in San Antonio Texas.

 

“So it’s supposed to be a mixture between like a vampire and a wolf. So its supposed to be like, a demon-dog kind of? La chupacabra. People’s sheep and cows and stuff started to die mysteriously and…they would like, have weird bite marks that they couldn’t identify on them. It never tears up the animal, there’s just these like…just like these two bite marks in them. That’s why they think it’s a mixture between a mixture between a wolf and a vampire…that’s what it lives off of. And it’s not supposed to be too big it’s supposed to be around like, two feet long and a foot high. But its really vicious with like red eyes and hairless…it, it looks like a rabid coyote pretty much…like a rabid fox. And its…its, people have claimed to have found the Chupacabra multiple times and they’ve found like…dog looking things but most of the time people find “Chupacabras” its like a diseased coyote or a rabid dog. And so, there’s been like sightings of it in Mexico and South Texas—where I’m from—which is where I heard about it. And my grandma you know, used to like scare me you know, saying like, ‘If you go outside at night or if you walk around’ like if I got out of bed at night, ‘the chupacabra will come and get you.’ So I guess that’s where I heard the story from.”

 

Analysis: The legend is said to have originated from from the mysterious disappearance of peoples livestock. Unexplained bite marks and animals that had been completely drained of blood were unsettling sights in the areas where La Chupacabra was rumored to have been sighted. The legend has taken on the purpose of scaring young children as a means of preventing them from wandering off or getting up in the middle of the night. Mothers and grandmothers would tell their children the story of La Chupacabra to instill good behavior. Given the graphic nature of the way in which La Chupacabra sucks the blood from its victims, the story seems scary enough to keep little children in bed at night and prevent them from engaging in bad late night behavior. Another version of this story can be found on Animal Planets “Lost Tapes” section of their webpage:

http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/lost-tapes/creatures/chupacabra-history/

 

Iwa Lewa

Nationality: Nigerian-American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/19/15
Primary Language: English

My informant is a senior at USC and of Nigerian ethnicity. Her parents were immigrants to America from Nigeria and with them brought customs, traditions, and phrases with them to their new home, including proverbs that they would use to raise their daughter.

“Iwa lewa translates I think, literally to “character beauty”. Iwa Lewa…so your behavior or the way you act is what makes you beautiful.”

 

Analysis: Originally written in Yoruba, this proverb expresses Nigerian values in the content of a person’s character. A person’s character is what composes their beauty, not just their outward appearance. The proverb is used mostly in reference to women, however the message could be applicable to both sexes. This proverb sheds light on the cultural values of Nigerian people. It allows the listener to understand that within Nigerian culture, external beauty is not valued or appreciated as much as being a good or morally upstanding person.

This proverb particularly reminds me of the English proverb “Don’t judge a book by its cover” which my parents used to tell me all the time as a means of getting me to understand that people are not just what they look like on the surface, you also have to look within that person to see who they really are and what they’re really about.

 

Ile oba t’o jo, ewa lo busi

Nationality: Nigerian-American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/19/15
Primary Language: English

My informant is a senior at USC and of Nigerian ethnicity. Her parents were immigrants to America from Nigeria and with them brought customs, traditions, and phrases with them to their new home, including proverbs that they would use to raise their daughter.

“Ile oba t’o jo, ewa lo busi. In English it means a King’s palace that burned down, actually became more beautiful…meaning that every cloud has a silver lining or that good things can come from something bad. My parents would tell me this if I was going through a rough time or if I lost something important.”

 

 

Analysis: This proverb was originally given in Yoruba and essentially states that there is a silver lining to every cloud. Even in instances where things are bad, you can always find something good about the situation that you find yourself in. In a way, the proverb is also saying that the process of “rebuilding the palace” is the silver lining, because the final product or new thing is more beautiful than before because of new appreciation for it and the work that was put into achieving it.

Jesus Be A Fence!

Nationality: American (African American)
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/21/15
Primary Language: English

“Whenever I’m tired or have a hard practice I be like, “Jesus be a fence” like be my strength…or before a hard test…or just when I have a lot to do and I need Jesus to be a fence, that’s like when I say it so…pretty much every day! Or like, “Oh Lord stop me from doing somthin wrong…” like if I’m feelin temptation…it goes from simple to extreme.”

 

Analysis: As a Christian, my informant looks to Jesus as a source of inspiration and fortitude in all aspects of her life. The proverb is laid out in a metaphor in which the speaker literally asks Jesus to hold them up or provide support like a fence. The proverb can be used in many different situations as a means of conveying momentary weakness and a desire for divine intervention on behalf of the speaker.

 

Although it is mostly used in serious scenarios or during times of legitimate distress, the phrase can also be used in a more humorous setting depending on the scenario. For example if someone was on a diet and saw a donut in a shop window they might use the proverb as a means of conveying their desire to restrain from eating the donut and their need for divine intervention to help them do so.