Author Archives: Jalen Cassell

Flautas

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

Ingredients:

Chicken Breast

Salt

Tortillas

Cheese Sauce (Optional)

Jalapeno Peppers

Tomatoes

Garlic

Cooking Oil

Cheddar Cheese

“You get you, chicken breast, because it’s the easiest. Get chicken breast, and boil it in water – add salt or whatever. Uh, once it comes to a boil, drain out all of the water and let the chicken sit for a little while. Then start shredding the chicken breast, and uh, while, uh one person is shredding the chicken breast, the other person is heating the tortillas. Once the chicken is all shredded and the tortillas are all heated for however many people it’s going to feed, they uh, start rolling them up into, um, like tacos basically. One person starts rolling them up, while the other person starts frying them. And you fry them until the tortillas are like a golden brown. Once it’s golden brown, it’s ready.

There’s also a cheese sauce that we make – well my mom makes it. Not every Hispanic person does that. Some use green salsa or some other kind of side dish. My mom, her side of the family, use this cheese dip. Um, the way you make the cheese dip, is you, char about, well my mom does it this way, you char about five jalapeno and two tomatoes and once they’re finally charred, uh, you put them in a bag and let them steam themselves, and that way, they’ll be easier to peel. Once that’s done, you put them in what we call a molcajete – which is basically a rock grinder. And you use that and a cone shaped rock to grind the jalapenos and tomatoes together. Then you put in salt and garlic and you mash it together as finely as possible, then you add that to a pot and start boiling it. And you add a little bit of oil to it, then my mom puts in approximately ten slices of cheddar cheese into it, and then you have your cheese sauce ready to go with your flautas.”

 

Hearing about the preparation of the flautas made my mouth water, and for good reason! This dish includes some of my favorite recipes and I convinced my informant to prepare it for me during the summer. I could tell that this was a very special dish to my informant, as he learned to prepare it from his mother, whom he is very close to.

 

 

Kemps

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Voice Actor
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/27/13
Primary Language: English

As I was interviewing all of my informants for the collection, I remembered that there were all kinds of traditions that I learned during my time in the high school marching band, and I wanted to add at least one of my own. So I decided to include the card game, Kemps.

Kemps is a game that I learned about in band from the upperclassmen and later I learned that it’s a game that the upperclassmen in band generally teach to the younger grades so that one the way to football games and such we could all be entertained.

The Rules of Kemps

  1. Maximum of Four (4) Teams
  2. Two players per team
  3. Each teams will have a specific signal between the players
  4. Objective of the game: Collect all four of the same card and only have those four cards in your hand. After this, you signal your partner and your partner will say “Kemps”. Your teams will have won the turn after this.
  5. If another team sees your signal, they can call out Anti-Kemps and win the turn instead.

After the upperclassmen teach the underclassmen the rules, it’s basically a trial by fire, wherein the “newbies” try to apply the rules as best as they can as they attempt to will the game.

 

One of my fondest memories of band is teaching the lower grades how to play this game and seeing their frustration in trying to learn it. It’s a tradition that I know for sure is still carried out, and one that I look forward playing every time I return home for a visit.

Ninja

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 52
Occupation: Band Director
Residence: Arkansas
Performance Date: 4/27/13
Primary Language: English

J: Can you tell me about Ninja?

T: Hahaha, Ninja, well that’s a game the students learned from you wasn’t it?

J: Well yeah, but you incorporated it into rehearsal.

T: Well, if I understand it correctly, and help me if I mess up, Ninja is a very active game where the players get into a circle and while pivoting on one foot, try to tag both hands of all the other players. But…what was the other part of it?

J: They can only move once per turn.

T: Yep, that’s it! After I saw you playing it with a few other students, I thought that it would be a fantastic way to warm up the body before rehearsal, so I started adding in time every rehearsal to ensure that everyone could play for about ten minutes.

J: I’d say it definitely helped us stay hyper and alert.

T: Exactly. That’s one of the reasons why I didn’t have any qualms about spending the time doing it.

J: Does the band still do it now?

T: Of course! I wasn’t going to let that little gem go to waste. Thank you for teaching it to them.

J: Happy to help, and thank you for helping me out with my project.

T: No problem, well, it’s getting late, so I’ll talk you later. Night.

J: Night!

 

While Ninja has become a widespread game across the world, I picked it up while attending drum major camp. The other drum majors were playing it, and I thought that it would be an amazing fun game to bring back and use in the band just for fun. I was pleasantly surprised when the band director wanted to incorporate it into our warm up routine. I was even more surprised to hear that the band is still playing Ninja as a warmup now that I’ve graduated. I’m happy to say that I added a little piece of tradition to the band that everyone will carry on, hopefully, for years to come!

Pride Time

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 52
Occupation: Band Director
Residence: Arkansas
Performance Date: 4/27/13
Primary Language: English

J: Ok, I spoke with you earlier this week about different traditions we do as a band, and was wondering if you’d mind sharing some of them.

T: You know I’m always happy to help you out. What would you like to know?

J: Well, how about Summer Band? We can start there. What’s the first thing, besides the heat, that comes to mind when you think of Summer Band?

T: Hmm, well that would have to be “Pride Time.”

J: Can you explain what that is?

T: Well, let’s see…OK, during Summer Band, which is the first week we begin on our marching music for the season, we get a lot of freshmen who have never marched before. Because of that, they have to be disciplined. To do that we have the entire band stand outside at attention. Should I explain what that is?

J: Sure.

T: Attention is a position where the body is completely still, your arms are at your sides, your feet are together, and you’re looking straight ahead. But do not…I repeat, do not, lock your knees.

J: Or you’ll pass out.

T: Exactly. But back to Pride Time; after you come to attention, you stay in that position for about a minute, and you do not move.

J: Why is that?

T: It’s to teach the younger kids, and remind the older ones, that your body is a temple, and you have to teach it to remain still at all times on the field unless you’re executing a move in the marching show.

J: So what happens if someone moves during Pride Time?

T: Well, we call “At Ease”, which means everyone leaves attention, and then we call attention again and start over. We do it again and again until everyone has been able to remain still for at least one minute.

J: And after that?

T: After that, either the drum major or myself will call out, “Who’s got the best band?” To which the band will respond, “We do!” Then the leader will call, “Dismissed!” And the band will respond with, “Pride!” After that, practice ends. And we carry this process out at every rehearsal during the marching band season.

J: Oh, before I forget, who taught you about Pride Time?

T: I learned about special calls and routines and endurance exercises when I was in band as a kid, and through college, and graduate training. So when I came to Forrest City, I wanted to keep up the tradition that had helped me.

J: Interesting! I didn’t know that!

 

I knew from the beginning that I wanted to interview my former band director about a few of the traditions we had back when I was in the high school band, because a lot them resonated with me and I carry out some of them today. Pride Time was one of the most grueling exercises I’ve ever experienced. Imagine standing completely still at 12 Noon while the sun is blazing above you and it’s 110 degrees. A minute under those conditions will test the resolve of any band member, but year after year the band survived. Even during the year when I was drum major, and I was an especially tough drum major, the band rose to the occasion and was stronger for it. It’s a test of endurance that strengthened my body all four years of my marching band career and it’s a tradition that will continue to train the future band students to come.

Mid-Autumn Festival

Nationality: Chinese American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/15/13
Primary Language: English

J: There’s also there Mid-Autumn Festival, which is a harvest type festival. Because we don’t live in China we don’t go all out for it, but uh, it happens in September or October and we eat mooncakes during that time.

Me: I’ve heard of mooncakes before! Are they good?

J: I really like them. They’re, um, well, they’re like small square or circle shaped cakes. And they have date paste and walnuts inside. I think you’d really love them.

Me: Is that the traditional food for the festival?

J: I think mooncakes are the most well known, but my parents used to cook traditional foods such as noodles and fish, but these days they kinda just go out and buy food.

Me: Any particular reason for the change?

J: Well they’re getting older, and it’s just a little easier that way.

Me: Gotcha, so are there any other specifics about the festival?

J: Well, one that stands out is that the festival is also a time where, um, people can celebrate marriage – I mean, you can do that all the time, but it’s really focused on during the festival.

Me: How so?

J: It’s just a time where young people are encouraged to get together, and mingle, and get to know one another for…well, yeah haha, you know, to start dating, get married, and whatnot.

Me: Haha, gotcha! Well thank you so much for sharing with me.

J: Sure, happy to do it!

 

The thing about the piece of folklore that I found most interesting is that it is the epitome of different branches of folklore coming together. It is falls into the category of life cycle as it encompasses moments where people are encouraged to come together, form relationships, and produce the next generation. Not only that, material folklore is found within it as special kinds of foods are made specifically for this celebration of the harvest. And being that it occurs during the harvest time, it falls under seasonal folklore as well! More research into the this festival would more than likely reveal more elements that make this festival a smorgasbord of folklore!