Author Archives: Sarah Krupczak

Five Falls makes a real Rider: Occupational Folklore

Nationality: American
Age: 50
Occupation: Equestrian Trainer
Residence: Burbank, California
Performance Date: 1/28/12
Primary Language: English

The informant is a Caucasian female, 50 years old. She is a horse trainer at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center and has been riding horses since she was 5 years old. I’ve been riding under her instruction for 12 years.

I first heard this piece of folk speech on Saturday, January 28, 2012 during my horseback riding lesson. That day, I was riding a different horse and I was not quite sure how it was going to act. I was heading out to the riding arena when the horse spooked at something, reared up, and rolled over. I fell off before the horse landed on me, and I wasn’t seriously hurt. My trainer caught the horse and asked me if I was alright. When I said I was fine, she patted me on the shoulder and proceeded to congratulate me. I was confused until she explained that since this was my fifth fall, I was a real rider now. This seemed like a good piece of folklore so I recorded the conversation on my phone. This is the conversation from the moment of congratulation:

Informant: Ha ha…well finally! You’re a real rider now!

Me: Heh, why now?

Informant: Five falls…haven’t you ever heard that five falls makes you a real rider?

Me: No…

Informant: Well now you can tell everyone you’re a true rider—and it only took you 12 years haha!

Me: Have you fallen off five times?

Informant: Yeah…probably more actually.

Me: When did you become a “real rider” then?

Informant: …uhmmm…I think I was maybe nine or ten—no I was 11 because it happened when I’d just gotten a new pony, which was probably the biggest pain in the ass pony I’ve ever ridden. My mom and I were riding on the trails around our house and this pony decided to just take off, I mean he was really galloping along and I couldn’t stop him. He made a really quick turn but my body kinda kept going straight. It wasn’t too bad a fall, but it was my fifth. My mom caught the pony and came back to me, laughing, telling me I was a real grown up rider now ha ha ha.

Me: So is this like something everyone in the horse world knows?

Informant: Pretty much…there are different numbers that people go by. Sometimes it’s two falls, but most everyone I know says five.

Me: But why five?

Informant: Uh I don’t know really. That’s what my mom always told me and my sisters. She heard it from my grandpa when she was learning to ride.

Me: So the fifth fall is kinda a big deal?

Informant: Sorta…nothing special happens when you fall off the fifth time, like you don’t suddenly become a champion rider. But it’s kinda something to brag about because it’s a way to measure improvement as a rider. The longer you’ve been riding, the more difficult things you’re learning so the chances of falling off get bigger.

For being part of the equestrian world for so long, I was surprised that I hadn’t heard of this saying before. It makes sense though, because I had not fallen off five times yet. Personally, I found this bit of folklore really interesting. Finally having fallen off five times, and consequently hearing the saying, I feel more connected to the horse world. I definitely feel like I’m in the know, now. I also agree with much of what my trainer said about it being a way to show others that you are an accomplished rider.

USC Helenes Welcome Night Ceremony

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/4/12
Primary Language: English

The informant is a Junior at USC. She joined the USC Helenes during the Fall Semester of 2010 and was elected as Vice President for the 2012 calendar year term in office. As Vice President, she is responsible for new member recruitment.

As part of the USC Helenes myself, I was in attendance at Welcome Night. I’ll briefly describe the event. Welcome Night is one of the most celebrated traditional events held by the USC Helenes. It is our initiation ceremony for the incoming class of Rosebuds each semester and it is a night that most Helenes will never forget. Technically Welcome Night is a mandatory event, so every active member of the organization is present. General Members and the E-board arrived at the Mudd Hall of Philosophy Courtyard early so that they’d be ready once the Rosebuds arrive. The Rosebuds meet up with our Membership Chair at a different location. To get to the “mystery location” they stand alphabetically, single file, blind-folded and hold onto one another’s shoulders as they are guided across campus to the location. Once they arrived, still blind-folded, the E-board positioned the Rosebuds along the steps outside of Mudd Hall so that they faced the courtyard. Silently waiting, all of the General Members of Helenes hold lit candles. The Rosebuds open their eyes and the entire organization cheered for them. Then, the Vice President gave a quick welcoming speech and the Membership Chair read the name of each girl, presenting them in alphabetical order. Each Rosebud walked forward when her name was called, receiving a rose and a creed from the President and Vice President. After all of the girls were presented, the Membership Chair gave a short speech about this Rosebud class, why they are so special, and why they were selected as Helenes above all others this semester. Finally, the President and Vice President will lead the Rosebuds as well as all of the members in reciting the organization’s creed, after which the Rosebuds are considered officially initiated as Helenes.

After the event, I interviewed my informant, the Vice President, asking her some questions about why the event is performed and what it means to the organization:

Me: How does it feel to welcome this new group of Rosebuds after having been one yourself? Is the initiation more meaningful this time around? In what ways is the night different by being on the other end?

Informant: Well, I think Welcome Night is totally more meaningful in subsequent years—more so with every semester. This is saying something because if you ask any Rosebud, Welcome Night immediately holds great significance and importance to them. But as a returning member watching a new group of Rosebuds crossing over there is more experience, wisdom, and personal reflection that one can make. All I can think about is the amazing journey they’re about to start. I look at the Rosebuds and that they’re going to be making so many life-changing connections now. I know their journey within the Helenes is just beginning. This is why the night is so different, and in my opinion even more meaningful, from the other end…I’m so excited for the future of the organization and the girls who hold it up.

Me: Why do you think the Helenes continue to have this ceremony? What does it mean?

Informant: For one, it’s our formal initiation of members. Logistically, it’s kind of something we need to have. But maybe more importantly, tradition is an incredibly important component of Helenes. This is our most traditional event—it’s how we’ve initiated members for years and years.  It is a common experience that all Helenes share with one another and it’s the way in which we continue to honor one another and our organization.

Me: What’s the ceremony mean to you personally?

Informant: The Welcome Night ceremony is mostly about just that—being welcoming and welcomed. It’s mostly for our Rosebuds, an opportunity for us to shower them with love and show them how much this organization will mean to them.

Me: I’m just going to assume that you like this event, but why do you like it?

Informant: Haha, of course I like the tradition! I like it because I get to see ALL of my favorite people in one place…and because it allows me to reflect on this wonderful organization and opportunity that I’ve been given in life and reminds me to be grateful for these phenomenal women I’m surrounded by.

I agree with almost everything that the informant had to say. The ceremony is definitely a formal initiation, but it’s also a great way to remember my own time as a Rosebud and cherish all the memories from that time in my life. It really is an incredibly important time in Helenes membership, and it formulates what the rest of your experience in the organization will be. Also, something that my informant didn’t really mention is the fact that because everyone goes through their own Welcome Night ceremony, the event acts a mutual experience every girl in the organization can reminisce about and bond over. By traditionally enacting the ceremony, the organization is perpetuating those memories that will be shared by each member.

Long Ear Lobes, Long Life: Vietnamese Belief

Nationality: Vietnamese American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/12/12
Primary Language: English
Language: Vietnamese
The informant is a 20 year old, Vietnamese American female. She is a junior at the University of Southern California, but was born in Boston, MA. Both her parents are Vietnamese and were born in Vietnam.

the informant described a particular folk belief in Vietnam where people think that if a person has long earlobes, then he or she will have a long life. I asked her where she thought this belief came from and while she wasn’t certain, she thought it might have to do with the Buddha, who is always depicted as having very long, stretched out earlobes and who is considered to be somewhat of an immortal or at least transcendental figure. This made sense to me because it was what I immediately thought of when I first heard this particular folk belief. The informant also made the point that this approach to the belief was indeed plausible because Buddhism is the main religion in Vietnam.

Finnish Lutheran Saying

Nationality: Finnish, Swedish American
Age: 77
Residence: Temecula, CA
Performance Date: 4/8/12
Primary Language: English

The informant is 77 years old. She was born in Minnesota and is of Swedish and Finnish decent. She was raised as a Lutheran but converted to Catholicism when she got married.

I interviewed the informant during Easter Brunch. She gave me a piece of family folk speech:

“‘No one goes to heaven except a Finnish Lutheran.’” This was something my grandmother used to say all the time. Eventually my mother and my aunt picked it up, too—my aunt especially. She used to tell me this all the time. She really believed that Finnish Lutherans were the only ones to go to heaven so when I converted to Catholicism, this was a big issue for everyone. My aunt thought I had damned myself! I never really believed that kind of stuff, but I think it was such a big deal in the family because they really identified themselves as Finnish Lutherans. They considered themselves a part of that close-knit community and took religion very seriously.”

This is a really interesting piece of folk speech, particularly because it appears that the informant’s family really did believe it and placed a lot of faith in it. Even though my informant didn’t necessarily believe in it herself, she still felt the effects of the belief when she converted to Catholicism. While she didn’t mention this specifically, this piece of folklore could also have been her family’s way of instilling a type of fear in the children, trying to get them to be good and to abide by religious doctrine.

Pig Bear Legend and Ritual

Nationality: Sri Lankan
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: La Canada Flintridge, CA
Performance Date: 3/14/12
Primary Language: English

The informant is 21 years old. She’s Sri Lankan and now attends the University of San Francisco. She entered seventh grade at Flintridge Preparatory School in La Canada in 2003 and graduated in 2009. During seventh grade, she (along with the rest of the class) was divided into groups to be mentored by a senior Peer Counselor throughout the year. These Peer Counselors accompanied the informant’s class on the annual class trip to Big Bear at the start of the year.

The informant was home for spring break this week and I took the advantage of interviewing her for this folklore collection project. She came to my house and I asked her to briefly describe the legend of the “Pig Bear” that is well known to every student at Flintridge Prep and has been passed from senior class to seventh graders for years. This is what she told me:

Informant: At night, they (the Peer Counselors) told us that we had to stay in our cabins at night because of the uh legend of the Pig Bear. It was a monster half pig half bear or maybe even just a monster I’m not sure…that came out to eat children or the children would never be seen again…So there were some of us that didn’t believe in the Pig Bear and were joking about it and once we were getting into bed there were these huge BANG BANG BANGs on all the doors and screaming in the distance…so we all ran out to see what happened. We thought it was the Pig Bears, come to get us, but it turns out that the seniors went around doing it, banging on doors and throwing things. But we were ok…ended up laughing about it after, but it was scary at first.

Me: Why do you remember this?

Informant: Because it was part of the tradition of the seventh grade trip and you don’t…it’s something that you remember when someone asks about the trip because it’s been passed down through the grades…I’ve even mentioned it to random college friends.

Me: Why do like it?

Informant: It makes the trip more exciting, more than just a school trip…it’s got a little bit of the scary story feel. The Pig Bear feel made it extra fun.

Me: Why do you think they do this every year?

Informant: It’s a rite of passage kinda…because for the seventh graders it’s a chance to bond over something funny and spooky and for the seniors, they already went through it so they can make it come alive for the baby classes.

As the informant says, the importance of the legend appears to lie in the fact that it’s closely associated with the rite of passage of officially becoming a seventh grader at Flintridge Prep. The legend binds the class together as they experience terror upon it’s supposed re-enactment, and then relief that it ends up being just a trick. Because the Pig Bear legend re-enactment takes place at the beginning of the year, it also serves as a way to initiate the new seventh graders into life at Prep. The seniors pass on this piece of school folklore and eventually, the seventh graders will grow up and have their chance to pass it on, too.