The following history is told by my friend I met on vacation this year from Mauritius Island:

“One of the biggest pieces of folklore in Mauririus is the art of dance!  Everyone dances in Mauritius, it’s our way of life!  Traditionally the people of Mauritius dance to Sega music which is music sung in our native language of Creole and play traditional instruments such as the ravanne, triangle, calebasse, and the maravanne. The ravanne is a percussion instrument that is made from a wooden hoop and a piece of goat skin stretched over the top.  The triangle is the same as the triangles we use in the United States and makes the same sound.  It’s a triangle shaped piece of metal.  The calebasse is a string instrument much like a guitar and the maravanne is a wooden box containing sand and seeds.  We use these instruments and the songs of our people in our language to create beautiful music the whole island dances to.  Originally the Sega was sung by slaves, but since then we have preserved our culture and turned it into a musical celebration used to tell stories.  We use Sega dance to express our desire for joy and happiness while at the same time expressing the heartaches our people have experienced overtime.  I especially love Sega dancing because of the traditional costumes we wear.  The women wear long colorful skirts and the men wear open-neck shirts.  It’s truly a wonderful sight!”

Analysis:  Dance is an extremely important part of Mauritius Island culture and no traditional Mauritian celebration would be complete without Sega music.  The songs tell the deep history of the people and they dance to express themselves in present day life.  The dancing is African style with lots of movement in the hips.  This is an interesting piece of folklore because I love dance and believe music and dance is one of the purest ways a person can express themselves.  More information about Sega music and dancing can be found on the Republic of Mauritius’ government website proving how vital this piece of folklore is to the entire culture of the island.

http://www.govmu.org/English/ExploreMauritius/Culture/Pages/Culture/Folklore-and-Music.aspx

The following ghost story was told by a friend in a personal interview:

Interviewer: “Would you mind retelling me the story of when you detected those spirits in that bar in Washington?”

Shannon: “Of course! We had just gotten back to our hotel from a day-long horse show and wanted to get a drink so we decided to change and head into town to look for local bars.  We found this one dive bar near our hotel and went in to check it out.  There were no people in the bar but it was open and the bartender smiled at us as we walked through the creaky door.  Immediately I detected some paranormal activity”

Interviewer: “Have you ever detected paranormal activity before?”

Shannon: “Oh yes! Plenty of times! I can tell as soon as I walk in the door most times.  I have detected spirits during underground sewer tours, in old barns, houses, and even some kitchy little shops”

Interviewer: “So you were sure there was a spirit in that bar?”

Shannon: “Yes a chilling sensation overcame my body and I was immediately aware of another presence in the room.  However, I was not scared because something was telling me that the spirits were friendly”

Interviewer: “Something was telling you?”

Shannon: “Yeah I just had a gut feeling and in most cases my gut is not wrong.  So I asked the smily bartender if he had seen anything strange in the bar and his jaw dropped to the floor.  He said that every night before closing, he would turn all the bottles facing forward and clean up the bar.  When he would return the next morning, the bottles would all be spun around and various other things would be out of place like chairs that he had stacked the night before.  After reviewing the security camera footage it became clear that a human being did not mess with the bar and it was a supernatural entity”

Interviewer: “Were you ever scared of the ghost?”

Shannon: “Oh heavens no! I could tell that it was a younger spirit and perhaps he or she was just playing pranks on the living.  I’m sure the afterlife isn’t too exciting and so spirits create other ways to pass the time including messing with living humans”

Analysis:  Although I was skeptical of Shannon’s story at first, I believe she felt a spirit at that old bar.  There are a lot of common ghost story motifs in this particular ghost story including the old bar, security camera footage detecting the moving bottles but no human or ghost.  This is especially interesting because it is unlike any ghost stories because the spirit detected was identified as friendly and young; most ghost stories tell a ghastly tale of an evil spirit haunting a mortal human but this story remains upbeat and lighthearted as Shannon concludes the activity is just young, friendly  spirits goofing around.

The following poem was read to me by my friend’s Armenian grandmother first in Armenian, and then in English:

Armeninan:

English:

Analysis: This poem written in the 1920s by Yeghishe Charents speaks to the beauty not only of the culture and land, but also of the language.  This is Mary’s (my friend’s grandmother) favorite poem that she heard from her mother growing up in Beirut, Lebanon.  The poem is beautiful in English but even more beautiful in its original language: Armenian.  This poem is a fantastic piece of folklore because it explains some of rich history of the Armenians and their land. It exemplifies Armenian national pride which is very big in the culture.  The poem touches on mournful traditional Armenian music which Armenians take pride in because it tells their long story of how they have persevered throughout history.

The following story is told by my old high school teacher regarding some of the superstitions he observed while living in the midwest:

“When I inherited a box of stuff from my grandfather, in the box I found a well-worn St. Christopher medal on a chain.  In the same bag in that box was a Nazi Iron Cross medal and some other Nazi stuff.  Since I am not Catholic, I had to ask about the medallion and why it was in the Nazi bag, and found out that literally millions of troops on both sides of WWII wore the medallion for protection.  Many millions still wear them today.  In Catholic hospitals in the Midwest, it is common practice to let patients wear St. Christopher during surgery.  Otherwise, many people would die – they will not have surgery without their medal.”

Analysis: My teacher, an atheists, is very skeptical of if this omen actually works but acknowledges the cultural significance the medals have in the midwest.  In living in Indiana for a brief period, he heard stories from his peers about the lucky powers of the St. Christopher medal which he shared with me in an interview.  This is a classic story of a lucky omen worn by many to ward of bad spirits and bring good luck.  It is not uncommon that people seek comfort in a lucky omen when they fear for their life, like many people do when they undergo major surgery, or are in a major war.