Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Snake Skin on a Fence Brings Rain

Age: 21

1. Text: In Texas, there is the folk belief/ritual that if one puts snake skin on their fence, rain is likely to come. 

2. Context: This participant, born and raised in Texas, spoke of a superstitious ritual that he believes is pretty unique to Texas. He says that growing up, whenever he would visit some of the more rural – or even suburban – areas of the state (he himself had grown up in more of an urban area), he would sometimes see fences lined with snakeskin. When he asked his parents about it after seeing it a couple of times – too often for it to just be an odd decoration or coincidence, he explained – his parents just told him it was an old superstition that the snake skin would bring rain. He never really understood why this would be a belief, and explained that his best interpretation or understanding of the odd ritual was that maybe it was an old Native American tradition or something akin to an old superstition left over from a bygone era.   

3. Interviewer’s Interpretation: Upon initially hearing about this folk belief and ritual from my interviewee, I was similarly confused by the superstition. While I don’t fully know whether or not this is necessarily a ritual from any particular Native American tribe or belief system, I don’t doubt that it could have roots in some type of rain-related ritual, as rain rituals appear throughout countless cultures. Perhaps this superstition is meant to evoke a sort of causality through the fact that snakes might become more visibly present during rainy seasons/storms; it seems plausible that people believed that if rain causes snakes to appear more often, maybe this cycle can be triggered through the use of their skins. Just like how earthworms seem to pop up in abundance after a particularly rainy day, maybe snakes too appear more frequently – and maybe through this, people began to believe if they brought out snakes/snake skins they could evoke this pattern and it would begin to rain. 

White Sage Tea

Age: 21

1. If you have a cold you should drink white sage tea.

2. This participant, born and raised in San Diego, recounted the fact that while she was growing up, her family was very much into holistic medicine and would often give her and her siblings various teas and “natural remedies” for any sickness. One specific medicine she remembers was white sage tea. Whenever she had a cold or a cough or just generally complained about feeling ill, her parents would give her a hot cup of white sage tea to make her feel better. She very distinctly remembers the flavor – she said it tasted incredibly “herb-y” and “earthy” and that she used to complain about the taste until her parents would agree to at least add honey or some type of sweetener to appease her. While growing up, the participant states that she never really thought about the origins of this treatment and simply thought it was normal. Now grown up, however, she has since learned that the treatment is rooted in local customs and traditions of the Kumeyaay – a tribe that has historically inhabited the San Diego area. Although she stated she never actually asked her parents why or how they came across the remedy, she assumes it’s just through the fact that they had always been tapped into holistic remedies, they probably just encountered the remedy through the local community.

3. Interviewer’s Interpretation: Natural remedies or holistic medicine is something that has existed for generations, outdating modern medicine by centuries. This specific interview reveals how localized these practices often are. I myself also have parents who are fairly tapped into the world of holistic medicine, and yet despite this – having not grown up in San Diego – I was completely unaware of white sage tea as a remedy. Although this is a fuzzier distinction to make in the age of technology and globalization, since holistic medicine is not necessarily a mainstream practice, I would argue that it still relies on one’s local environment and historical communities on its upkeep and continued practice.

Twelve Grapes, Twelve Wishes: A Central American New Year’s Ritual

Nationality: American
Age: 31
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California

Informant Information

Age: 31

Date of Performance: 04/18/2025

Language: English

Nationality: American

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: Los Angeles, California

Text

“It’s basically just a New Year’s tradition that, growing up, my mom always did. I thought it was just something unique to my family, but later I realized that a lot of families actually do it, especially Central American ones. My parents are Salvadoran, but I also know Guatemalan and Mexican families that do this too. So basically, for New Year’s Eve going into New Year’s Day, you get 12 grapes, and you eat them right at midnight, at 12:00 AM. Each grape represents a wish for the new year. It’s one wish for each month, 12 months, 12 grapes. Every year we do it, hoping those wishes come true.”

Context

The informant first learned this tradition from her mother when she was around 7 years old, which was around the time she learned to write. Her mother included a writing element in the ritual, having her write each wish down on a piece of paper as she ate each grape. This additional step not only reinforced the intention behind each wish but also allowed her to reflect on her aspirations later in the year and see whether they had come true. Writing the wishes gave the ritual a deeper sense of meaning and permanence. The informant originally believed the ritual was exclusive to her household, but she later discovered it was a widespread cultural practice shared by many Central American communities.

Analysis

The practice of eating 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight is a well-known New Year’s ritual in many Latinx communities, rooted in Spanish and Latin American cultural traditions. In the informant’s experience, the ritual serves as a bridge between personal belief and cultural heritage. What began as a family custom reveals itself to be part of a larger collective identity that transcends borders.

Her family’s unique addition of writing down the wishes transforms the ritual into both an oral and written tradition. This adaptation highlights how folklore evolves over time and reflects the values and practices of individual families within broader cultural norms. Writing down the wishes adds an intentional, reflective dimension to the practice, reinforcing ideas of goal setting and emotional renewal. The ritual embodies hope, aspiration, and the human desire for a better future, encapsulated in a symbolic and communal act.

Always shave your hair so it grows faster?

AGE

51

Date of performance

4/30/25

Language

English

Nationality

American

Occupation

Business Owner

Primary Language

Arabic

Residence

San Diego, CA

Ritual: Shaving a baby’s head once they grow hair so it can grow back faster and healthier

Context + Text: The individual is my father and has told me the story of when I first started to grow hair, they immediately cut it all off because they believed it would grow back faster and healthier. “You know, it seems a little odd, but hair rituals have been a part of my culture for so long, some parents combine this with letting their kids grow unibrows because they believe it’s bad luck to cut that”. He explained further that while it may not have ever proven to work, as much of his family including himself are all bald men, he said that it’s been such a long tradition there’s no way they stop it now. According to him, the ritual went as far back as his grandfather, and he tells me that it is something I have to do when I have kids. The ritual does not only apply to men, as even the baby girls are shaven bald so that their hair can be healthier. He believes it is a little funny that it only works on the women, as they always grow long healthy hair while the men are going bald by 30. 

Analysis: The idea of shaving hair so that it can grow back faster and thicker has been adopted and transformed in so many different ways. Growing up, I had always learned that if you shave your beard with a razor, it will lead to thicker and quicker hair growth. Some of my friends took it as far as to shave even when they had no beard, so they could ‘cut their skin’ and promote hair growth. There are no scientific reasons for any of these rituals, but if we can convince ourselves that it does work, then we will believe that it works. A large part in the belief for these hair rituals is especially due to the lack of science that was around for this individual when he was in Iraq. There was never anything to disprove the idea that a bald baby would have the best hair, so the ritual was continued for generations as no one wanted to be considered an outcast. While I may not believe that this ritual plays a true role in hair growth, I may fall into still participating in this with my future children simply due to the fear of breaking the chain. 

Fanbases and their crazy superstitions

AGE

23

Date of performance

4/30/25

Language

English

Nationality

American

Occupation

PHD Student

Primary Language

Aramaic

Residence

San Diego, CA

Superstition: Every time I watch my favorite NFL team; I have to wear my pajama pants with my Lamar Jackson jersey

Context + Text: The informant is my brother. He is a fan of the Baltimore Ravens, an NFL team, and has been a fan for over 10 years now. When he was younger, he always believed that he had to wear his special jersey in order for his team to win. Now that he has gotten a bunch of Ravens gear over the years, he has increased his superstition. He has a new rule that he must wear his Ravens pajama pants and his Lamar Jackson jersey, the QB of the team. “You know I never took this superstition that seriously until we lost a super important game to a really bad team”. The situation took place in the playoffs when the Ravens were projected to win by more than 10 points but ended up losing the game. “Since then, I have taken it super seriously, I can’t have my team lose badly like this again”. Unfortunately for my brother, his superstition does not always work, as his team has failed to make a championship in over 12 years. However, they have gotten closer every year, and he believes that his actions have played a role in that.

Analysis: Sports superstitions have been around for decades, whether it be from the fans or the actual players themselves. Many famous athletes have discussed how they wear the same pair of underwear every game they play, because it makes them feel lucky and more “in the zone”. These superstitions are based on how the player performs or how the fan believes his team performed for that game and believe replicating the exact situation will lead to the same result. For the fans, these superstitions help them feel like play a true role in the team’s performance. “Every time I wear this jersey we win”, is something every sports fan has heard, and is it important to note the “we” from the fan, even though he is not on the team he believes he won because of his actions. Superstitions aren’t always negative and sometimes can be used to bring a sense of community as seen here.