Author Archives: Janice Youn

Riddle

Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Cerritos, CA
Performance Date: March 22, 2007
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?

A: (according to Hamlet) That is not the question.

Jane Lee first learned this riddle from a friend when she was in first grade.   When her friend asked her the question, she responded with the traditional “to get to the other side.”  Since then, she has heard many versions to the riddle, but her favorite answer to the question has been what she claims Hamlet’s answer would have been – “that is not the question.”  As riddles are often viewed to be sharp and witty, she likes the clever way in which Shakepeare’s Hamlet was incorporated into the joke.  She believes that it brings the academic world into the joke world and stirs humor in a subtle but funny way.

Of the different versions of the riddle, the traditional answer seems most fitting with the American culture.  By providing humor with an answer that is, by itself not funny, the joke becomes funny by the unexpectedness of the answer.  Many individuals expect riddles to be clever and tricky, but because the answer to this riddle is so plain and simple, the twist generates a sense of humor.  The simple nature of the riddle also makes it enjoyable to people.  As it is not a neck riddle, the individual does not feel pressured to answer but can do so at a leisurely pace.  Therefore, this is one of the most well known and enjoyed riddles in the United States.

Myth – Hawaii

Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Honolulu, HI
Performance Date: March 10, 2007
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

As a citizen of Hawaii, Katie grew up hearing the myth of Pele and the Ohia Lehua flower.  According to Hawaiian culture, the goddess Pele, the volcano goddess, had a sister who was in charge of protecting the sacred ohia lehua trees.  One day, however, Pele found out that her sister had been having sexual relationships with her lover.  In anger, she destroyed her sister’s ohia lehua grove by pouring lava all over the trees.  Even now, she continues to erupt volcano lava onto the island and destroy the trees.  Therefore, the myth states that if an individual picks a flower from the ohia lehua tree without first performing the proper ritual, and thereby respecting her sister rather than herself, Pele will become angered and respond by pouring out lava over the land.

This myth is widely known in Hawaii and taught by the older members of the community.  Katie Tamai learned the story when she was young from her grandmother.  She was taught to respect the goddess Pele and never to pick a flower from the ohia lehua tree.  Though she is not highly superstitious, she says that she will never pick lehua flower in fear of the possibility that something could happen.  Because the superstition is so immersed in the Hawaiian culture, it is difficult for individuals to ignore the potential consequences of picking the flower.  She also says that respect for the goddess Pele prevents her from taking a lehua flower.  The tree is seen as something that is very sacred.

The superstition branching from this myth is also intertwined with the rules of the island.  Under state law, it is illegal to pick lehua flowers.  Therefore, the legend not only enriches the culture of Hawaii but also serves to enforce the rules protecting the tree by instilling superstitious thoughts into the minds of the natives.  The story attracts tourists to the sites while also protecting the trees from being damaged by eager tourists.

Folk Belief – Hawaii

Nationality: Korean
Age: 83
Occupation: Doctor
Residence: Gardena, CA
Performance Date: March 12, 2007
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

Do not buy shoes for your boyfriend/girlfriend as a present.

My grandma, Kum Soon Youn, first heard this superstition when she was dating a boy in high school.  She was trying to find a present to buy for him when she came upon a pair of shoes.  As she was standing in line to purchase the shoes, her mother stopped her and warned her against buying them.  According to Korean superstition, if a person buys his/her girlfriend/boyfriend a pair of shoes, she/ he will run away from them.  They will wear the shoes that they received and escape from their partners.  Therefore, giving shoes to the person would not only be encouraging the receivers but also providing them with the means to run away.

When my grandma heard this superstition, it reminded her of the Chinese custom to bind women’s feet in the older days.  The elders would bend the feet of girls at a young age to keep them small and petite.  It is often thought that this method was used to confine women and to prevent them from running away from home.  The superstition reminded my grandmother of this tradition because of the idea that men tried to prevent women from running away by binding their feet.  She believes that this superstition is based upon the same idea.  It seems to be targeted at women, indicating that they should not be given shoes or that they will run away.  She therefore thinks that the phrase does not pertain to both men and women but rather serves as a warning to the men not to provide their wives or girlfriends with any means by which they can run away.

When I heard the superstition, I had a different response than my grandma did.  I did not think that it was oppressive to women but rather thought it served as a reminder to both genders that people aren’t always faithful.  It seemed to claim that, when provided with the means to run away, or escape from a relationship, people will run away.  It remarks at people’s fear of commitment and their desire to seek quick and easy pleasure rather than to make an effort to create a long lasting relationship.  Therefore the proverb appears to serve the purpose of reminding those in relationships that their significant other may not always be faithful.

Myth – Hindu

Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Salt Lake City, UT
Performance Date: March 20, 2007
Primary Language: English
Language: Sanskrit

There is a story in Hinduism about a king who was approached and given one wish by God.  Desiring to be immortal, the king told God that he wished he would never be killed indoors or outdoors.  As He promised, God granted him his wish.  The king, therefore, lived his life as he wished without any fears of being killed.  However, one day, as he was standing in the doorway, with one foot indoors and the other outdoors, God appeared in the form of a lion and killed the king.  As the king was neither indoors nor outdoors, God had found a way to kill the king without going against His word.  He had found the king’s most vulnerable spot.  Therefore, this led to the superstition that it is bad luck to stand in the middle of a doorway.

Preeya first heard this story and learned of the superstition when she was a child from her mother.  She was lingering around the doorway waiting for her mom to come out when her mother saw this and pulled Preeya away from the doorway.  She informed her of the story and told her that it was extremely bad luck to stand in the middle of the doorway.  By standing in a position where even the king was most vulnerable, she was exposing herself to all the evil of the world.  It was almost like inviting bad luck to enter into her life.  Therefore, even now, Preeya does not stand in the middle of the doorway for fear of bad luck.

The superstition also seems to be based off the idea that the doorway serves as a portal between the living and the spiritual world.  Because an individual standing in the middle is neither in the living nor the netherworld, he is neither alive nor dead.  As this denies the person entrance into either world, this is a most unlucky position to be in.  Standing in the middle of the doorway therefore represents the spirit of a lost soul stuck between the two worlds.  Thus, it is unlucky to stand even for a moment in the middle of the doorway.

Proverb – Korean

Age: 47
Residence: Norwalk, CA
Performance Date: February 25, 2007
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

?                 ??              ???            ???

cow        after one loses         barn             one fixes

“After losing a cow, one repairs the barn.”

My mom learned this proverb growing up in a small town in Seoul, South Korea.  When she was around 10 years old, she went to school and heard it first used by her teacher.  It was a rainy day and there was a hole in the roof.  It had been there for several weeks, but because it was nearing summer and the weather was so nice, no one thought much of it.  However, that day, the rain poured all day long and the entire classroom became flooded with water.  It wasn’t after the classroom was destroyed that incident that the principle called someone to fix the roof.  The teacher, therefore, responded with this proverb.

This Korean proverb is often used when an individual attempts to fix a situation only after something negative has occurred.  As the English translation of the proverb suggests, only after a person loses his cow does he repair the barn.   It remarks on people’s tendencies to do nothing to prevent negative situations but rather wait until they need to be repaired.  It’s almost as if people are hoping that things will never need to be fixed.  This is relevant to individuals now in the US.  It seems that we often follow the philosophy that nothing bad will happen to us.

We go through life believing that we are invincible and we refuse to stop our fast paced lives to make small improvements in our lives.  Therefore, I think the proverb is commenting on our people’s tendencies to ignore problems until a disaster occurs and trying to warn us to stop being lazy and to take action.

Annotation: Kim, Yong-Choi.  Proverbs, East and West. Weatherhill: 1991.

In this book, Kim Yong-Choi explains the proverb and gives examples of situations in which it can be used.