My informant’s grandmother is from Madras, India. She always told my informant to never step on paper because it was seen as spiting the God of Knowledge. This idea was ingrained in the informants mind growing up, that she says it is always in the back of her mind. This affected my informant so much that now she just does not step on paper to this day. She says that she is always conscious of it. It doesn’t take over her life, but she just always steps around paper if it is on the ground. My informant also says she has other folk beliefs or things that her grandmother has told her that she still lives by today. It is something that she had been told so early in her life that now she takes all of these things with her, even as she entered adulthood. I thought this folk belief was interesting because it is something that I never thought of before. I do not consciously go out of my way to step on paper, but I would never think of it as a bad thing. Now that I have heard this, I am more conscious of whether or not I do this.
Author Archives: Rebecca Southern
Shaking your leg will shake out all of your luck
My informant’s parents are from Korea, but she grew up in Los Angeles area. Her parents always told her growing up that shaking your leg (as in restless leg syndrome) is shaking all of your luck away. My informant’s brother shook his leg a lot and my informant’s father would always be conscious of it and force him to stop at a very young age. My informant’s parents were very adamant that my informant and her siblings could not shake their leg. This superstition has been a part of her life, passed down from her parents, for as long as she can remember. This has affected my informant because she always notices when other people’s legs are shaking. I learned from my informant that in Korean culture, money and prosperity comes from the legs, so shaking them will get rid of all of that. I think that this belief reflects the symbolism of the leg in this culture and also, the act of shaking may reflect an imperfection in someone, when the legs should be strong to bring about maximum prosperity.
Jumping the Broom
The setting is my bedroom. My informant is a close friend of mine that lives down the hall from me. This is the same informant as the Edgar Allen Poe entry.My informant is from Maryland, but grew up moving around the country. “Jumping the broom” is a practice that comes up in African American culture. My informant says that this tradition is something that she heard from her mother, but it is also something that she has simply known about for most of her life.
I: Before African Americans could afford weddings slash their weddings were recognized by the government and they were slaves umm to constitute your marriage they would both jump over a broomstick together. “Jumping the broom” was the saying. And some people still do it for the traditional aspect of it. It is kind of passed down from generation to generation. And that’s a saying that comes up in black culture a lot because of that, jumping the broom
Rebecca: Do you know anyone that has done this?
I: My mom’s first cousin and his wife
Rebecca: Who told you about this?
I: I think my mom did but I honestly don’t remember because it comes up so much and I was around it a lot growing up
Rebecca: What does the story mean to you?
I: I think its just an interesting story and I think its cool that it has that cultural sentiment. The idea behind it is that you are “sweeping” away the old and bringing in the new, so like when people get married it is like a new beginning. Once the couple jumps over the broom, it is a transition or joining of the families.
A common theme among my collections is that my informants either heard the stories from their parents, or just assume that they did because they have always known about the story. This idea comes up a lot in African American culture according to my informant, so she hears about it a lot. My analysis of this wedding tradition relates to our class discussion. It seems to represent the liminal period between being married and single, and the broom acts like this division. Jumping over the broom together indicates that the couple is jumping out of the single life, and into their married life as a couple.
Annotation 1: Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations references a couple being married “over the broomstick.”
Citation: Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1942.
Annotation 2: “Jumping the Broom” is also a romantic comedy released in 2011 where two African American families come together for a wedding, which ends up being multiple weddings. The film actually does involve a physical broom that one bride gives to her friend as an apology at the end of the film. Both couples jump the broom after their wedding ceremony.
Edgar Allen Poe’s grave tradition
My informant is from Maryland originally but moved around the country a lot growing up. The setting of this collection is my bedroom, and one of my roommates doing homework on the other side of the room. My informant lives down the hall from me and stopped by to say hello, which led to me telling her about the folklore collection archive. My informant told me about a legend from Maryland about Edgar Allen Poe.
Informant: Edgar Allen Poe is from Maryland and I’m from Maryland originally, which is how I heard this story. So every year on Edgar Allen Poe’s birthday, someone secretly puts roses on his grave. Last time I knew, like they still haven’t caught the person that does it, its like they miraculously appear every year. They like wear all black and secretly put all these flowers there and scury into the woods. Its a pretty known things, its like hot gossip in the state of Maryland.
Rebecca: How do you know they wear black if no one knows who they are?
I: The one time they have been seen on camera, its just an all black image that drops and runs.
R: is it the same person every year? Or I guess no one knows..
I: No one knows. You’d assume, but no one knows for sure.
R: How long has it been going on?
I: Since my mom was little, and my moms about to be 54.
R: Who told you about this?
I: my mom
R: who told her?
I: probably her mom
R: What does this story mean to you?
I: I really like Edgar Allen Poe and I like that his poetry is kind of dark so I think its cool that someone loves him enough to do that every year. I think its interesting.
My informant heard this tory form her mother My informant likes this story because she is a fan of Edgar Allen Poe and because it has a mysterious edge to it. The reason people tell this story is because they don’t really know who does it. My informant shares th story, but she has never seen anyone at the grave herself. This tradition also eludes to life cycle ideas because it is at the grave of Edgar Allen Poe, commemorating his life after his death.
Drinking pickle juice relieves cramps
The setting is over brunch over spring break. The informant is an undergrad student studying Health and Humanity. My relationship with the informant is not very close, but this brunch was to help us get to know each other better and talk. I was not intending to collect folklore from her, but we got on the topic of my hatred for pickles and she says, “Oh if you hate pickles you will love this. My sister gets really bad cramps in her calves and a family friend who is a doctor told her to drink pickle juice to help them. So she drinks like straight vinegar.” Disgusted, I ask, “Well does it work?” And my informant responded confidently yes. Apparently, drinking a small water bottle amount of pickle juice can cure cramps. I asked a doctor that I know if he had ever heard that and he said he hadn’t, but maybe next time I get a cramp I will try it.