Author Archives: Janice Kitchen

Tale, Death Personification

Nationality: American
Age: 61
Occupation: Associate State Director of The New Hampshire Small Business Development Center
Residence: Concord, New Hampshire
Performance Date: March 27, 2011
Primary Language: English

“It’s a story by a French author, I think, I don’t know, my mother used to tell it to me. This may not be exactly right. Death meets this man and tells him that he’s going to die in three days. So the man flees to Damascus, trying to escape Death. Three days later, he runs into Death and Death says, ‘I was wondering why we were meeting in Damascus.’”

My informant told this story to me while we were discussing the risks of flying across the country. Recently before the discussion, a hole was ripped into an airplane while in flight, but the pilot successfully landed the plane and no passengers were injured. I reassured my informant that, because of this incident, now was the safest time to fly. My informant argued with my point, at first, but after more discussion agreed, and then she responded with this tale. When I questioned her further about where this story came from, she said that her mother used to tell it to her to relieve her fears and to prevent her from worrying. The moral, according to my informant, is that ultimately we do not have control over our own fate, and if you are meant to die you will, but if it isn’t your time, you won’t. I agree with this analysis, and add only that the story also alludes to the inevitability of death; even if one runs from death, death will eventually catch with you.

Folk Belief–Whistling at Night

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Critical Studies Film Student
Residence: Wantage, New Jersey
Performance Date: February 19, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Turkish

“It’s bad luck to whistle at night!”

A mutual friend of the informant and mine was whistling at night when my informant, with an exaggerated expression of fear, turned to our friend and demanded that he stop whistling. When our friend asked why he should stop, my informant emphatically responded, “It’s bad luck to whistle at night!” On other occasions, I have seen similar interactions between my informant and peers, and often my informant will talk about the folk belief in a whisper, creating a sense of fear.

My informant believes that whistling at night attracts jinn, which in turn causes bad luck. Jinn, according to my informant, are a race of dark spirits that live in this world and others. They are mischievous, trickster spirits that bring misfortune with them. He states that a belief in jinn is prevalent in his Muslim family. My informant stressed that he does not believe in jinn, and tries to portray this “superstition” as a joke, but admitted that the whistling seriously bothered him nonetheless.

My informant remembers vividly remembers the first time he was told not to whistle at night. He was a little kid, around five years old, when he was whistling at night in his house. His grandmother, an immigrant from Azerbaijan, scolded him harshly, telling him to stop immediately. My informant didn’t understand and argued back with his grandmother. His mother even stepped into the argument, trying to make his grandmother see the situation from his perspective. His grandmother then grabbed him by both shoulders, put her face directly in front of his, and commanded, “Do it! Go on, whistle.” My informant began whistling again, but after a few moments his grandmother shook him slightly and said, “Stop.” When he stopped, she whispered, “Now listen.” My informant held still for a moment and then, in the silence, heard loud banging noises that he claims sounded distinctly like footsteps. He never whistled at night again.

My informant adheres to this folk belief, and asks his peers to, but also publicly questions its validity. After relating the above story, my informant quickly assured me that the noises (which he had demonstrated by banging on the walls) had probably been the creaking of an old house. When he asks friends to stop whistling, he never explains why except by saying “it’s bad luck!” in a tone that implies that the whole situation, to him, is a joke.  For my informant, this folk belief is both worthy of respect and questionably true.

I had never heard this folk belief before, but it seems rooted in the traditions of my informant’s family life. He questions it publicly because, in a dominantly White American Christian/Atheist culture, which he also identifies with, a belief in jinn seems out of place, and “other.” The belief itself, though, questions individuals’ agency over their own fate. It reveals a belief in non-human forces that interact with humans and can be summoned by taboo actions.

Folk Remedy

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Neuroscience Student
Residence: Valencia, California
Performance Date: April 4, 2011
Primary Language: English

“My throat’s soar, so I’m going to go to down to Traddie’s and take shots of Patron! It’s alcohol so it kills the bacteria!”

My informant, a very upbeat and positive individual, told me this folk remedy at the beginning of a very stressful week for her. She had many midterms in the coming week, as well as a demanding schedule at her job. She had just come from her one social event for the week, an opening reception for a new building, where she had run into her sister. My informant told her sister that her throat had been feeling “scratchy” for a while, that she was worried that she was going to be coming down with a cold, and that this was the worst possible time for her to be sick. My informant’s sister, 25 and also a student, reassured my informant, and told her that if she took shots of alcohol that the alcohol would kill the bacteria.

I was at work when my informant came bounding up to see me and to tell me that she would be at Traddie’s, the on-campus bar in the basement of the Ronald Tutor Campus Center, where my informant and I both worked. She presented the use of tequila to prevent sickness as scientific fact. Later, I questioned her about why she had so much faith in this remedy and she responded that alcohol kills bacteria so it made sense that tequila would kill any bacteria in her throat that could cause sickness; she relied on a scientific explanation.

While my informant’s logic was not incorrect, looking at the context in which she preformed the folk remedy provides a different explanation. My informant “didn’t have time” to be sick that week; she was looking for a quick fix. She had already designated that Monday night as a social night, and drinking tequila allowed her to believe that she would not have to deal with a cold after that night. She could take two shots of alcohol and then wake up in the morning to continue her busy schedule. This remedy was born from convenience, not necessarily scientific fact. I believe it reflects a desire in fast-paced high-stress American culture to find quick and easy solutions to problems, before moving on to solving the next problem.