Author Archives: Rebecca Witzel

Da Nile

Nationality: American/Jewish
Age: 48
Occupation: Doctor
Residence: New York City
Performance Date: 3/20/14
Primary Language: English

When I was pressuring my dad to give me folklore, he told me a proverb completely unrelated to our discussion:

“Denial (da-nile) ain’t just a river in Egypt”

I can’t remember the exact context, but I was being obtuse about something and he was teasing me while also imparting wisdom.

The phrase itself utilizes the way the word “the” is pronounced phonetical like slang.  It is therefore interesting from a class point of view, since the speaker, whether they are educated or not is speaking the way an uneducated person would so there is a sense of playing with class when it is spoken by my dad.  From an African American perspective there may be a small issue of heritage in there since the nile is located in africa.  The reference is vague at best since few African Americans are descendent of Egyptians, but the issue of heritage may still play a role.  The wisdom is still being imparted either way.  This phrase is therefore a good example of how a lesson is being learned through humor

Words of Wisdom

Nationality: American/Jewish
Age: 48
Occupation: Psychology Professor
Residence: New York City
Performance Date: 3/15/14
Primary Language: English

Everything in moderation.  Even moderation.

Essentially, the key to a happy life is not to over indulge, but even a lack of overindulgence must not be overindulged all the time.  My mother has given me this advice on multiple occasions.  I’m pretty sure she made it up, but I have told it to many people since I believe it to be good advice.  Primarily when I want to eat a large amount of unhealthy food.

The proverb itself is guarding against unhealthy behavior and provides insight onto the human psyche.  No one can be in control all the time.  When you try to moderate everything you do, your desires become uncontainable and will find a way of expressing themselves, often in unhealthy ways.  By making sure to moderate your moderation you are dealing with the issue of keeping your id at bay.

A Swiss Proverb

Nationality: Swiss
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles/Switzerland
Performance Date: May 2013
Primary Language: French
Language: English, German

I don’t remember the context in which my friend told me this proverb but it had something to do with someone being rude to me and her advising me to ignore it and move on rather than take it to heart.  What she told me (translated from French) was:

The train of your insolence is riding along the tracks of my indifference.

In French it goes “Le Train de yes sarcasm’s role sue les rails de mon indifference”

She told when she was growing up in Switzerland her mother told her to tell this to a kid who was bullying her.  Whether it was her indifference or the poetic wording of her phrase that threw him off, she claimed that this worked and he left her alone after that.

The poetic speech of this proverb seems to heighten the message behind it.  The speaker is showing that they are above the person they are speaking too not just because they are not letting their tormenter bother them, but also in the way they speak.

The New Jersey Devil

Nationality: American/Jewish
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: New Jersey/Los Angeles/Australia
Performance Date: 4/14/14
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

When I asked my roommate if she had any folklore from New Jersey she replied “Yes, New Jersey has a devil.”  This is an urban legend that tells of a woman who gave birth to a devil like creature that disappeared into the swamps immediately after being born.  The creature has the head of a goat, the body of a kangaroo like creature and bat-like wings.

My roommate did not have any personal stories about the New Jersey devil but noted that it was where the state basketball team gets its name.  She also compared the creature to other mythical animal creatures like the Sasquatch.

This story is interesting because it is very similar to myths like the Chupacabra and Big Foot, but unlike those myths it is specific to New Jersey, which builds a sense of pride in the people who are active and passive bearers of this piece of folklore since they are bonded together by identity.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Devil

The Great Han

Nationality: American
Age: 48
Occupation: Psychology Professor
Residence: New York City
Performance Date: December 2012
Primary Language: English

Every year at hanukah my mother tells the story of hanukah and afterward, when the historical story is done, she tells this story which was told to her by my grandfather:

Item:  So everyone knows about Santa Claus coming down and bringing presents to the Christian children but Santa has a best friend too.  His best friend is named the Great Han.  Every year at hanukah the Great Han sets out in his giant flying menorah with each candlestick filled with presents for the little children.  The Great Han flies around delivering all the presents to the good jewish children.  And you know, when Christian children are bad they get coal, well, the when the Jewish children are bad they get a cow dropped on them.  So every year at Hanukah tim all the little Jewish children go outside and hold hands and dance in a circle around the fire hydrants singing this song.  The lyrics go:

Han Han Han We’re waiting for you now

Han Han Han Please don’t drop a cow

At this point my mom would have me and the friends my brother and I had invited preform the dance.  We’d all hold hands and dance around in a circle singing the song.

This tradition was passed down from my mom from her father.  I believe he made it up.  I have no memory of her preforming it before he died, however.  It only began to show up as a tradition when I was around 11 but we do it every year.  For my mother it symbolizes her connection to her father and for us it was a symbol of community between our family and friends.  The tradition is so silly and lighthearted that it serves as a celebration of happiness more than a tradition of religious significance.  There is an acceptance that the Great Han does not exist and will not drop a cow on you, so there is no reason to be scared.

This tradition was so important to my family that when I went to college my mom insisted that I be skyped in for the telling of the Great Han story.

There is religious significance in it, however, in what it takes from christian folklore of Santa Claus.  Both are male figures who ride on flying objects and bestow gifts to the good children and punishment to the bad children.  It shows an insecurity among the jewish community to equalize their holiday with the much more popular christian holiday by creating folklore around Hanukah.