Text: My family informant told me about a long-standing superstition among Koreans, in which having a dream about a pig is viewed as an omen for good luck, particularly for money.
Context: This superstition was told to me by my father over the phone when the topic of dreams came up. He mentioned having a dream with a pig appearing in our apartment, and regretted not being able to buy a lottery ticket the next day, as the dream slipped his mind as he carried on throughout his day with work and other responsibilities. He explained that in Korean culture, a pig dream is seen as a good omen for financial success, and it can be deduced from his regret that he shared this same interpretation. While he could not recall where he first heard this superstition, he said that most people who were born and grew up in Korea know about this superstition. Later on, he sent a Korean blog post that explained the origins of the superstition, with the blog explaining the linguistic background of the pig superstition. Before Korean (Hangul) was created, Koreans used Chinese letters (Hanja), and they noticed that the Chinese word for pig (don) sounded just like the word for money (also don) in Korean.
Analysis: This is an example of a traditional folklore in which its origin cannot be pinpointed to a specific person or time, and is transmitted orally from my informant to me. At a surface level, beyond the language explanation, I could see why a pig dream could be interpreted as fortune. With Korea having a history of famines among the commons, the physical traits of a fat and well-fed pig naturally makes it a symbol of prosperity. In fact, in North Korea, where its aspects like famines and strict social hierarchies mirror previous Korean kingdoms, beauty standards share themes with this pig superstition. While South Korea obsesses over skinny figures, a round face and “healthy” body is seen as beautiful in North Korea, as it signals the individual as well-fed and wealthy. Overall, I believe this pig superstition’s origins offers an interesting cultural and historical insight of Korean communities from its origin that came from a wordplay between two languages, and symbolisms that stemmed from a struggling society.
Author Archives: Nathan Jeon
Driving good luck charm
Text: One of my classmates in my discussion section told me about a tradition she follows while she drives, in which when one of her headlights go out, she taps on the ceiling and center console once for good luck. She recounted that this was an action she saw her mother do when she was younger, and as she learned about why her mother did this, she followed the tradition when she was old enough to drive.
Context: My informant is a sophomore at USC majoring in accounting. She is a local student from LA, and we shared this conversation during our anthropology class’s discussion about protection rituals. As recounted in the text, my informant heard this from her mother, and integrates this ritual into her daily driving routine.
Analysis: While this story centers mainly around protection, I believe it falls into a common genre of how many people look towards outside/higher power in the face of uncertainty. Just as how it’s a common action in movies for a soldier to kiss their cross prior to being deployed, the uncertainty and increased chance of accidence that comes from a car malfunction like a headlight going out is daunting, and having this tradition that you believe will bring good luck can help ease that uncertainty and provide a sense of protection. As such, this folklore exemplifies one of the functions it could have, particularly as it relates to belief and easing worries.
Anhui Province Legend
TEXT
Interviewer: “Okay, would you like to introduce yourself?”
MC: “Yeah, hi, my name is ANONYMOUS, and I’m a freshman student at USC University.”
MC: “My story is set in a park in my hometown, and in the park, there’s a trail and along the trail there’s a cave called the cow nose cave. This cave has two holes that are kind of shaped like a cow’s nose, and there’s a legend about how it’s dangerous if you put your arm or fingers into the hole, as there might be a very mysterious force that basically sucks your whole arm in and it can be very dangerous. So kids are advised not to put their arms into the hole.”
Interviewer: “Was that a story, or like a legend that was always around or more of a family legend?”
MC: “It’s known in our region and it started like – actually I don’t know when it started but I heard it from my parents.”
Interviewer: “Ohhh I see.”
MC: “Yeah they told me not to put my arms in there, yeah.”
CONTEXT
My relationship with this informant is that she is my classmate for this anthropology lecture. My informant is an international freshman student at USC, originally from China. As mentioned in the text, her relationship to this piece stems from her hometown, in which a notable landmark has a surrounding legend that was passed down to her by her parents.
ANALYSIS
Considering this piece is set in the real world and tied to a real location, this is a legend that functions as a cautionary tale for children. In my opinion, it’s plausible that this legend started from a worried parent who could not supervise their curious children 24/7 – rather than explaining all the actual dangers of sticking your arm into an unknown hole, like injuries from getting stuck or getting bit by creatures that may be inside, replacing this with a supernatural force is a more vivid and memorable warning to children. As this legend spread informally to other children and generations after, a cultural value that may come specifically for this region in China is that an ordinary cave is now enshrined forever as a supernatural landmark with a distinct legend.
Pre-game ritual
TEXT
Interviewer: “All right, before we start, do you mind quickly introducing yourself?”
MC: “Yes, my name is ANONYMOUS, I’m a first year at USC studying bio”
Interviewer: “So what are some things you wish on to bring you good or bad luck?”
MC: “So growing up, I was raised a Catholic, so I would go to church pretty much every Sunday. I went through all the Catholic rituals, basically. I got like, the steps of becoming a true Catholic, like getting baptized, getting reconciliation, confirmation, all that. And basically, so that just brought me closer to Jesus. So, I would, before like, I was a big sports guy, so before every soccer game, basketball game, anything I would always send a quick prayer, just wishing God to look over me, my teammates, keep us, like, safe from injury, and help us just play a good game. I wasn’t, like, delusional in thinking, like, he could just make us win. I would just hope I could help us play our best, basically. And then others situations where I just, like, either whether it’s good times, bad times, I always like to send a quick prayer to God, like, just asking him to watch over me, my family, and just pray for good health.”
“And I feel like good luck stems from religion from being a good person. So I think I believe in karma, and like, if you do well, if you do good by others, good things will come to you, and vice versa. So, I don’t know, I’m probably not the most religious person in the world, like, I can’t tell you all the facts about the Bible and all that. I still have that faith, and I just think that faith in God is what defines the good and luck or bad luck. Because if you don’t believe it, of course it’s not gonna happen, you know what I’m saying?”
Interviewer: “Okay, so don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but could you go more in-depth on what the purpose of this is for you then? You mentioned that you know doing this act of praying won’t bring automatic divine intervention that guarantees success, but it also feels like based on the last part of your answer where you mention karma and other things you’re subconsciously hoping for some kind of supernatural effect from praying, which seems a bit contradictory to me.”
MC: “Yeah, totally. I don’t think it’s that divine interference. Like I said, everything that happens here, it’s like constituted by us, because we’re living, we’re doing it. But I believe that reassurance, that, like, that faith that you have, that he’s with you and he’s guiding you and he’s helping you, and he’s giving you the strength to keep pushing on. I just think that motivates me personally to, strive for success and even more. Like I don’t believe me sending a prayer to him saying, ‘Oh, please let me get a good grade on this exam.’ If I don’t spend the time studying and stuff, it’s not gonna happen, you know? I totally believe it’s like that second man on your shoulder just giving you words of advice, towards of wisdom, and just watching you over you.”
CONTEXT
My informant shared this story to me during a class discussion centered around good/bad luck omens we believed in. My informant is a freshman male student at USC studying biology. Based on the conversation, it seems that he uses this folklore as a source of reassurance before an important competition to bring him good luck.
ANALYSIS
As an individual who grew up around sports, the ritual the informant talked about was very familiar with me, as I personally saw similar rituals for athletes across both amateur and professional levels. This shows the multiplicity of folklore, where variations of such performances and gestures can be seen. At its surface, while the informant specified his religious affiliation with the Roman Catholic branch within Christianity, I believe this ritual could be considered one under the large folk group of individuals that believe in any type of religion. With that being said, what I mainly interpreted from our conversation was that this ritual expressed mostly personal values. The informant’s answer to my follow-up question and his explanation of the concept of having free-will suggests to me that his ritual doesn’t serve as a request for some level of supernatural help, but as a reminder to keep himself grounded and thankful for a higher being that allowed him to play in a particular sports game or explore other competitive interests. Thus, beyond this personal value this praying ritual holds for my informant, I also believe it illustrates the variety of spectrums that could come from this same ritual. Praying before an important match or event is something shared by millions of religious individuals, and while some may have a similar mindset as the informant, there’s likely millions that believe in the divine power religion holds and supernatural effects praying could have. Thus, I think this conversation was also a valuable learning opportunity to see that even within folk religion and groups that may practice similar practices, the actual belief or logic behind can be varying.