Author Archives: delacuev

Tinikling

Context: My informant is a direct family member

My informant says that Tinikling is “like a dance in the Philippines, you do with bamboo sticks”. She describes it as a traditional dance where two people are supposed to hold very long bamboo sticks on the opposite ends and there are two dancers coordinating together in the middle. It can be a very difficult dance, and it is a lot like a game. But it is still a performance.

My informant recalls that a lot of Filipinos kids (mostly girls) might learn this in school, or even outside of school because of the game aspect. And she notes that this tradition along with many Filipino traditions may stem from Spanish culture due to colonization.

It can be difficult to do it correctly, and you could easily trip if you and your partner make a mistake. But a lot of Filipinos have fun with this traditional dance.

She does remember this dance from her early years in school where it is thought so that it can be performed in a yearly school performance or presentation. She also interprets this dance as a fun part of Filipino culture. Because it is not strict to just performance but because it can be done by anyone even without it being something that has to be presented in a certain way.

Analysis:

Tinikling is certainly a folk tradition and folk dance. The dance is also performed at festivals.

Tinikling seems to be a part of Filipino culture for a very long time. And although it is a part of the history of colonization that the Philippines has endured, the tradition has seemed to be fully embraced and seen as something endearing and fun. It has been removed from the possible pain that the colonization has caused. Because the dance is flexible in its form, it can be done “formally” and traditionally through performances and yearly performances done at schools but it is also done at the homes in the Philippines or even right by the streets.

As my informant mentions, this dance is taught at many Filipino schools, it is well-known by many. The folk dance seems to be carried by pride, fun and even nostalgia. If this dance was not taught to someone in the Philippines, someone who does know could gladly teach it.

La Llorona

Context: 

My informant is a sibling of a friend.

La Llorona (also known as the weeping woman) is a very old legend that is a part of Mexican culture.

He said that “she is a woman who caught her husband cheating on her and in anger and hysteria decided to drown her children in the village river. After realizing what she did, she felt immense guilt and killed herself. Her ghost appears in a long, white dress that’s wet and she lingers around rivers or passes by the roads at night, crying for her children to return by saying, “Ay, mis hijos!” or “Oh, my children!” If you hear her cries it’s said that death awaits you or if you’re a child she will come steal you away”

He first heard this story as a child from his dad. He said “Children typically get told it (in a less graphic way) as a means to behave, but my father just told it to me as a regular scary story because I would ask him to tell me stories like that”. Like previously mentioned, he thinks it’s just a scare tactic to make children behave or to keep them safe away from rivers and lakes if they were to sneak off to play.

He also mentioned that he has a connection to this story because he is ethnically Mexican and that his dad had passed down this very popular story that’s been told for many years in Mexican culture. He does not believe in La Llorona but as a child he was scared of her.

Analysis:

La Llorona is a popular legend in Mexican culture. The legend of La Llorona is of a woman who, out of anger and sorrow, kills her own children. This story shows the message of guilt and unresolved anger. The woman takes out her own misery onto the innocent, and her ghost still haunts the earth with this heavy burden. This story could resonate to a lot of people, as some may not find peace in their past sorrows and past mistakes in their lives. La Llorona may seem to serve as a message to people who do not know how to support themselves after tragedy or something traumatic. It could also be to think about your actions and the consequences. La Llorona regrets what she has done with her children, as a result she is eternally punished by never being able to see her children again.

As a ghost, La Llorona haunts places that are similar to where her children drowned. She searches for them despite being the one to have killed them. The fear that strikes from her story is that she will take children. I think that this part of her story also comes across as a message to be careful of strangers.

Jinx! You owe me a __

Text:

Jinx! You owe me a soda

Context: 

My information is from a childhood friend of mine. 

A friend of mine explains this phrase as something that would occur between two people, after saying the same thing at the same time. They mostly heard this phrase during elementary school, and they believe it is something that children mostly say rather than adults. They mention that “jinx” on its own is bad luck, therefore making saying “jinx” to possibly cancel it out.

My interpretation and Analysis:

This phrase above is folk speech and also a game that is not necessarily “started” by anyone in order to play, but rather something known and unspoken. In my interpretation it can also be seen as children’s folklore. Based on Jay Mechling’s writing, from Oring’s book on children’s folklore, they may often form games while hanging out or by being in school settings. Children tend to establish a person in power while playing games, and in this case whoever says “Jinx” first is a “winner”. Although I don’t necessarily think that the “loser” or the “jinxed” has to give the winner a soda. It seems more as satisfaction of winning a simple game instead of getting something in return. I interpret “you owe me a soda” as just a possible consequence that someone could add. I believe this because the simpler version of Jinx is not letting the loser talk for a while, which doesn’t require a physical prize and further emphasizes on the unspoken part of the game of Jinx. But overall, these different variations that could stem from “Jinx” seem to mostly rely on how fast you could say it.