Author Archives: Sarah Wu

Lakewood Senior Campout

Nationality: Norwegian, English, French Canadian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles (from Lakewood, Colorado)
Performance Date: April 22, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Informant: “Every year, the graduating seniors at my high school at home in Lakewood, Colorado, um, have a senior campout. Where they camp out on the soccer field on the night before for the last night of school…and they’re just really rowdy and often try to break into the school and do some kind of prank. And then the following day, on the last day of school, they have a giant shaving cream fight. Out in the same, like, area of the field of the school, where they just attack each other mercilessly with shaving cream. And then walk home covered in shaving cream.”

Me: “Did you do it?”

Informant: “Yes, I did it, hahaha…um, yeah. So I participated in the campout and shaving cream fight. The campout was really fun, and every year the principal threatens to shut it down…because everyone’s too rowdy and does too many obnoxious and destructive things. But, and they never actually do. And…sometimes the police show up, that didn’t happen my year. And then the shaving cream fight is just really awesome because you just get covered in shaving cream.”

My informant heard about the campout and shaving cream fight from older students when she was an underclassman, and then eventually participated as a graduating senior. This campout represents the liminal period between high school and college, which are generally thought of as two separate stages of life. In fact, it could be classified as the zone between childhood and young adulthood, since many people turn 18 between high school and their freshman year. This ‘initiation’ solidifies the seniors’ status as no longer being in high school, which may explain their desire to be rowdy and celebrate the end of childhood. It has many parallels with USC’s own Fountain Run, which graduating seniors participate in each year as a way to mark yet another transition.

Making “Pasty”

Nationality: Norwegian, English, French Canadian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles (from Lakewood, Colorado)
Performance Date: April 22, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

“Ok, uhh, my mom’s family is French Canadian, and they have the recipe for “pasties” in their family. So, um, whenever the family gets together to get, to have a reunion…every year, everyone gets together in the kitchen and makes them and the recipe gets passed down between generations. Um, it’s like meat and cheese and potatoes all wrapped up in some sort of bread product, some kind of like bun thing that you bake. And then everybody eats it together, and it’s really delicious. Uh, my mom has five siblings, and…and so when…when everybody gets together, it’s like her five siblings and then all of the cousins and nieces and nephews and aunts and uncles that are all together. Um, so there’s like three or four generations in the kitchen together. At the same time, and everybody makes it. And the older generation kind of talks about their parents and like where the recipe came from and that history. And they tell the younger generation about that. And then the younger generation, I guess, learns the recipe and learns the story and everything.”

According to my informant, ‘pasty’ is actually an English recipe, but was passed down through the French Canadian side of her family. She suspects it traces back to England through her family somehow, although she is unsure of the specifics. She also added that her great-grandparents were both bakers, which makes the recipe even more of a personal connection to her past. I find it interesting that so many generations would be in the kitchen at the same time because of one item of food. Another thing I noted was that the ingredients are all relatively inexpensive and easy to find nowadays. Pasty, which has Cornish origins, has been made as a hearty and affordable worker’s meal in the past. However, it also once served as fare for royalty, with more expensive cuts of meat inside the dough exterior.

Lei-Giving

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles (from Honolulu, Hawaii)
Performance Date: April 20, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese

Informant: “So apparently, everywhere else besides Hawaii does not gives leis during graduation or…like birthdays. So like basically, a lei is like…a circle of love that you can put around someone’s neck…hahahahaha…hahahaha…hahahahaha…and typically, they’re made out of flowers, like they get quite elaborate. There are different leis for males and females, and like the males have like, lil like kukui nuts or like maile leaves. Which are just…like, green…hahahaha…leaves…hahahahahahahahahaha. I’m the worst person ever to talk about this stuff! Anyway, and yeah. And women’s are usually much more colorful, and they come with like orchid flowers, like all these fancy flowers. And they have like Hawaiian, traditional Hawaiian flowers, that are native only to Hawaii. And you can give them during graduations or birthdays, and like, the most popular lei-giving season is during May? Hahahahahahahahahahahaha…hahahahahaha!”

Me: “What’s so funny about May?”

Informant: “I don’t know! It’s just like, during May? Like ok? Hahahaha. Ok, then during May, there’s like…everyone graduates! So that’s why it’s the most popular season for lei-giving, makers, and like everyone gives each other leis. Like all graduates, all the family members, all the friends. So like we always end up with like ARMFULS, and like leis, and like they’ll go from our neck all the way up to the top of our heads. Like covering our eyes, can’t see anything! Cuz there’s so many leis. So much love. Oh, and nowadays, besides just flower leis, there are candy leis…where people like, basically tie candy together. And then there are finger leis! Which are really easy to make out of yarn. Yup. Oh! And then a lot of people make these really fancy-ass crochet leis. Yeah…they’re really nice. And they’ll make em all in school colors, good times. Oh wait wait wait! Are you still going?”

Me: “Yeah, still going.”

Informant: “Ok, there are also haku leis. Which are, like, smaller more dense versions of a lei. But it’s like for your head. And you put it on your haku, which is your head. And they’re your…and there’s like special versions made by women who are very very…what’s it called? Skilled! At the craft of making haku leis and they’re quite hard. You have to do like flower arrangements, you gotta like weave them in together. And it’s quite, quite arduous work. But it looks very beautiful in the end, and you can always let them dry out, you can keep them. Dried haku leis, or dried leis, and they’re very nice.”

My informant talks about leis, which are essentially garlands that serve as a symbol of love or affection. As she explained, there are many different types of leis, and varying levels of lei construction in terms of difficulty. She does not seem to privilege one form above the other, although she did point out that the special haku leis are usually only made by women who are skilled in that craft. There are also other types of leis which are not covered in this performance, as well as special rituals associated with lei-giving. As she notes, it is typical to keep leis once they have dried out, since these are an expression of love and not to be thrown away. This folk object is particularly interesting because it has a definite presence in the Hawaiian tourist industry today. Many visitors are given (or sold) leis at Hawaiian airports, usually made of brightly colored flowers or plastic flowers. Leis have become a sort of symbol many people associate with Hawaii, and yet they are usually unaware of the full context of this folk object.

“Da Kine”

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles (from Honolulu, Hawaii)
Performance Date: April 20, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese

“The word da kine. Um, I guess it comes from the Hawaiian Pidgin language? Which is like, slang in Hawaii, and like there’s a bunch of different kinds of slang words. And like da kine is just like the most versatile of all those words. You can use it to fill in anything. Like, any kinda noun, like or verb too! So you can be like I want da kine today! That, that would mean like, I want to go do something today. Or, it would be a filler for anything you forget the name of, so like I ate da kine. Oh, da kine girl’s name, like, I forget…hahahaha…Da Kine is also the name of a bag company. They make like backpacks and suitcases and wallets and snowboarding equipment. But I’m not quite sure if that’s Hawaiian…”

My informant talks about a Pidgin term, which is a type of slang spoken by native Hawaiians. Usually, a slang word stands in for another specified word, but ‘da kine’ is interesting in that it can be used to cover any word or phrase in a conversation, and listener treats it as an actual filler word. I also found it interesting when she brought up the bag company, and wasn’t sure whether it was Hawaiian or not. It brings up the question of authenticity, and whether or not this term strictly ‘belongs to’ Pidgin speakers. Is the bag company’s use of this word to sell product inauthentic, or is it a way of spreading Hawaiian culture?

The Makahiki Festival

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles (from Honolulu, Hawaii)
Performance Date: April 20, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese

“Ok, so there’s a Hawaiian tradition of celebrating Makahiki, which is, um, like kind of like a lunar festival but not quite. But it’s like celebrating a god named Lono, he was like a war god so they always had like war-related games during his festival. And usually the festival took place in like March, and I remember my high school would celebrate it, because during like third grade, we would learn a lot about the Hawaiian culture. And at the beginning of the festival there would always be a march, and like a call? It’s called like a chant, it’s like a … I don’t remember how the chant went, but I remember we used to have to chant it. And it was quite lengthy. But it like, after you chanted it, you would really feel like the spiritualness of it. And basically they’d have a little march, and the leader would blow a conch shell, which is like a big…cone shell, and it makes a horn kinda noise…hahahaha…and …hahahahahahaha…and anyways, so like and everyone would wear these white, um, like pieces of kapa, kinda like a Greek tunic, but it would be made out of Hawaiian materials. And we would all walk from the classrooms to the field where they would have this really elaborate setup. And there’d be like a giant field like kinda marked off with like coconut rope. And they way they’d make that is that like they get these like coconuts and they husk them, and then they braid together the ropes. And it’s quite, like, laborous, labor-intensive. And then they have like these special stones that mark like the corners or the, like the entrance, and you have to do…this like special, special ritual with the native Hawaiians, before you can enter into this sacred space for Makahiki. And you have to like press your forehead, touch foreheads, and you have to like take a breath together. Yeahhh… I remember in third grade it was kind of awkward, but like that’s what you had to do, so ok! You just did it! And then they would give you little pieces of sweet potato, and you’d just eat it. And you’d go inside and they’d have little games set up, and like there’d be spear throwing, so you’d actually get to throw like a wooden spear. Like it would be kinda duller, but you threw it into like a banana stalk. And then like, if you got it in, then you’d be like AW YEAH! And…hahahahahaha…hahahahaha…hahahaha…and then there were other games, like this kinda like rock bowling. Like all these things have special Hawaiian names, but like I don’t remember what they’re called but. So basically, you just kinda roll like this puck-shaped stone between these two sticks, and you have a partner, and then like each time the distance just like grows. And you get really good at throwing rocks…hahahahaha. And then there was like, a bunch of foot races and like wrestling, like various kinds of wrestling. Because like Lono was the war god, so we did a lot of…kind of like…wrestling, warlike, military…like not quite military, but you know. Fighting-ish kind of games. Yeah, and it was fun. Celebrated every year.”

My informant recalls her celebration of the annual Makahiki festival from elementary school all the way through high school. Makahiki is actually a much longer celebration, more of a season than a single holiday, but her school would observe it for one day only. Festivals bring together many different kinds of folklore. My informant recalls singing, games, ritualized actions, and food all in this single event. One of the more interesting points she touched on was the entering of the festival space. As she explained, only native Hawaiians could take part in the ritual to allow people in, creating an actual physical barrier between the sacred space inside and everything else outside. This makes the festival a somewhat exclusive event, since certain actions must be observed before anyone can enter.