Author Archives: Samuel Gong

Rhyme – California

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Hermosa Beach, CA
Performance Date: April 07, 2008
Primary Language: English

Rhyme – Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Moe

Eenie, meenie, minie, Moe,

Catch a tiger by his toe.

If he hollers, let him go

Eenie, meenie minie, moe.

This simple rhyme often used by children in order to help them make difficult decisions.  Usually given a number of difficult options, the individual counts off each choice to each word of the rhyme.  In other words, if the child were trying to pick between chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream, he could count off the words of the rhyme, probably pointing to each container as he repeated each word.  The flavor the child is pointing to when he finishes the rhyme is the final choice; it is then implied that the child should pick that flavor.  If he wants extra assurance or does not like the outcome, he may choose to try to start over again.  He may start counting off on a different flavor to try to get a different result.

This is one of the earliest rhymes I can remember.  I learned this rhyme sometime in preschool from my friends.  As I have already noted, I attended a private Lutheran preschool in Palos Verdes, which is a relatively well-to-do neighborhood in Southern California.  I was enrolled there for two years, though I do not know exactly when I learned it, or from whom.  Although I am certain I learned the rhyme in preschool, I am sure that this rhyme is widespread.  When talking about it I soon learned that my friends here in college all knew of it, and even my mother who is nearly forty-eight knew of it.

However, the variant most of my friends knew was slightly different.  They talked about something involving they speaker’s mother instructing him to pick friends; the rhyme ends with the discordant phrase “and you are not it.”  In this variant, the selection which the speaker finishes on is eliminated from the group.  The speaker consequently repeats the process until all the choices are eliminated, and only the final answer remains.  It is quite odd that most of the people learned a different variant than me; perhaps having learned it at such an early age, I was not able to remember the full version.  Perhaps I, having forgotten the last two lines, I simply repeated the memorable opening line.

This well-known rhyme has appeared numerous times in print.  The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, written by Peter and Iona Opie and published by the Oxford University Press, contains many different variants of this rhyme.  The earliest version of this rhyme, although it actually bears little resemblance to the modern version I learned, appeared sometime in the nineteenth century.  It is thought to have originated in either India or Britain.

The exact reason this rhyme is popular is not known.  Perhaps, since every individual inevitably runs into situations where he is faced with a difficult decision, he looks for seemingly impartial ways of picking the correct solution.  By using either the positive selection process which I learned or the elimination variant of Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Moe, the individual ultimately comes to a final answer.  Children in particular may have particular problem making choice; they often rely on the judgment of their elders to guide them.  Indeed, children are even trained to rely on adults instead of making their own decisions.  By formulating or at least using this clever rhyme scheme, they are able to make a decision on their own, without the input of others around them.

Song

Nationality: Chinese, English, German, Italian
Age: 17
Occupation: Student
Residence: Torrance, CA
Performance Date: April 04, 2008
Primary Language: English

Jingle Bells – Batman and Joker    (Sung to the tune of “Jingle Bells”)

Batman’s in the kitchen,

Robin’s in the hall,

Joker’s in the bathroom,

Peeing on the wall!

O, jingle bells! Batman smells! Robin laid an egg,

The Batmobile lost a wheel and the joker got away!

My second cousin Zak Kolton told me that he learned this during grade school sometime.  As is customary with these sorts of rhymes, he could not remember when he specifically heard it, or from whom he had learned it from.  He has lived in the South Bay all his life, and attended a Lutheran elementary school, where he suspects he learned it.  He lamented the fact that he could not remember the entire song, as obviously this contains only a fragment covering the chorus and fragment of a verse.  He attributed this to the fact that he hadn’t sung it in years, and that his mother always got angry at him when he sang this as a child.  This was however more than I could recall, as I had no recollection of the verse section, with the chorus line sounding vaguely familiar.

This song demonstrates many characteristics of children’s rhymes, with a familiar tune and memorable imagery.  Both the verse section and the chorus illustrate elementary school age children’s fascination with bodily excrements.  In fact, the focal point of the first verse section is the fact that the villain Joker is in the bathroom “peeing on the wall.”  This is in itself quite puzzling; if he took the time to enter the bathroom, why would he pee on the wall instead of the toilet as he is supposed to?  Perhaps this verse hints a child’s simple desire to defy authority, merely for the sake of defying authority.  A child doesn’t want to defy authority on account of its difficulty or in order to prove a point; he simply wants to impose his will over that of the establishment.  In the same way, the image of the Joker peeing on the wall even though he is already in the bathroom carries this same idea.  Joker is not breaking the rules because he is forced to or because it is too inconvenient for him; he is breaking them simply because he wants to, because he feels like it.  This cavalier attitude of rebellion is something many young children harbor, and is illustrated in their rhymes.

The second image of excrement deals with Robin and his laying of an egg.  Besides the fact that the song now has both forms of human waste covered, this contains a simple symbol.  Although it is obviously a piece of poop, the song says that Robin “laid an egg.”  By not explicitly spelling it out, it gives first graders a chance to interpret this symbol for themselves.  When they all arrive at the same obvious conclusion, that this egg is in fact a piece of poop, they are instantly overwhelmed with excitement and pleasure.  I know this from firsthand knowledge; upon hearing this song, I remembered back when was young.  Probably sometime in grade school, I had recited this song to my little brother, who was two years younger than me.  With a great amount of smugness I then had confided that Robin didn’t really lay an egg, but pooped.  Because of me, I felt, my brother was now “in the know.”  My brother was also quite pleased with his enlightenment, and proceeded to tell every individual around him of his new knowledge.

This rhyme was created sometime after the creation of the Batman comic books.  Since Robin and the Joker are mentioned, this rhyme could have been created anytime after 1940.  If it was created when Zak and I heard it in the 1990’s, it was probably sparked by the heightened increase in the character of Batman as sparked the by movies Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), and Batman Forever (1995).

Song – California

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Hermosa Beach, CA
Performance Date: April 04, 2008
Primary Language: English

Joy to the World – Barney version

Joy to the world, Barney’s dead.

We barbequed his head!

What happened to his body

We flushed it down the potty

And round and round it goes,

And round and round it goes,

And round and round, and round it goes.

This gruesome song is sung to the tune of the well known Christmas carol “Joy to the World.”  It makes reference to the children’s character of Barney pictured to the right.  Generally aimed at younger audiences, Barney is a large purple dinosaur who stars in his own television show called Barney and Friends. In this show, Barney and various other dinosaurs lead a class full of kids through various educational activities.

I learned this song sometime during preschool, and have not forgotten it since.  This is possibly because of the familiarity and commonness of the tune “Joy to the World;” it is played everywhere during the Christmas season, and many families including my own even sing it themselves.  Whenever I hear the “real” song, I am reminded of the first version I learned in preschool.  I attended a Lutheran preschool in Palos Verdes, California for two years, where this song was widespread.  I presume it spread during the Christmas season when they teachers tried to teach us traditional Christmas carols. I accepted the song with great glee, and even recall teaching it to my friends at my church in Hermosa Beach.  In this way I believe I helped spread this particular piece of folklore.  It is strange that my church friends did not know this song; while my cousins did; my cousins were much farther away than my church friends.  However, I suspect their lack of knowledge was because their particular group did not accept this song.  I have even talked with a friend who has grown up in Portland, Oregon.  The fact that even she knew this song shows the true widespread nature of this parody.

What is interesting is that even though I learned it during preschool, the entire television series itself is produced to appeal to preschoolers.  I even remember watching the show myself with great interest.  If I remember correctly, I even performed some of the activities portrayed in the show on my own with my mother.  The show was or significant educational value – during the program Barney led the kids through a serious of scholastic activities.  Why did I so readily accept this song which described the gruesome cannibalism of one of my television idols?  To this day I do not know.  However, I think that I may have learned this during the second year or preschool, or sometime after I had stopped watching the show.  Trying to appear cool in the presence of my friends and due to the fickle nature of children, perhaps I was more ready to turn on the innocent character of Barney then.

The creation of this song could represent a subtle rebellion against the soft, educational, utopian image as presented by Barney.  Known for his shows with overly enthusiastic and happy children, Barney ended every episode by singing the infamous “Barney Song,” which was basically a repetition of the line “I love you, you love me, we’re one happy family,” which then initiated a large group hug.  It also shows the ridiculing nature of children.  At the time I learned it, many children still adored Barney and his cast of characters.  For this very reason, we enjoyed tormenting the other children by singing this twisted song in front of them.  Perhaps we saw it as a way of separating ourselves, four year olds in pre-kindergarten, from the three year olds in the first year of preschool.  Through this unique folk song we can see not only the rebellious but also the antagonistic side of children.

Strangely enough, this bizarre song is actually acknowledged in print.  In a book entitled Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts: the Subversive Folklore of Children, authors Josepha Sherman and T. K. F. Weisskopf explore various “gross-out” rhymes.  Published in 1995 by August House Publishers, this book contains the modified Barney song in the section labeled “Dealing with Authority.”  This book has also been reviewed in prominent publications such as The Journal of American Folklore, where it appeared in Vol. 110, No. 435.  In the article, published by the University of Illinois Press on behalf of The Journal of American Folklore, the book was found to be both humorous and informative, touching on a side of folklore not often explored by modern folklore research.

Gift Exchange Custom

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 47
Occupation: Electrical Engineer
Residence: Hermosa Beach, CA
Performance Date: April 02, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

Christmas Gift Exchange

Our family partakes in a gift exchange during every Christmas celebration, on both my mother’s and father’s side.  It is interesting to note the similarities that have arisen between the two exchanges.  Both contain a set of rules and special items so complex that they could probably be considered rituals in most circles.  The basic rules are as follows: each participant brings a wrapped gift and draws a number. The gifts are placed in the center of the room.  Starting from number one, each participant then selects a gift to open.  The next gift selector has the option of either stealing an open gift from somebody who has gone before him or opening a new gift.  In the case where a person has their gift stolen, they then get to steal another’s gift or open a new gift from the center of the table.  There are no “steal-backs;” that is, a person cannot steal the same gift back from the person who has just stolen it from him.  In the case of popular gifts, many are stolen multiple times.  However, the rule stands that the third owner of a given gift is granted immunity – he is the final owner of it.  Here is the first difference arises.  In the exchange on my father’s side the third thief of a gift get to keep it.

Both gift exchanges also contain several special items.  Although these special items are essential for the tradition of the exchange, nobody wants to get them.  On my mother’s side there is this ancient “Look at My Masks” children’s mask making kit.  Still unopened, this curious kit is a strange amalgamation of random paper cutouts with which one is supposed to construct masks out of.  Whoever is unfortunate enough to select this wrapped gift from the table is always greeted with ridicule and laughter when he opens it.  Every year this kit returns to the gift pool, brought back by its disgruntled owner.  As such, this mask kit is often disguised in extra packaging or the old boxes of other products in order to mask its true identity.  In a similar fashion, the gift exchange on my father’s side also contains a gift no one wants to get – an empty box.  There would always be one empty box on the table which contained no gift.  It was sometimes weighed down by rocks, gravel, or newspaper in order to appear as a legitimate gift.  Whoever opens this humorous gift returns with an empty box, often in another shape, the next year.  This last year, however, this gift has been changed.  Upon seeing the confused tears of one of my young cousins the previous year, my aunt decided to place a large box with a consolatory gift certificate inside.  While this is a nice gesture, the tradition has now been broken.

Trends have developed according to these rules.  Certain individuals buy gifts that they would like to get themselves and then pick their own gifts out of the gift exchange.  These same people often try to hide their gifts after they open them in order to avoid having them stolen by others.  These individuals are most often young cousins who have picked out their toys and want to keep them.  It is humorous to note the difference between the cousins – some are fearfully sitting on their new action figures, hiding them from prying eyes, while other advertise their newly acquired chinaware to every subsequent gift opener

I was taught the intricate rules of these gift exchanges when I was very young; in fact, I cannot even remember being specifically taught them.  For as long as I can remember, we partook in these rituals during every Christmas gathering.  On Christmas Eve for my mother’s side and on Christmas Day for my father’s side, the entire gathering would be building up for the gift exchange.  My mother said she could not remember the origin of the rules either, simply telling me that she had always done it as a child with her parents and relatives.  My father expressed a similar sentiment, adding that as he was the youngest of eight, many traditions were not explained to him, but that he simply picked them up by observation.  Each gathering is relatively sizable, probably numbering about thirty for my mother’s side and usually around forty for my father’s gatherings.  These include relatives, fiancés, and friends from all over the county.  While most live in California, some fly in from Illinois, Nevada, Washington, and Arizona to attend.  Both of my parent’s families grew up here in California, though they are of Chinese descent.  It is doubtful that this exchange originated in China, as they did not commonly celebrate Christmas there.

Each gift exchange also demonstrates the same affinity for the number three.  On my mom’s side, it is only the third owner of a gift who is able to surely keep his gift.  On my father’s side, the third thief of a gift is the final owner.

Recipe – Chinese

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 78
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Torrance, CA
Performance Date: April 04, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

Chinese Birthday Noodles

One one’s birthday, everybody present at the celebration must eat long egg noodles such as those pictured to the right.  It can be seasoned with simple substances such as soy sauce, onions, or chicken, but there must be no other excessive particles such as meat chunks or other vegetables present in this particular dish.

My maternal grandfather told this tradition to me, though as a family had been practicing this more or less since I was a young child.  He explained that each facet of the dish was symbolic; for this reason it was important that no corners were cut or exceptions made.  Other dishes could be ordered or consumed at the same meal if desired, but it was imperative that this was ordered and eaten by every individual present.  The long, continuous nature of the noodles themselves represent a long and fruitful life.  The eggs in the noodles are symbolic of fertility, prosperousness, and harmony.  By eating them on his birthday, an individual in a way prepares himself to receive them in the coming year.  When all the dinner guests eat these noodles as well, they actively partake in the process of wishing these things upon the individual.  Flavorings and meats must be present but kept simple; this is representative of an ideal life which is both interesting but contains nothing in excess – the life the individual will hopefully live in the ensuing year.

I had known about this tradition for as long as I can remember.  Every birthday I have celebrated with my family has been celebrated with relatively plain egg noodles.  Even my father’s side of the family knows of this tradition.  This would suggest that it is old and well established, as my maternal and paternal grandfathers are from significantly different parts of China.  My paternal grandfather is nearly ninety-three years of age and comes from the rural Cantonese area of China.  My maternal grandfather is seventy-eight and lived in the more urban Mandarin area, before moving to Taiwan and eventually coming to the United States.  Both came to the United States when they were in their twenties.  This tradition is therefore somewhat puzzling; because although it would seem to be rooted in antiquity, individual birthdays are rarely celebrated in China.  However, a little research reconciled these two facts.  Everybody celebrates their birthday in China on Chinese New Year; furthermore individual birthdays after sixty are commonly celebrated.  These noodles are eaten on both these occasions.  Furthermore, the symbolic nature of long noodles and eggs are longstanding in Chinese culture.

This tradition was noted briefly by David R. Knechtges in his article “A Literary Feast: Food in Early Chinese Literature.”  The paragraph mentioning these noodles was on page 54 in the Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 106, No. 1.