Author Archives: Eryne Lagman

Superstition – Philippines, Cameroon, China, Brazil

Nationality: Cameroonian-American, Chinese-American, Brazilian/African-American/Caucasian, and Filipino/Chinese/Spanish
Age: 19, 19, 18, and 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Jose, CA, Atlanta, GA, Los Angeles, CA, and Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: March 14, 2008, March 14, 2008, April 15, 2008, and April 15, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Pidgin, Mandarin, Portuguese

Who knew putting a purse or bag on the floor could have such a significance?  In interviewing my informants and in taking from the folklore I have encountered in my own life, I came across this apparently universal superstition that seemed to generally be the same across the board: to put a purse on the floor is a bad and highly superstitious thing, in one way or another—evidently, in a myriad of different cultures around the world.

Growing up, my mother would always advise me to never put my purse on the floor.  Initially, I believed she did not want me to dirty up my bag.  However, she would never fail to follow that up with, “It’s bad luck.”  In my Filipino heritage, it is considered bad luck to put a bag or purse directly on the ground.

Coincidentally enough, a few of my friends told me the same superstition, but with different reasonings.  My Cameroonian roommate, Ayee, shared that in her culture, it is a superstition to put a purse on the floor because the devil will take it and all its contents.  My roommate Rachel explained to me that in her culture—the Chinese culture—it means that any money or any type of monetary item in your bag will flow out, and you will therefore become broke and without cash, if you put your purse on the floor.  My Brazilian friend Natalia had the same general view as I do, in my Filipino culture: it is bad luck in general to put a bag or purse on the ground.

Such a coincidence in folklore-sharing proves to me the universality and sharing of superstitious beliefs among nations and cultures all across the globe.  As different as we may think we are, perhaps we are all, in actuality, just the same.

Custom – Brazil

Nationality: Brazilian, African-American, Caucasian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 15, 2008
Primary Language: Portuguese
Language: English

Brazilians are known to be a joyous, celebratory culture of people.  A good friend of mine, Natalia, shared with me a custom that is performed in Brazil, typically on New Year’s Eve.  When the clock strikes midnight, and the country of Brazil lies on the very threshold of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, a major celebration takes place along the coast of Brazil.

Everyone and anyone, who is in or near a coastal Brasilian city at that very moment, rush to the Atlantic Ocean.  All clad in white attire, a celebration takes place in which the Brazilians unite and join together and rush into the sea to ring in a happy and prosperous coming year.  According to Natalia, it is a form of worship to Brasilian saint, the name of whom she could not quite pinpoint.

Such a joyous celebration highlights the nature of such a culture that contains such celebratory events as the annual parade/24-hour-Pre-Ash-Wednesday party of Carnival.  While this ritual delineates the exuberant nature of such a culturally-rich people, it also simultaneously emphasizes their religious fervor, in that it is a celebration of a national saint.

Custom – Croatia

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 15, 2008
Primary Language: English

Continuing with New Year’s traditions, Croatians have a unique New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day tradition of their own.

My good friend Lauren, who is of Croatian descent, recounted for me a tradition that she, her father, and their entire family do once the clock strikes midnight on December 31st every year: wash their faces with money.

As a New Year’s ritual, Croatians literally dip cash, dollar bills, coins, and other types of monetary forms in a sink and then proceed to rub and caress the soaking currency over their faces.  They perform such an act with the hopes of having money all throughout the coming year.  Lauren’s father, Walt, puts his own spin on a cultural tradition by washing his face with foreign currency, so that, in addition to basking in monetary wealth, he also hopes to be a jetsetter and travel all throughout the world during the new year.

This Croatian custom connotes the importance of wealth and prosperity to this culture, as well as their belief in superstition.  For Lauren and her family, this is a unifying, bonding experience—a little custom to look forward to every New Year’s Eve.

Superstition – Cameroon

Nationality: Cameroonian-American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Jose, CA
Performance Date: March 14, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Pidgin

In Cameroonian folklore, it is considered rude to accept anything with your left hand.  My roommate, Ayee, shared this interesting superstitious piece of Cameroonian folklore with me one night in our apartment, when such an incident occurred.

My roommate Ayee often borrows my roommate Rachel’s stapler on a regular basis.  Ayee was handing Rachel’s stapler back to her, and Rachel was accepting the stapler with her left hand.  Ayee then went on to explain how, in her Cameroonian culture, it is considered highly disrespectful to accept anything with one’s left hand, especially money.

Such a superstition addresses the issue of respect in the Cameroonian culture.  Ayee was first introduced to this piece of folklore from her own culture when, as a young child, she accepted a $5 bill from him and was scolded by her mother for doing so.  Upon that incident, Ayee’s mom shared the origins of this folkloric superstition with her.

Proverb – United States

Nationality: Filipino
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 2, 2008
Primary Language: English

Why drink and drive when you can smoke and fly?

A modern proverb takes on a whole new meaning once you learn the origin of it.  A good friend of mine named Vincent Mejia shared this bit of folkore with me over dinner.  He is a sophomore student here at the University of Southern California, and is in the NAVY program.

Vince shared with me that the modern proverb that we today typically associate with smoking marijuana, rather than getting inebriated from alcohol, actually began in the Navy.  Most fighter pilots are from the Navy, and they all tend to be chain smokers.  The ironic part about this piece of folklore is that smoking obviously hinders the intake of oxygen.  When a pilot is flying, the one thing he needs the most is oxygen itself.  So, in essence, smoking is more dangerous than drinking and driving.

This piece of American folklore exhibits to me the humorous nature that even those in one of our nation’s most revered and most valuable professions can possess.  The fact that pilots in the Navy can joke around about such a thing reflects upon our culture, in that it is one that does not always take itself too seriously and is not afraid to make light of certain matters.