Category Archives: Homeopathic

Night Marchers

Nationality: Asian-American
Age: 18
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Honolulu, Hawaii
Performance Date: April 12, 2018
Primary Language: English
Language: Cantonese, Vietnamese

“You shouldn’t whistle at night because you’ll get hunted down by the night marchers. I’ve never really gotten a description of what the night marchers are, but if you get hunted down by them, it’s also bad luck, and then, also, if you hear drums it’s night marchers, so go in the other direction. My sister, she’s in marching band, and one time she was whistling, and her friend just yelled at her across the field like, ‘Don’t whistle! You’re going to get hunted down by the night marchers!’ I asked her, ‘What are the night marchers?’ She just (she shrugs and shakes her head) and ‘Just don’t whistle at night.’”

Background Information and Context:

As the informant said above, she learned about this superstition from her sister, who had shared the experience of being warned about this superstition. They encountered this superstition in Hawaii, where they live.

Collector’s Notes:

It is interesting how the informant and her sister were warned not to whistle at night without ever truly understanding the background for the superstition. It makes me wonder if the person warning her sister even knew what the night marchers are, or if she was merely echoing a warning given to her by someone else. Many superstitions exist and are followed ‘just to be safe’ even though the reasons why it causes bad luck are unknown. Moreover, I was surprised that my informant never thought to look up the night marchers on the internet, because a simple Google search showed me that her bad-luck-causing night marchers were actually Hawaiian warriors whose appearance meant death.

For more information about the Night Marchers, see “Friday Frights: The Legend of Hawai‘i’s Night Marchers” in Honolulu Magazine

House Hunting Superstitions

Nationality: Asian-American
Age: 18
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Honolulu, Hawaii
Performance Date: April 9, 2018
Primary Language: English
Language: Cantonese, Vietnamese

“There’s two [superstitions] that my parents told me they look for when they’re house shopping. The front and the back doors of a house can’t align or else money will come in through the front door and just leave out the back (she loudly laughs as she finishes her sentence). When I asked my dad about this, he was like, ‘I don’t know why,’ and I asked my mom and she said, ‘whatever comes in through the front door will leave out the back door,’ and I was just like, ‘ok, mom.’ Also, the stairs can’t lead directly out the door because it’ll fall out the door, like your possessions, or your fortune, or your good luck. I think my parents believe in this because, when we were younger and were going house shopping, if the stairs were even remotely near the front door, my mom refused to look at the rest of the house. I guess these just superstitions or old wives’ tales that get passed down from your parents.”

Background Information and Context:

This is a superstition that was relevant to the informant’s parents while shopping for real estate. She believes that the superstition most likely came from Vietnam, from which her parents immigrated.

Collector’s Notes:

Growing up in a Vietnamese family, I, too, was exposed to many strange and illogical superstitions, usually from my grandmother. I am all too familiar with asking for an explanation of why something is good or bad luck and getting a reply that doesn’t clarify much, as my informant recalled in the above example. I also found it interesting how she was so quick to dismiss these superstitions, while I know from previous conversations that she is usually eager to accept certain other luck-related traditions like cleaning the house for the new year. I think a large part of accepting a tradition is feeling a personal connection to it and a positive association.

Natalie Skinner 19: Clove of Garlic

“My grandma born in 1935 was always told by her aunt that in order to not catch the flu, you have to put a clove of raw garlic around her neck. She did that and never got sick.”
“I heard this when I was five from my grandmother.”

Context: Natalie shared this with me during our folklore class. She heard it for the first time when she was five from her grandmother.

Analysis: back in that time, it makes sense for people to develop folk ideas of how to fix things they had no control over, such as illness. Because of the lack of medical advancements, many people choose to trust homeopathic remedies shared to them orally. This is probably the case with Natalie’s grandmother to an extent.

I Pray The Lord My Soul To Take

Nationality: American
Age: 59
Occupation: Psychiatric RN
Residence: NYC
Performance Date: 4/5/18
Primary Language: English

Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the lord my soul to keep, if I die before I wake, I pray the lord my soul to take.

This is a prayer that my parents always taught me every night before I went to sleep. As the saying goes, if you were to die in the night, to give your soul to the universe. There is no implicit rule or distinction that you’re sore should go to God, but more of a higher being of some sort. It was first heard from my father’s grandmother, and most children are scared of the dark, she told him this prayer to reassure him that everything would be okay.  My parents instilled they’re saying into my brothers and my brain from as young as I can remember I could speak. It gave me the certainty that no matter what happens if I woke up in the morning I would be happy that I didn’t die.God is this omnipotent great thing, and asking God to watch over before I fall asleep, and take my soul if I pass. You never know what will happen, and send positive energy to the universe.

 

Angel of God, a Nightly Prayer

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: USA
Performance Date: 4/20/18
Primary Language: English

Angel of God, My Guardian dear, to whom God’s love, commits me here. Ever this day, be at my side. To light, and guard, to rule and guide.

The significance of this prayer and ritual was to say it before bed every night and see it when you wake up in the morning. The “reads “angel of God my Guardian dear, to whom God‘s love commits me here. Ever this day be by my side, to light and to guard to rule and to guide. “This means that you are giving thanks and acknowledging that God is your guardian, and that no matter what you are loved by God and respecting him. It is also saying that no matter what God will be with you to help you and guide you throughout your journey of life. My friends grandmother made her a pillow that has this prayer written on it, to remind her about her faith every day. While this is said in church and as a mantra, she grew up saying that every day before bed and reading it in the morning when she woke up. It serves as a reminder that if all else fails you can have faith in God to help you get through whatever hardship you are going through.