Author Archives: Jordan

Childhood Playground Game

Nationality: Scottish; American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Oak Park, CA, USA
Performance Date: April 20, 2011
Primary Language: English

The following is a description of a childhood gamed played by one of my classmates: “I went to a predominantly white elementary school. We did a lot of hand games during lunch and recesses, a lot of rhyming type games and hand clapping, that sort of thing. In the middle of one of the hand clapping games, you take your finger and make your eyes squint by pulling the skin around your eyes up or down…the point is to, and this really sounds bad, but to appear Chinese or Japanese.  Up is Chinese, and down is Japanese. So, during the game, you say ‘Chinese, Japanese, Chinese, Japanese…’ changing your eyes with each…so as you say ‘Chinese’ you squint up, and as you say ‘Japanese’ you squint down. It’s about children exploring basically what they can get away with in a fun, subconscious way. At the time I played it was just fun and funny to make ourselves look like another ethnicity. But now I see the larger meanings with childhood, boundary exploration, and identity development.”

I agree with the analysis and the larger associations and meaning inherent in the game. It is like most, if not all, of children’s games. They explore boundaries while speaking to what may not be acceptable by employing what agency they do have. A game of this manner is perfect for exploring identity and indirectly discussing what makes “us” different from “them.” It is but one more example of the child’s way of coping with the authoritarian world and transitioning into a time of exploration and curiosity.

Baganda Rhyme

Nationality: Baganda; Ugandan
Age: 26
Occupation: Youth Association Director
Residence: Kampala, Uganda
Performance Date: April 1, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Luganda

Where are you going, little goat?

I am going to market to buy a new coat.

A coat for a goat? Can a goat have a coat?

People will laugh at a goat with a coat!

This was told by a Ugandan friend who said that it is just a fun rhyme to entertain kids and not necessarily used for any particular purpose.

I chose to include the above rhyme because of its very apparent meaning within the Baganda community, at least from an “outsider’s” perspective. The people place great importance on normalcy, or being “ordinary.” This has led the Baganda to use the word for “white person,” mzungu, even to describe members of their own society when they are not conforming to societal norms. For example, a commonality among all Baganda men is to maintain a considerably short hair length. If anyone chooses to deviate from this custom, they are labeled a mzungu, despite having the same skin color as those in their community. In other words, there is hesitancy to accept what is odd in terms of cultural standards. The goat being dissuaded to purchase a coat in the above rhyme serves to illustrate this aspect of the Baganda and remind its members to adhere to accepted societal conduct and tradition.

Swedish Joke

Nationality: Swedish
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Performance Date: April 27, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Swedish

The following is a joke recorded from a Swedish friend: “So, this joke is not that common, but the theme is common. Ok, so, uh, do you know why Norwegians open the milk cartons in the store? Because it reads ‘open here.’ The point here, is like saying Norwegian people are dumb. It illustrates the rivalry between Norway and Sweden. Now in modern times there is not a real rivalry, I’m sure they have the same type of jokes as Swedes. But it does go back historically, like the 14th and 15th centuries when we were competing for power. It shows this competitiveness and tradition of making fun of each other.”

I completely agree with her analysis. The joke is an illustration of nationalism and the superiority of one nation over another. This is not uncommon, as we see similar examples within the United States pertaining to Mexican immigrants and also in Germany where the targeted group are the Turks. Examining these jokes provides the social constructions and political climates either currently or, as in the case of the aforementioned between Sweden and Norway, historically.

Childhood Game – Bloody Mary

Nationality: American
Age: 13
Occupation: Student
Residence: Three Rivers, CA, USA
Performance Date: April 22, 2011
Primary Language: English

My little sister, who is almost 14 years old and in the eighth grade, told me her version of the Bloody Mary game and legend. Her story is as follows: “I first heard about Bloody Mary when I was in like sixth grade, or maybe last year…anyway…some older girls were volunteering in the class and told us that if you go in the bathroom, turn the lights off, spin around clockwise three times while saying ‘Bloody Mary,’ and then look in the mirror, she will appear and kill you. It’s kind of like a dare for someone…but only girls, I don’t think guys have ever done it…and there is a story to go with it. Bloody Mary was a girl who was killed in a bathroom, and now she tries to get revenge and waits for someone to call her name…but I wouldn’t do it, well I kinda did, but didn’t spin around all three time…it’s CREEPY!”

While there are numerous variations, the fundamental idea is that a young girl looks into a mirror and says whomever’s name (usually a Mary) for x amount of times, and they will appear in the mirror. The Bloody Mary game derives from a legend with the motif E 332.3.3.1, about a woman named Mary Worth/Whales who disappears and leaves a spot of blood (Dundes 1998). While my sister is probably right in that it is creepy and just a fun game similar to cemetery excursions or haunted house break-ins at midnight, there is another aspect entirely. It is that of coping with the life cycle, the transition from childhood to reproductive ability. The clockwise spinning symbolizes moving ahead in time, going forward into the future, and the “bloody” woman seen in the mirror is a reflection of the girl’s self in this future and her menstrual cycle. This explains why only girls, typically, play the game, as well as the ages during which it is played/performed. It becomes an unconscious way of speaking to and addressing that which may not be comfortably discussed in a public context, yet is a critical time in a young girl’s development. Alan Dundes produced a great book on the topic, calling the ritual one of “pre-pubescent anxiety.” The following is the source:

Dundes, Alan. “Bloody Mary in the Mirror: A Ritual Reflection of Pre-Pubescent Anxiety.” Western Folklore 57, no. 2 (1998): 119-135.

Baganda Proverb

Nationality: Baganda
Age: 26
Occupation: Youth Association Director
Residence: Kampala, Uganda
Performance Date: April 1, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Luganda

Wokuba engoma enyo, bulyomu awulira

You play drum loud, all people hear

Spoken in English: When you beat the drums loud, everyone hears.

I heard this from a friend from Uganda, and also saw it in a Ugandan newspaper article pertaining to corruption. A previous article describing the increase in Uganda’s rank among corrupt governments compelled a government official to downplay the media and public’s reaction by essentially stating that the Ugandan government was not as fraudulent as the masses believed, but had rather suffered from persistent media speculation which merely emphasized and dramatized what idiosyncrasies did exist within the government. The proverb he used to describe his argument was the aforementioned. I asked one of my friends from Uganda what this meant to him, and he responded that it means that whatever is fussed about will eventually be noticed.

I feel that the primary message here is to exert caution, for constant noise and persistence will emphasize any cause to accumulate support of others. At times this can be a useful tool, yet it can also attract unwanted or even detrimental attention to an idea, event, or group of people that would otherwise benefit without the publicity. However, as an example of the proverb in a more literal application, there is a general trend occurring in Uganda in which women are increasingly likely to play the drums, a once entirely male activity. Thus, their performance on the percussion instrument can be interpreted as an act of agency, and this is mirrored with recent political development in Uganda such as the banning of female genital mutilation (circumcision) and the implementation of a quota system for women in all levels of local and national government. The proverb conveniently applies to this phenomenon, showing that playing drums can perhaps literally draw attention to whatever the issue might be. While difficult to show, it would be fascinating to see if this proverb developed as a result of or in conjunction with the women playing drums. Conversely, it is interesting to think if women began playing drums because of the proverb and the message it contained. A similar one I have heard before in the U.S. but cannot locate is “the truth is what gets the loudest applause.”

Butagira, Tabu. “Corruption Worse in Country.” The Monitor, November 15, 2010. This is the news article containing documentation and contextual usage of the proverb.