Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Helping the Homeless Superstition

Nationality: Ethiopian and Greek
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Portland, Oregon
Performance Date: April 21, 2017
Primary Language: Amharic
Language: English, Spanish, and Attic Greek

“Since religion is a huge part of our family, one of the like lessons that my aunt, my dad’s sister, told my cousin was like, you know, always give to the homeless, which is super like prominent here in South Central LA. And like, my cousin always does it without fail whether she gives money or food or anything because she believes that the one person who she doesn’t give it to will be Jesus and then when she reaches the gates of Saint Peter, like, Jesus will be like, “Why didn’t you help me that one instance?”

For the informant’s cousin, she does it out of fear in a sense, but also because she sees it as helping preserve her faith and maintain that goodwill. For her, it is necessary and she adamantly sticks to it. It does not have to just be money either, but can be food, clothing, or anything as long as you are still helping them in some way. However, for the informant herself, it is not as necessary. She explained that during her religious holidays, she is more likely to give either food or money to the homeless, but does not do so with every one that she comes in contact with. She explained that because she goes to school in South Central Los Angeles, she would practically be giving away all of her money due to the large population of homeless people in the area. When she does give money to someone, she often does so when she strongly sympathizes with them, like when it is a mother trying to take care of her child, etc. In that case, she often gives what she has, even if they are asking for less.

The informant relayed this to me while we were sitting on a bench on the USC campus.

While not the first time I had heard this, I found her story unique. To me, it shows two variations of practice within the same religion. For the informant, location and personal preservation play a huge factor into how necessary she feels it to be. For her cousin, the idea of denying Jesus help is more terrifying than anything else because of the potential of being denied entrance at the gates of Saint Peter.

I often have heard that people do not give money to the homeless because they believe they will buy drugs or alcohol instead of using it for what they say, but neither the informant nor her cousin seemed to think in that way whatsoever. Some people may believe the woman the informant gave money to was lying, but she felt sympathy for her instead of doubt. Overall, I think their lack of doubt comes from their belief, especially for the informant’s cousin.

Dreams of Death Bringing Health: Folk Belief

Nationality: Ethiopian and Greek
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Portland, Oregon
Performance Date: April 21, 2017
Primary Language: Amharic
Language: English, Spanish, and Attic Greek

“The one time I told my dad, he was like ‘oh, actually, in our culture that’s not as bad as you think because when you dream of someone dying, they opposite happens in real life and they’re actually rewarded with more years to live.’”

In Ethiopian culture, dreams are a very big deal alongside religion. The informant explained to me that she dreams a lot, but that a lot of her dreams are very dark. For instance, she often dreams that either just her dad, just her mom, or both of her parents were dying or had died. At first, these dreams terrified her and kept her from telling her parents because she initially saw this as a bad omen. A huge part of her fear came from her being an only child and realizing that if her parents died she would lose everyone in her immediate family.

Eventually, she mentioned it to her dad and he explained that she did not need to worry because it was actually a blessing in a sense. While this did not make the dreams less awful, she felt less scared they were an evil omen that would come true. She jokes now that her parents will live until they are 230 years old with the amount of times they have died in her dreams.

The informant relayed this to me while we were sitting on a bench on the USC campus.

Dreams are something that people are always trying to figure out. There are books written about them, extensive studies about them have been done and even more things that circulate orally with no real idea where it came from. For instance, I have heard that if you are dreaming of someone, it means they were thinking about you before they fell asleep or that what you eat before you sleep effects your dreams.

With this case in particular, I feel like some people would try to relate it to something scientific. However, I think that there is a lot to be said of there being folklore about it in that it must have been a big enough thing for people to have developed this belief about them.

The Legalized Haunted House in New York

Nationality: German, Irish and Italian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Nyack, New York (Los Angeles, California during the school year)
Performance Date: April 22, 2017
Primary Language: English

“They had this family who lived there and they caught on pretty quick that it was a haunted house, so they got along fine with the ghost. They claimed it was kinda like a friendly ghost. They said it like, did little chores for them and stuff, like folded laundry and stuff when they weren’t expecting. Like kinda weird things, but also like, not necessarily annoying things, so they put up with it. So, eventually they decided that they needed to sell the house because they wanted to move or they needed the money or something, so they found a buyer for the house and they signed up all the paperwork and the buyer moved in. Then, after a few weeks I want to say, a couple of months maybe, they slowly picked up on the fact that the house was haunted or they suspected it was. So, they called up the original owners and they said ‘hey, so, did you guys ever think the house was haunted?’ and they were like, ‘oh yeah, that’s like, so and so the ghost,’ like ‘we know all about it,’ like, ‘ isn’t he the greatest?’ and they were like, ‘no, we don’t want a haunted house.’ So, they brought them to court claiming that they had sold the house under false pretenses. And first off, the judge was like, ‘this is an absurd case. There is no way I am ruling in favor of this. You can’t just claim the house is haunted and then, you know, try and get a refund for it.’ And they were like ‘fine, fine, fine.’ So, the attorney for the people who had bought the house went ‘okay judge’… in the most classic horror movie plot ever… they were like ‘okay, if you can spend the night in the house and come out and say with 100% certainty that the house is not haunted, we will drop the case.’ The judge couldn’t do it or refused to do it, and so agreed to rule the house is legally haunted and yeah, they got their money back for the house. And now, it is New York state law that if your house is haunted or you suspect it to be haunted, you have to disclose it in any sales of real estate.”

The informant’s story is based in his hometown in New York, with the “haunted house” being down the street from him. According to the informant, the town is partially know for the big, Victorian mansion down by the Hudson River that became the first legally haunted house in the world. This house is also still residential, with people living in it currently who clearly have no problem with it being haunted. While the house was already expensive because it was an old, Victorian mansion on the Hudson River, the fact that it is “haunted” has drawn many people to it, ultimately increasing the asking price when it has been for sale.

At the time that this happened, many people began to believe that ghosts were real because even the government was supporting their existence. However, the informant cannot say for sure if he believes it to be haunted because he has never been inside, but he does like to frequent the house on Halloween with his friends.

Also, the informant’s brother has a friend whose parents are trying to decide if they really do need to disclose that their house may be haunted because they merely suspect it themselves. Even though the law states that they have to, they are afraid it will make the house lose its value potentially and are considering not doing it.

The informant relayed this to me while sitting at a table outside one of the school buildings on the USC campus. The two of us have been friends for over a year.

Having never been to the house or to New York in general, I cannot say whether it was the first legalized haunted house or if it is even haunted. However, in regards to having to disclose if your house is haunted or not, I have heard that this is not the only case of this happening and is a much more frequent case than people would think.

In regards to the family deciding whether to comply with the law or not, they are a good example of what beliefs in folklore can effect. For instance, for those who do not want to believe, the house will immediately be taken out of consideration. For those who are extremely afraid of ghosts, the same will happen for them. That being said, that narrows the range of buyers down, which might have a strong change on being able to sell the house quickly or not, even though the current homeowners are not positive if it is haunted or not in the first place.

Monisha Mantras (1)

Nationality: Indian
Age: 38
Occupation: Alternative Medicine
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/16/17
Primary Language: English

“Let it be easy, let it be good.”

 

Monisha is my older cousin who has taken a longer route to find what she ultimately wants to do, and that ended up being alternative medicine, so she does acupuncture and provides herbal remedies for people seeking less traditional forms of healing. She’s also very into yoga, hiking, and finding oneself, and as a result, she has lots of mantras that she shared with me after she asked me how college was and I told her I was a little stressed. I decided to write them down, because she’s heard these mantras from backpacking trips through Asia, Europe, and California when she goes with groups of other people for meditation trips. She said that she didn’t know what she wanted to do for a long time, but now she does. I asked her to tell me some of the mantras that helped her at our annual Easter party, and she immediately had some to lend out. She said she uses this one a lot.

Monisha Mantras (2)

Nationality: Indian
Age: 38
Occupation: Alternative Medicine
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/16/17
Primary Language: English

“I am anticipating a pleasant surprise.”

Monisha is my older cousin who has taken a longer route to find what she ultimately wants to do, and that ended up being alternative medicine, so she does acupuncture and provides herbal remedies for people seeking less traditional forms of healing. She’s also very into yoga, hiking, and finding oneself, and as a result, she has lots of mantras that she shared with me after she asked me how college was and I told her I was a little stressed. I decided to write them down, because she’s heard these mantras from backpacking trips through Asia, Europe, and California when she goes with groups of other people for meditation trips. She said that she didn’t know what she wanted to do for a long time, but now she does. I asked her to tell me some of the mantras that helped her at our annual Easter party, and she immediately had some to lend out. She said she uses this one a lot.