Author Archives: Matthew Colella

Irkchapitl

Nationality: USA
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: April 10, 2015
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

“So there’s this character named Irkchapitl, who’s this weird blue entity. He never has a clear image, because every time this story is told he has a different appearance, but the way I see him is kind of like a crazy looking monkey. So he travels in a garbage can that’s actually a spaceship, and he often comes to visit kids on nights when they can’t sleep. Whenever Irkchapitl comes at night, he’ll take the kids into his garbage can that looks bigger on the inside than the outside, and then Irkchapitl and the kid will go on an adventure to faraway lands before returning to Earth before the morning.”

 

I got this from a friend at USC who said that her dad would always tell this to her, and that he got it from his dad who lived in Britain. No one in their family really knows from where their grandfather heard this or whether he just made it up, but I found it really interesting that each of her siblings and cousins apparently have different images of what Irkchapitl looks like. Also, the person I asked suspects that her dad later added the part about the spaceship being larger on the inside based on the British TV series Doctor Who, even though her dad denies it.

 

Knock-Knock Anti-Joke

Nationality: USA
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: April 29, 2015
Primary Language: English
Language: Hebrew

“There’s this stupid knock-knock joke that my friend always did to me, and I kind of picked up on it and I do it all the time now. It just goes like this:”

 

Him: Okay lemme tell you this knock-knock joke.

 

Me: Okay, go for it.

 

Him: No but you have to start it.

 

Me: *looks puzzled* Wait what?

 

Him: Yeah you just start the joke!

 

Me: Uhhhh….. okay then, knock-knock?

 

Him: Who’s there?

 

Me: …………

 

*Awkward-but-hilarious silence ensues*

 

“So yeah that’s pretty much it, it’s kind of an anti-joke. I honestly don’t know why it’s so hilarious to me but it just is. I guess because it just makes the other person so confused and uncomfortable when they suddenly realize that the joke makes no sense whatsoever.”


This one is from one of my friends who’s lived in California his whole life and has pretty much been a joke-teller for all of his life. This is one of my personal favorites of his jokes, so I really wanted to include it. He said that he just learned it from one of his friends in elementary school, and it’s been a staple of his for years. Additionally, he said that the joke always entertains him and brings some joy to the atmosphere because of the confused reactions he gets.

Indiana Grizzlies

Nationality: USA
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: April 19, 2015
Primary Language: English

“There’ve been a number of sightings of grizzly bears around Crawfordsville [my hometown in Indiana], and my parents always used to warn me about them when I was little. Allegedly a while ago some family in Crawfordsville lost their kid in the woods one night, and the whole town basically blamed it on the bear. The weird thing is, grizzlies aren’t native to Indiana or any of the surrounding areas. It’s essentially like the sasquatch of Crawfordsville, because even though there have been a lot of sightings even recently, no one’s ever gotten a picture. Everyone is still afraid of it though.”

 

This is from my friend who comes from a small town in Indiana with a lot of folklore traditions. He’s lived there all of his life, and apparently there are a lot of these little local stories legends about his town which is awesome. He said that this one is kind of funny now, because he took it as such a serious threat when he was a kid, but now he doesn’t even believe in it.

 

Family Ties to Cortés

Nationality: USA
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: April 8, 2015
Primary Language: English

“My mom always tells me this story of how her family came over on Hernán Cortés’ actual boat. There aren’t really any documents of it actually happening, but it’s been a belief in my family for generations. My ancestor was a Spanish soldier on Cortés’ initial conquest of the Aztecs, but he had mixed feelings about how they treated the natives. After he befriended an Aztec women before Cortés reached Tenochtitlan, he decided to abandon the conquest and moved away with the woman. They eventually started a family in Mexico, and over a few generations, my branch of the family ended up in what is now Española, New Mexico. My mom’s family has been in Española for hundreds of years, and a whole bunch of my family lives there still.”

 

This comes from one of my friends whose mother is fully racially Mexican, but has lived in Española, New Mexico, her whole life. Her family actually was really prominent in Española and owned a lot of land in the New Mexico territory. He essentially said that he doesn’t really believe the story fully and thinks that his mom’s family has probably exaggerated it a lot, but he still finds it really cool how strong the belief is in his family, and he actually thinks it’s awesome that there is somewhat of a possibility that his family has a connection to such a significant historical event.

 

Hayk

Nationality: Armenian-American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: April 15, 2015
Primary Language: English
Language: Armenian, Russian

“Hayk is like the forefather of the Armenian people, he’s basically what Abraham is to the Hebrews, but for Armenians. The story goes that, I think some time during the third millenium BC, the Babylonian king Bel attempted to take over basically everything around him, including Armenian land. However, Hayk, an Armenian warrior, resisted him. He set up a little town at the foot of Mount Ararat and recruited a makeshift army. One day when Bel and his army were going through a mountain pass on Mount Ararat, Hayk decided to attack him to end his reign. During the battle, Hayk shot an arrow from a ridiculously long distance at Bel and ended up hitting him and killing him. Since their leader was dead, the Babylonians just kind of left, and Armenia again belonged to the Armenians.”

This is from my roommate who was born in Yerevan, Armenia, but he and his family moved to the U.S. in the late 1990s, before he was even five years old. However, he has spent most of his summers back in Armenia, visiting family and whatnot. He is fluent in Armenian and speaks it at home. He heard this myth from his extended family in Armenia and from his parents, and he adds that it’s a pretty seminal story for Armenians. For him, Hayk essentially stands as a symbol for the entire Armenian population, and it is a story that reminds him that Armenians are strong, independent, and can overcome adversity.