Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Hair-cutting superstition

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/26/17
Primary Language: English

Background Information: Fatima is a Sophomore in college, and she grew up in a Muslim household in San Diego, CA. While not a devout believer herself, , her mother is, and as such has some beliefs and superstitions that she does not necessarily follow herself. Throwing one’s hair in the ocean after cutting it, for example, is one of them.

F: So, ok, so whenever I cut my hair, my mom says that I have to put it into a plastic bag and throw it into the ocean, otherwise someone is gonna steal it and do voodoo on it, and it’s because she’s Muslim, and apparently it’s a Muslim thing.

A: Do you actually follow it then?

F: Um, I personally just always cut my hair at home… I don’t throw it in the ocean, like I normally just throw it away just because I don’t really believe it, but every time my mom cuts my hair she’ll actually bag it up and throw it in the ocean.

Thoughts: Like what we discussed in class, the origins of many folk beliefs are unknown, or become lost. I find this interesting, especially in the case of superstition, as superstitions are often ingrained into the way people live their lives.

Coconut oil remedies

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/27/17
Primary Language: English
Language: Hawaiian

Background Information: RJ is a senior at college. He was born and raised in Hawa’ii, but his family is Filipino. I heard him mention the use of coconut oil, and how his grandmother told him to use it for dry skin or to massage into sores, and it struck me how similar this folk remedy was to what I had heard in my own culture. I interviewed him about the practice and what it means to him.

Ankita: Can you tell me about how your family uses coconut oil?

RJ: My grandma uses it…well, she makes it. She takes coconuts and…I’m not sure what the process is, entirely, but I know she cooks it somehow, until the oils…um, are rendered, and then strains that, puts it in a bottle, and labels it ‘coconut oil’. But she only makes it on a specific day, and that day—she only makes it every four years. I’m not sure why. I think it has to do with some type of superstition, where it’s like a good luck type of oil. It’s an all-purpose oil, and you use it on your skin, or on your hair or on your lips. And she also uses it to like, massage into sores or like, when you have aches…body aches. It’s good for skin…Or like, it has healing properties.

Ankita: Do you know where she might have learned it maybe?

RJ: Well she’s from the Philippines, and I guess like, her parents…probably did that.

Ankita: Did she ever try to teach you or your parents or something?

RJ: Not intentionally, but we’d just like be around the house and see her make it, so we’d witness the process…But there’s also like the residue of that, so like the parts that are strained, she uses that in a dessert. So like, all parts of the coconut are used.

Ankita: Do you think you believe it? Like believe in its healing properties?

RJ: Um…I think so. Well, only when she applies it to me. Or the rest of us. But if we do it ourselves…not really.

Thoughts: From the way RJ described it, his grandmother’s process of making this oil is elaborate, time-consuming and specific, and it was a tradition that was passed down to her from her family. I find it interesting how RJ said that when his grandmother applies the oil, he believes in the medicinal properties of it, but not if he were to do it himself. The value that he places on this particular folk remedy, therefore, is tied to his grandmother, and perhaps his relationship with her. He does not believe in it enough to make the oil or go through the process of applying it himself, but his grandmother’s act of applying it for her family members becomes a ritual with heightened symbolic meaning and significance.

Hawaiian Superstition

Nationality: American
Age: 46
Occupation: Graphic Designer
Residence: Marin County, CA
Primary Language: English

Type: Superstition/Folk Belief

  1. “In Hawaii, and everywhere else, you are never supposed to pick up rocks, shells (or anything ‘natural’) from the ground, and you are never supposed to bring them with you. You cannot bring these things with you. If you do, it was always said that ‘the spirits’ who occupied the ‘natural’ items would then follow you around forever, and bring you bad luck and misfortune. The only way to stop this from happening would be to return the item to its exact location where you picked it up…exactly where you found it basically. Then, the spirits would return to their item and place, and the bad luck would disappear.”
  2. I obtained this piece of folklore from a family member, Jeff. Jeff is in his late 40’s, and he spent eleven years of his life in Hawaii, where he was born and raised. Living on an island, Jeff had lots of freedom, as you could never really get lost. When he was living there, him and his friends would explore around the island, but it was superstition that no matter where you went, you could NEVER pick up rocks, shells, leaves, etc. from the ground. Even to this day, Jeff does not pick up “natural” things from the ground, since he still believes that it will bring him bad luck, and he does not want to go through the effort of returning the object.
  3. Hawaii is a very natural, forested, as well as beach-y place. Rocks, shells, leaves, bark, etc. are all abundant throughout all islands, and many of these items have a beauty to them; a natural, nice looking aesthetic, whether that be pattern, color, shape, or size. The appeal to take these items from the ground is probably high. Hawaii is also known to be a spiritual place, many of the religions of the native populations include spirits. This superstition is passed around friend groups and family members.
  4. I think this is an interesting folk superstition, unlike anything I have ever heard. Unlike other superstitions, this one has a connection between spirits and actual items, and for as long as I can remember I have been picking up shells and rocks at the beach, not knowing that there is a common belief that one should not do that. What also is fascinating is that my cousin Jeff still, to this day, will not pick anything up from the ground, because of this strong superstition.

Hawaiian Superstition: Sea-Frigate Birds

Nationality: American
Age: 46
Occupation: Graphic Designer
Residence: Marin County, CA
Performance Date: 4/23/17
Primary Language: English

Type: Superstition/Folk Belief

  1. “In Hawaii, there was a large population of sea-frigate birds. They had black feathers and a red belly almost (laughter). They would fly around, above people, in both city areas and in the forest. They also had strange shaped wings, like swallow kind of wings. The birds would fly overhead and apparently, if you saw them fly above, you couldn’t stare, you had to just ignore them. You could NEVER point at them, if you did, then something bad would happen to you. Something really bad, but no one ever knew what. Just that one, really bad thing would happen, and you couldn’t avoid it.
  2. I obtained this piece of folklore from a family member, Jeff. Jeff is in his late 40’s, and he spent eleven years of his life in Hawaii, where he was born and raised. Living on an island, Jeff had lots of freedom, as you could never really get lost. When he was living there, him and his friends would explore around the island, but it was superstition that you could never physically point at this specific type of bird. Jeff and his friends spent a lot of time outside, and within his school friends and neighborhood friends, this superstition went around.
  3. Hawaii is known to be a tropical and natural place. There are all typed of birds, plants, and other natural life forms on all islands. Moreover, the amount of wildlife has been a source of folklore, especially in tropical places. The sea-frigate bird is not rare or becoming extinct, actually it is quite a common bird. However, the unique shape of their wings became a source of folklore. This superstition is passed around friend groups and family members.
  4. I personally do not understand this superstition. If the bird was rare or uncommon then I would understand a bit more as to why it could be a source of folklore, but again, currently, it does not quite make any sense to me. It seems like another silly superstition among children, not necessarily adults. Jeff does not believe in this anymore, and will point and stare at the bird.

Hawaiian Folklore: The Menehunes

Nationality: American
Age: 46
Occupation: Graphic Designer
Residence: Marin County, CA
Primary Language: English

Type: Legendary Creature(s)

  1. “There are the Menehune’s of Hawaii. Their thing is mischief, but they were also said to have built the fish ponds for the king a really long time ago. They built the fish ponds to make fishing easier for the king, so he didn’t have to go all the way down to the ocean to fish. The King would fish in the ponds where the fish would be constantly reproducing and. The Menehunes are kinda like leprechauns but there were a lot of them, and they are known to just cause trouble. They’re short, just like leprechauns, they don’t fly or do anything special, they’re just there and no one sees them. If your fishing nets suddenly had holes in them, it’s the Menehunes causing trouble. They aren’t invisible, but no one ever sees them. They come out at night and do mischief, no one ever sees them.”
  2. I obtained this piece of folklore from a family member, Jeff. Jeff is in his late 40’s, and he spent eleven years of his life in Hawaii, where he was born and raised. Jeff and his friends spent most of their childhoods exploring the island. By doing so, Jeff and his friends came across the plentiful fish ponds throughout the island, and the folklore behind them passed around their friend group, as well as other children and parents on the island.
  3. All the islands are full of fish ponds, and across all islands the Menehune folklore exists. This is passed down from generation to generation, and it is also passed around friend groups and family members.
  4. I love the concept of the Menehunes and I want to believe in them. It is interesting how similar they are to leprechauns, yet the Hawaiian islands were quite isolated from the rest of the world for a long period of time. I wonder how the similarities exists and how possibly they might be connected.

For more on the Hawaiian Menehunes, go to http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/menhune-hawaii-ancient-race-or-fictional-fairytale-001741