Author Archives: mcgeagh

“Biz” – Fraternity Tradition

Nationality: Jewish, Russian, English
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Westwood, CA
Performance Date: 4-15-16
Primary Language: English

Informant: Sam Kitaj is one of my best friends from high school. His heritage is English, Russian, and Jewish. He is 21 years old and grew up in Westwood, California. He went to high school in Los Angeles and now attends a university and is studying Real-Estate Development. He played sports his whole life with a focus on soccer and is now in a fraternity.

Sam told me, “In my particular fraternity, it is frowned upon to say the number ‘5,’ because of a drinking game we play called beer die. The game involves throwing up a die in the air and trying to have it hit the opponents side of the table and bounce awkwardly enough so that they cannot catch the rebound. By some off chance the die does not exit the plane of the table, it will land on a number. The number 5 is forbidden and if it lands on 5 then the person who threw the die has to finish his beer. Also, during the game you are not allowed to say the word 5 so instead it is substituted for the word ‘BIZ.’ It has now become a custom in my particular fraternity that, even when not playing beer die, you say ‘biz’ instead of the number 5.”

Sam learned this particular folk speech tradition from the older members in the house when he was a younger member. It is now a humorous aspect of the house and people say biz whenever 5 is commonly said. For example, “It’s ‘biz o’clock” or “1,2,3,4,biz,6,7.” It is just a way to distinguish the houses vocabulary from others and it makes it have something unique. It is even funnier when someone forgets the rule and says ‘5,’ people don’t hesitate to correct him instantly. Its a cultural thing that is specific to the particular group.

I personally find this particular custom hilarious. Its such a silly way to translate an aspect of simple game into something that occurs on a daily basis. I can really understand how this could be a fun tradition around a fairly small group. Grilling those who don’t abide by the rule is a typical occurrence that happens nearly everyday, giving a common situational humor. Even though it is not that important, it is looked at as so. This creates a common dialect between the members of the particular group and allows for them to grow closer through this fun game that they all play.

Catholic-Irish “Ear Ringing”

Nationality: Welsh
Age: 79
Occupation: Grave Plot Salesman
Residence: Santa Monica, CA
Performance Date: 2-24-16
Primary Language: English

Informant: Sheila Hurley (married name is now Weiss), 79, is my grandmother who was born and raised in Wales by Irish parents. She grew up extremely Catholic: going to church every Sunday and schools directed by the Nuns of her local parish. She was influenced by the Irish heritage and customs of her parents and relatives that lived in her small town. She lived in Wales until she was 18 years old and then moved to New York to pursue a career in modeling. She now lives in Santa Monica, California where she raised her two daughters and helped raise her 3 grandchildren.

Sheila said, “In Irish Catholic folk belief, if you hear a ringing in your ear it means that souls in purgatory are calling to you and need you to pray for them.”

Sheila’s mother used to say this to her when she would complain of her ear ringing. She said that this was what her grandmother had taught her mother as well. This very catholic tradition and belief was a reminder that people were in purgatory and needed to be prayed for. Therefore; whenever her mother or other members of her family would hear a simple ringing in their ear, they would stop to pray for a short time to acknowledge that the souls were calling to them for help. Sheila likes this belief  because it reminds her of her Catholic upbringing and keeps her in touch with her religion. She still practices it to this day

I believe that this tradition is a religious way to understand a random bodily occurrence. Ringing of the ears is something that happens to all people and there is often little explanation for why it happens. Making this “ringing” have a little more significance never hurt anybody. I also think that this was a way for adults to teach their children Catholic values and learn to pray on their own throughout the day. It is a Catholic ideal that prayer is a continuous aspect of everyone’s life and that God should be acknowledged even in the simplest of the day’s happenings. When someone’s ear rings, it can be passed over as just an annoyance, and it is for most people. Making the ringing have religious significance creates a practice of prayer throughout even the most mundane of things. This is something that is encouraged in the Catholic religion and is a way to show thoughtfulness for the deceased who have not yet reached Heaven.