Author Archives: Juan Bravo

Chinese Wedding Prank

Nationality: Chinese-American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 25, 2011
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

The informant is an eighteen-year old student from Los Angeles. He was born in Taipei and received schooling in America. He had been studying in Taipei before moving back to the United States for university. He speaks Chinese and English and will be referred to in this transcript as “GS.”

And then, um, another tradition is that, which I never saw but I heard about was that the family and friends would basically try to get the couple into bed. So, like, after, um, after the banquet, you know, the couple might go home you know and have their what is usually considered their first time in bed together, okay, so the couple will be resting and then of course, all the family and friends will come knocking on the door, you know, and they burst in the door with like, drinks and, like, lots of chatter and they’re like, they’ll like have chaos in the party in the room and then the last thing they’ll do before they go away, usually be soon which is usually like after a few hours is make sure that the couple are in bed, like physically in bed under the sheets together and then they’ll leave. Thinking that they have done their duty of getting the couple together in, to have, you know, sex. So that’s two things I’ve, um, heard about Chinese weddings.

On the other hand, uh, the interrupting them when they’re in the room is also a prank, but it’s a prank geared towards you know getting the couple to be in bed. You know, to have sex. So it’s kind of like ensuring that they have sex. I mean, there’s like a focus on producing a child, uh, like after marriage in Chinese culture, I guess for every culture there is but especially in Chinese culture and having a son but, um, for this I think it’s to ensure that you’re making children and ensure that you guys are gonna, you know, have sex. I guess for more conservative families this might be a way of saying, okay now you can have sex, now that you’re married you can have sex.

I agree with GS’ explanation of the conservatism of Chinese culture informing the insistence that the couple produces children as quickly as possible after the marriage. In this tradition, the couple is not allowed to simply go to bed together: First the family must invade the home, as if to make their mark of familial values. The partying and games that follow seem to be suggestive of the life they hope the couple will be able to enjoy for themselves someday. Then the family must actually ensure that the couple is in bed together, as if an outside force was necessary to coerce the couple into reproduction. This oddly invasive part of the wedding ceremony reinforces how strongly the rest of the family feels about the continuity in their family. As GS explained, the continuity of the male line is incredibly important, so making sure the couple begins having children as soon as possible increases the chances of a boy being born.

Mexican Child Song- “Pescadito”

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 47
Occupation: Civil Engineer
Residence: Sacramento, CA
Performance Date: March 15, 2011
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

The informant is a 47-year old civil engineer working in California, originally from Michoacán, Mexico. He lived a modest life as a young adult, studying to be an engineer. He then moved to the United States with his wife to raise their family and make his career. He primarily speaks Spanish with English as a second language.  He shall be referred to as JB.

“Lindo pescadito, no quiere salir, a jugar con mi aro, vamos al jardin!”

“Yo vivo en el agua, no puedo salir, mi mama me ha dicho, ‘no salgas de aqui, porque si tu sales, te puedes morir.’”

“Lindo pescadito, no salgas de alli!”

“Cute fish, no want leave, to play with my hoop, go to garden!”

“I live in the water, no can go, my mom me has told, ‘no leave from here, because if leave, you can die.’”

“Cute fish, no leave from there!”

“Cute little fish, doesn’t want to get out, to come play with my hula hoop, let’s go to the garden!”

“I live in the water, I cannot go, my mother’s told me, ‘don’t leave here because you can die.’”

“Cute little fish, don’t get out of there!”

This is children’s song details a hypothetical conversation between a small, young fish and a small child. The child encourages the fish to leave the water to come play in the garden, but the fish explains that he’s meant for life in the water and been warned by his mother that anything otherwise could lead to his death. The child, upon realizing this, immediately retracts his offer and also encourages the fish to stay where he is for his safety.

JB explains that this song is sung to children around two years old. It is a simple game, making use of the common practice of adding the suffix “-ito” to a noun in order to make it small, endearing, and approachable for the child (it makes it childlike, like the child itself). In addition, JB explains that eventually children learn it themselves and are able to make it into a call-response game. While it is initially the parent that sings both parts, children will eventually be able to either sing the fish’s part or child’s part themselves, either with the parent or with other children. JB explains that this is used to help children understand the idea of call and response through the context of a silly song.

Knowing that this is sung to two-year old children, I interpreted it on another level. Around the age of two, small children become more mobile and adventurous than ever, but usually still unable to speak properly.  As they want to explore but do not fully understand communication, they could easily find themselves in unfortunate situations if they simply follow their every whim. Thus, the fish symbolizes security in the home. He explains (as his mother taught him) that he is safe in his home and should not leave for his own sake. By relating his mother’s advice himself, this encourages children to follow parental advice even without the presence of the parent, and thus helps them to take care of themselves. This is reinforced by the human child’s last line, where he agrees with the fish’s mother’s advice and also encourages the fish to stay in his safe home. This seems to be a statement against peer pressure, which is usually what steers a child away from parental guidance. Thus, children approach a peer pressure situation from both perspectives: From the one instilling pressure (and learning not to pressure others) and the one receiving pressure (and learning not to succumb to pressure but instead remain true to parental guidance). Thus, the song becomes an encouragement for growing children to stay in a safe environment.

Folk Saying- Arabian Standard Time

Nationality: Egyptian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 27, 2011
Primary Language: Arabic
Language: English, French

The informant is a nineteen-year old student born in Australia who’s lived in Egypt for two years, England for two years, Jordan for four years, Egypt for two years, India for four years and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA for university.  He is the son of an Egyptian ambassador and speaks Arabic, English and French. He shall be referred to as SH.

SH describes how in many warmer countries along the equator, people are not as inclined to strictly adhere to a schedule as they would in other countries, resulting in people often being late. He refers to this as running on “Arabian Standard Time,” but says a variant of that is “Indian Standard Time” or other versions. He explains how it is a way of referring to the stereotype of people from those countries as being inclined to be late. However, he addresses this with a sense of humor, smiling as he talks about it. He explains that since people from the tropical climates are used to having long hours of sunlight, it is not essential that they follow a clock so closely and that not too much is lost by being twenty minutes late.

Conversely, much of American culture is derived from British culture, where sunlight is scarce and rarely lasts long. Thus, people from those countries place more value in sunlight hours and thus are more insistent on punctuality.

While this is a negative stereotype, it seems to be embraced by the people who it applies to (at least in the case of SH). Thus, it appears they do not take it as negatively. Rather, SH explains a sort of pride at his country of origin and the lifestyle they live. The use of the term “standard time” suggests this is the official way they choose to address time, thus embracing a culture that is not so strict on punctuality.

Mexican Good Luck Ritual- Money in Water

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 47
Occupation: Civil Engineer
Residence: Sacramento, CA
Performance Date: March 15, 2011
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

The informant is a 47-year old civil engineer working in California, originally from Michoacán, Mexico. He lived a modest life as a young adult, studying to be an engineer. He then moved to the United States with his wife to raise their family and make his career. He primarily speaks Spanish with English as a second language.  He shall be referred to as JB.

JB’s father owned a small convenience store for a time. He explains that with both his father and other business owners, it was good luck for the business to not spend the money made on the first sale of the day. Instead, that money is placed in a small glass of water left somewhere behind the counter. In addition to this, it was very important that the first person to walk into the business in the morning did not leave without making an actual purchase. JB explained this could simply mean being as friendly a salesperson as possible or even offering a deep discount to the customer. If the first person to walk in did not make a purchase, it was bad luck for the rest of the workday and vice versa.

JB believes that this is a matter of reflecting yourself as a good businessperson. If you let the first potential customer go without making a purchase, this could easily mean that the same could happen with the next. He said there’s a strong importance in making every possible sale count, and by successfully making the first, you are setting yourself up for a successful workday as a whole.

I agree with JB’s high value in displaying your ability as a salesman with each customer, especially with wanting to guarantee a sale on the first person to walk in. As JB was witness to this in a father-son context, it also demonstrated a desire to instill strong business values in a small child, as well as instilling a value in thorough work throughout life. However, he wasn’t able to provide too much reasoning for the money in the glass of water.

My first interpretation is that it serves as a public display of the salesman’s competence for those that are keen-eyed enough to notice. If another salesman were to walk in and not see money in the glass, they would immediately suspect that the business owner had not made his or her first sale of the day yet and thus think less of his or her ability. Thus, the money in the glass of water becomes a sort of quality assurance mark. At the same time, water has a very protective nature to it. JB grew up in a Catholic community where everyone was baptized around the time of their birth. In that ceremony, water cleanses the person of sin and gives them God’s grace for the remainder of life. In a much less formal manner, putting the money from the first sale in water grants it a level of protection, hopefully for the remainder of the workday.

Mexican Folk Remedy- Rubbing Alcohol and Salt

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 47
Occupation: Accountant
Residence: Sacramento, CA
Performance Date: March 15, 2011
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

The informant is a 47-year old accountant working in California, originally from Michoacán, Mexico. She lived a modest life as a young adult, having to take care of her family at a very young age while still finding success in management. She then moved to the United States with her husband to raise their family and now works in accounting. She primarily speaks Spanish with English as a second language.  He shall be referred to as MB.

MB explained that this was a home remedy she learned from her own mother. It is a simple matter of mixing a solution of rubbing alcohol and salt, then rubbing that over a person’s feet and lower legs to cure a cold. MB herself could not explain how it worked (and it certainly doesn’t seem to make any sense on a medicinal level), but she asserts that it always managed to cure a cold both in her childhood and for her children when she became a mother.

MB explains that rubbing alcohol is a common ingredient in home remedies, as it was a cheap and accessible resource for those without too much money where she grew up. As mentioned above, these solutions were very simple and meant to be easily executed before relying on a doctor for medical advice. Money was often very tight, so any kind of folk remedy was preferred to a costly visit to the doctor (except, obviously, in cases that required it).

I believe that the seemingly non-medicinal nature of this remedy is reflective of MB’s Catholic origin. As the town was made up largely of the devoutly religious, they were unlikely to question that which made no scientific sense and instead function more on faith. After all, there doesn’t seem to be any scientific reasoning for either of these remedies, but MB insists that they served their purpose for herself and her siblings. At the same time, I can personally testify to the reliability of the salt-alcohol solution—I do not know how it works, but only that it can clear up a cold overnight.