Author Archives: Jalen Cassell

Indian Wedding Ritual

Nationality: Indian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 04/16/13
Primary Language: Hindi (urdu)
Language: English

“Alright, Indian weddings…Indian weddings are known for being the longest things on Earth. And, and, they usually go on for like a week. Well, they used to go on for a week, but now they’ve gotten more modern about it and they want to get it over with. Um, so it’s become short, which is like three days. And that’s not including the vari—uh—various, I don’t know, customs and traditions that like, come before it. Oh, I guess the one thing we have in common is an engagement. Basically the guy proposes to the girl, blah blah blah, and there’s a formal engagement ceremony where he puts a ring – they both put rings on each other’s fingers, and then there’s a party. That’s usually like the year before, because that one year goes into, like, preparing for that one week of marriage festivities, because it’s a huge deal in India. And like, relatives call, like, the most distant relatives you can ever imagine, as like, invitations for their wedding and stuff. And then, and then, yeah, basically, there’s like little things, like small games that the girl plays with the boy – just bonding games I guess. Oh, also, in India, there’s like a huge, I mean it’s decreasing, but it’s still a system, of like arranged marriages – like the parents decide who the kids marry. I don’t agree with it at all, but, I don’t know, a large majority of parents still follow that. So, um, yeah, and then the first one is like, the wedding, er, the day of the wedding. People wear like traditional Indian clothes and there’s lots of food caterers around and there’s like a huge deal that people splash a lot of money. And um, yeah, so the most significant part of the wedding is like these seven rounds that the couple takes around the fire – yeah, there’s a fire, like a controlled fire – they have this like, two by two foot box or square, and they light it on fire. And basically the guy and the girl, they like walk around it seven times – I don’t know why seven. The number seven has some significance, like seven lives or something. And yeah, so people throw rice at them – it’s a form of good luck – and yeah, there’s a priest who chants while the couple walks around and stuff. And once they get married, the wife puts a huge garland of flowers on the guy’s neck, of course but yeah, that’s also a very significant part. And then there’s little things, like putting tikkas – a powder that you put on the forehead and stuff – and yeah, that’s pretty much the wedding day. And then the next day is generally called a reception – like I said, it’s a long affair. The next day, people change their clothes, and wear like, westernized clothes, I guess – like suits and stuff. And this is just for like the couple to greet everybody – like everybody who came. So they literally stand on a podium or a stage, then they greet, hug, or shake hands with every single person who attended their wedding. So it’s a pretty tiring affair, then they shake hands with every person who comes. And then they have this huge feast – actually they have huge feasts all the time for wedding, but yeah. So that’s pretty much it – oh yeah! The next most significant part is saying bye to the bride. Basically, the girl goes and lives with the guy in a new house, or in the guy’s old house. But she basically leaves her own family, so it’s a sad affair, and the girls usually start crying and it’s very sappy – I’ve seen it happening a couple times. Oh! There’s also this thing called a Baraat, which is like this huge procession that happens before the wedding, where basically, before the wedding, the groom sits on a horse, uh, and like people dance around them and give them more. Like they literally make garlands for them out of money and give them to the groom and stuff. Then they like march towards the wedding, then they get married, and then after the wedding, the bride and the groom both sit on the horse, and then go to someplace. Yeah, that’s pretty much it.”

 

As my informant is 18 years old, he’s a ways off from actually being an active bearer in the sense of being the groom in the wedding, but as he has participated in the activities that the guests partake in he is very much an active bearer in that sense. He was very enthusiastic in sharing this information with me as this particular section of information that he included the most details in. I find the length of the marriage celebration to be very fascinating. Three days for a wedding, and in previous years an entire week seems like a very tiring period of exuding nothing but excitement and joy. I actually wish to experience the festivities of an Indian wedding some day.

Dahi Handi

Nationality: Indian
Age: 22
Occupation: Graduate Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/24/13
Primary Language: Hindi (urdu)
Language: English

“Festivals are very popular in India, especially with kids. One festival in particular is called Dahi Handi: D-A-H-I H-A-N-D-I. It’s held in honor of Lord Krishna, and we – how do I explain this? There’s a pot full of curd, and it’s like, hung off of a rope, like a number of stories off of the ground, you know, with poles and stuff.  And people, like volunteers, or groups, or teams, or whatever, they basically make like human pyramids; like you know, one person stands on top of another. And like, in the end, somebody basically crawls up and smashes the pot and like the curd falls, and like there’s happiness and good times and stuff. So that’s a pretty popular festival in India.”

My informant participated in this festival every year as he was growing up. The thing I liked most about collecting this particular piece of folklore is that the game is a collaborative effort to accomplish something. I’ve personally always found the Indian culture very fascinating, hence my collecting from the vast majority of the Indian friends I’ve surrounded myself with while attending USC. One major point that I’ve found to be a constant, is their love for life and their willingness to work together for a common goal. I feel that this story exemplified that and I’m very honored that he shared it with me!

Little Things

Nationality: Hispanic
Age: 43
Occupation: Housekeeper
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/21/13
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

“A Quien Cuida La Peseta Nunca Le Falta un Duro”

J: Is there anything else you’d like to share?

B: One more saying…one my mama told to me when I was little, and I keep it with me today.

J: Please.

B: A quien cuida la peseta nunca le falta un duro. It means take care of little things first and big things will take care themselves.

J: In other words, don’t make mountains out of molehills?

B: I suppose, yes, you can say so. My mama always tell me, look after your pennies and keep them in order. The pounds will follow, always. I do this to this day, and I am very happy with my savings in the world.

J: Thank you very much for sharing with me!

I love this saying tremendously as it encompasses my thoughts about life. If you always take care of the little things, and stay present minded, then the future things, the larger issues that come your way in life will take care of themselves. Something to live by and I thank my informant for sharing this with me!

Spanish Proverb

Nationality: Hispanic
Age: 43
Occupation: Housekeeper
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/21/13
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

“A Quien Madruga, Dios Le Ayuda”

God helps those who help themselves / The early bird gets the worm

This particular proverb is one that is found in American culture, but my informant learned it from her father when they were living in Mexico when she was a child. Due to their strong Catholic heritage, a religion that is held by much of the Hispanic culture, this proverb becomes an oikotype that deals not with birds and worms, but rather God assisting the people of the world who first put themselves in the line of fire and risk themselves to achieve a goal.

Prayer Egg

Nationality: Hispanic
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Arkansas
Performance Date: 4/18/13
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

“Depending on what type of illness you have, we have different, strange cures. The most traditional one for my family is, if you’re feeling sick, usually, stomach ache or fever, or something like that, uh…well my mother – er – both my mother and father, used to rub me down with an egg and they would pray while they were doing this. Then, you know, once they got finished, you know, rubbing me down with the egg, you know, they’d put water in a cup and crack the egg into it. After that they’d ‘read’ what the white stuff in the cup, you know, said in it. My dad is the actual one that does the readings, because he can – well, me and my older sister have always wondered how can tell what signifies what. Then the tradition is, I think, three days after you let it sit out, you flush it down the toilet. But when you do that, you can’t look at it when you flush it. You have to turn away and throw it into the toilet and flush. ‘Cause otherwise, the sickness will come back to you, is what they say.”

 

This specific cure is one that I have never heard of before and it strikes me as fascinating because it requires more than one person as two separate pieces of the ritual must be carried out at the same time. In learning this from his mother and father, my informant seemed very convinced that this type of folk medicine would be beneficial and for him it has been! Modern medicine better watch out as cultural remedies are once again on the rise.