Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

“Twisted Necklace”

Context: While waiting for a pizza order, a co-worker of mine shared a good-luck ritual.

Text:

As we waited for our pizza, my coworker noticed my necklace was twisted. The pendant was behind my neck, and the clasp was at the front. She asked if she could fix it, and I said yes. After she untwisted it, she said, “Now you have to make a wish.” I was a bit confused because I’d never heard of the practice before. She explained that in her family, after they fix their jewelry they make a wish for good luck.

Analysis:

Like blowing an eyelash, I’ve heard of some people who practice luck rituals. It was interesting to hear about a ritual involving jewelry, which, in a way, made a lot of sense. Jewelry pieces are very personal items, and they reflect a lot about a person. Some of us even ritualize wearing the same jewelry every day, highlighting its importance. These pieces are sometimes seen as “good-luck” charms or handed down from generations prior. This reminds me of Fraser’s theory regarding contagious sympathetic magic. Touching these “magical” items is sometimes believed to have a positive impact on people’s lives.

Rubbing an egg as a cure for illness/injury

Age: 20s Location: Los Angeles

Context: Participant and I in were anthropology class discussing various means of folk medicine from our childhoods. She is Mexican-American with both her parents having been born Mexico.

Text: Rubbing an egg on an area of the body to ‘cure’ it. Regardless if its a physical injury or an illness like the flu. The participant mentioned that her mother and her mothers family were more likely to do this, however her father never seemed to question the act and accepted it easily, likely encountering in his life as well. She mentioned it is a common thing to do in Mexican-American households.

Analysis:

The practice illustrates the normalization of ritual healing within Mexican-American households and a good example of folk medicine practices. By passing the egg over the body, the family performs a “cleansing” that validates communal beliefs and provides psychological comfort regardless of the specific medical diagnosis. There is value in the act of care and attention provided with this likely soothing act of rubbing the egg.

Indian money-giving superstition

Context: The participant, my roomate (intials NS), comes from an Indian family that now lives in the Bay Area. Both her parents were born in India and partake in the pra

Text:

NS: Anytime you give money to someone for a wedding or birthday, let’s say around $100, you’re supposed to give $101 or else it’s bad luck.

Me: Who is it bad luck for: you or the person getting the money?

NS: the recipient

Me: And what is it about adding $1 that’s ‘good luck?

NS: It’s not really the $1 but when a number isn’t whole or even its harder to divide mathematically. So it symbolizes growth and prosperity.

NS: Whole numbers are like ‘flat’ and ‘finished’ so by giving a indivisible number you’re giving out wishes of growth and endless possibilities to the person.

Me: Wow, so do you partake in this or have you just grown up with people who have.

NS: Well, I don’t really give a lot of people money haha but for the Indian holiday, Raksha Bandhan, my brother gives me an uneven amount of money?

Me: Can you explain this holiday?

NS: Yeah, so a sister ties a bracelet around her brother and in return, the brother gives her money. It’s supposed to be before the brother goes off to war, and the money would help her survive if he happened to die at war. The bracelet is also supposed to be for good fortune and symbolizes their bond.

Analysis:

The practice of adding a single dollar is a type of blessing in Indian culture. In this form of numerology, a round number represents completion or a closed cycle, which can symbolically suggest the end of a relationship, wealth, or growth. By adding one, the giver creates an uneven and indivisible number that is hard to find an even split of. This acts as a catalyst for continuity, ensuring that the gift remains open and invites future prosperity to follow. It effectively shifts the transaction from a commercial payment to a sacred offering, signaling that the bond between the giver and the receiver is meant to be undying and ever-expanding.

Stepping on paper superstition

Age: 20s Occupation: Student in Los Angeles Hometown: Kansas City, MO Genre: Folk Belief

Text

The participant believes in the idea that if one steps on paper or a book that will give them bad luck. The only way to ‘get rid’ of this bad luck is to touch the paper, touch your heart, and effectively ‘repent’.

Context

The participant mentioned that she learnt this from her parents and grandparents. The part where they mentioned the repenting they also said that their family is quite religious and practice Hinduism.

Analysis:

The fact that the participant learned this from parents and grandparents highlights the intergenerational transmission of folk beliefs within the family. Because the family is religious and practices Hinduism, this specific superstition acts as a daily reminder of their cultural and spiritual identity. The ritual serves almost as a socializing tool, teaching children from a young age that knowledge is sacred and must be handled with care. The counter-charm being to touch your heart also reinforces this idea by representing atonement between the individual and the divine.

Diaz de los Muertos and One’s Ancestral History

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Age: 28

Text: CB – “Known well as Diaz de los Muertos or day of the dead, its a very important holiday in the Hispanic calendar. It has a lot of crossover with the Americanized Halloween, but it’s distinctive differences go far beyond the costumes and candies. The point is to remember our dearly departed. During it, we bring out all the old photos from my grandmother’s family and my grandfather’s family, my mother side (Nana, and Tata respectfully). Specifically what we do is help my Nana and Tata arrange all their family photos on the banister and dining room table so that they may join us for one last meal. We offer our prayers to them and little candies of their favorite and light candles in their honor. As the photos come out, my grandparents and my aunts and uncles will begin telling stories about these people Somehow, we’ve heard 1000 times and never interrupt. Others are new to us and add another source of identity to where we came from.”

Interviewer – “What is the most memorable story you’ve heard about your ancestors?”

CB – “My big Nana (great-grandmother) was a loving, but firm woman. All her children learned to dodge at a very young age, for she was proficient with wooden chanclas. One time my mother snuck out at night to go see a movie when she got back they had closed and locked her window This wasn’t that unusual. Typically they would just spend the night on the roof at this time, however she went to big Nana‘s house, knocked on the door and gave her a sob story about my grandfather locking her out. This caused my great grandmother to storm over to their house (my Nana’s family lived very close to each other) and hammer on the door. When my mother’s father opened it, he was immediately hitting his head with a wooden chanclas. She chased him around the property for about an hour while my mom darted to her room and laughed from her window.”

Context: Diaz de los Muertos is an annual Hispanic holiday to celebrate the dead of one’s family. Typically it involves large gatherings, bringing together members of extended family to celebrate and share stories about those who have passed. In the case of CB and their family, some stories pop up and stay the same each year, and each year each family member listens on with respect and fondness. Besides, the candy, feasts, and decorations this holiday is additionally anointed with, at the heart of it rests the tales of those gone to show that they are and never will be forgotten. CB has been told this story about his mother sneaking out a number of times, year after year, and it never gets old.

Analysis: Being both an annually calendrical holiday, there is an air of spiritualism, belief, but also prolonged familial ritual for Diaz de los Muertos for CB and their family, as is with most families who celebrate it traditionally. The art and act of gathering around to tell stories about those who have passed to allow their spirits to not fade into obscurity is a prime example of continued tradition and using a holiday as the medium to come together to do the sharing. This family-based festival, where food is offered and made, candy is eaten, stories are exchanged, and to take pride on those who have passed is a wide mixture of many folk group mediums, from foodways, to folk belief, to folk speech and narratives, and finally this annual holiday which encompasses it all. Diaz de los Muertos is a rich example of folk culture for the Hispanic community, and continues to shine on for each family regardless of how they celebrate it.