Author Archives: Matthieu Munoz

Manananggal

Nationality: Filipino-American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/16/15
Primary Language: English

My informant for this piece is a student who has strong connections to her Filipino heritage. She shared with me a legend common in the Philippines that she heard from her Uncle.

Informant:

“My uncle told me about this legend that we have in the Philippines, since he lives there. There is this creature, the Manananggal, that we tell stories about. The creature looks like a woman by day. However at night her upper half flies off and separates from her body. She goes to pregnant woman’s homes while they sleep, and cuts them open to eat their children. She can be warded off with salt, though.”

My analysis:

This narrative can be best defined as a legend, in my own opinion. As the creature may be disguised as a human, it creates a level of uncertainty in someone who hears the story, that the creature may actually be lurking among us. The mention of a change between day and night forms may also indicate an uncertainty about how people really are between the face they show publicly and privately in my opinion. Salt also has many religious connotations, so the usage of salt to ward this creature away may indicate that it is in actuality an evil entity.

My research has uncovered that this story has its origins in the Philippines, and is a variant of a Vampire legend, or ‘Aswang’ as they are called in Filipino legend.. However it is more widespread in Malaysia then Europe. It is implied that belief in this creature may have influenced behavior in the region, as my research indicated that sleeping patterns changed so that the sleeper would not be vulnerable to these creatures. It is also implied that Philippine houses are constructed in a way to ward of the creature with features including steep roofs, and bamboo staves (which are purported to kill them). Rural Filipinos traditionally hang the corpses of sea creatures such as crabs or lobsters which are purported to ward them away. These behavioral alterations to their daily life may be an indication of the widespread belief in this creature.

Citation:

Ramos, Maximo. “The Aswang syncrasy in Philippine folklore.” Western Folklore (1969): 238-248.

Capirtoda-Traditional Mexican Food

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/12/15
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish
Capritoda

Capritoda

My Informant is a student who has ties to her hispanic heritage. She shared a piece of her cultural heritage with me, involving a traditional food that she and her family ate during the holidays.

 

 

 

 

 

Informant.:

“During Christmas time, we make Capritoda, which is a bread pudding. We only eat it on christmas as a special dessert. Its a special family recipe, passed down from my grandmother.”

I asked why they only ate this dish on Christmas, as I recalled that it was normally eaten around the lenten period. She replied “There’s no official reason, it is usually eaten on lent but it’s just a desert a lot of people in my family like, so we cool it together and eat it on Christmas”

My analysis:

I found it extremely interesting that my informants family chose to utilize a traditional food from the easter season into a christmas celebration. In most hispanic tradition, the dish symbolizes the death by crucifixion of Jesus, and is also served on good Friday. Although my informant did not give a specific reason for this change, and I can only speculate the reasons as to why. However, it does provide an interesting contrast to me, that a dish associated with the death of Jesus is made in this family only during a celebration of the birth of Jesus.

El Cucuy

Nationality: American
Age: 53
Occupation: Systems Analyst
Residence: Alhambra, California
Performance Date: 4/03/15
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

My informant for this piece is my aunt, who heard this story as a child. She has strong ties to her hispanic heritage, and shared with me a common Mexican myth.

Informant:

“El Cucuy is a Mexican tradition, the Mexican version of the Bogeyman. I was told, obey your parents or else El Cucuy will get you.”

My analysis:

The Bogeyman in this narrative is clearly being utilized by parents as a means to scare children into obedience. It is  clearly not intended to represent a real creature, instead the status as the bogeyman meant to play on the child’s imagination through the possible appearance of an unknowable monster.  In addition, the vagueness of the statement implies that the creature has some omnipotent ability to know if a child is misbehaving, and therefore, they must always be on their guard. Although this version of the tale is short, it is effective as it gives just enough information for a small child  to be wary of whether or not their parent is telling the truth.

Chupacabra

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/12/2015
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

My Informant is a student who has ties to her hispanic heritage. She shared a legend that she heard as a child, that was passed down to her from her Grandfather.

Informant:

“The Chupacabra is a forest creature that attacks Children. My grandfather described it as the size of a dog and that it has claws and growls. The Chupacabra also attacks and sucks the blood out of the live stock, thats why you find animals dead and drained of blood.”

My analysis:

The Chupacabra is an urban legend that is common among many families of mexican-american descent. In this instance, the legend is utilized possibly to frighten children into behaving. It also displays characteristics of a legend in that the way the narrative is presented as if the Chupacabra were a real creature. Unlike other stories of monsters or ghosts, the Chupacabra seems extremely realistic in its description. It is also possibly utilized as an explanation for wild animal attacks, when there seems no other alternative.

La Lllorana

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/12/15
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

My informant is a student who has very deep connections to her hispanic culture. She shared with me a Mexican folk Legend that she heard as a child, and explained to me the significance of this legend.

Informant:

“Then I grew up being scared of the legend of ” La Llorona” also known as the weeping woman. My cousins would scare me when the electricity went off they said she would come for me as she picked other kids from the street.”

I asked her to elaborate more on the legend, and this is what she told me. “La Llorana is a spirit who comes out at night, the name means ‘crying lady’. She comes for children because she lost her own and you can hear her crying all night long.”

My analysis:

My informant repeated the legend, with the implication that at one point she had really believed in the existence of the spirit. She clearly had a belief that this spirit could really be responsible for events such as a power outage, and that it was a foreshadowing of her arrival. Her fear may have arisen out of a common cultural background, of hearing stories about La Llorana and her intended targets all her childhood.

In my research, I  have discovered La Llorana referenced in scholarly literature and its origins analyzed. Apparently the legend of La Llorana traces its origins back to 1550, when the first reports of a ‘woman in white’ first surfaced.  There are many variants of the legend, although one analysis traces La Llorana to Mesoamerican roots, comparing the ghostly figure to the goddess Cihuacoatl. It is an interesting interpretation, that it was a prototype of the legend. However the weeping woman is not restricted only to mexican legends, but may also be found in various cultures around the world, possibly indicating a common motif.

My research:

Kirtley, Bacil F. “” La Llorona” and Related Themes.” Western Folklore (1960): 155-168.