Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

The Golden Rule

Nationality: Taiwanese
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/1/15
Primary Language: English

Context:

The informant, who is Buddhist, gave a presentation at a recent retreat on spirituality that I had gone on. I asked to meet with him to talk about other Buddhist principles and lore that he had not gone over at the retreat.

Transcript:

Informant: So I’ve heard this in various forms. It’s the Golden Rule. Uh, which is to, “Do unto others what you would like done to you.” And this is the kind of, uh, general rule of thumb. And that’s something that like I think my parents espoused on me. And I grew up as a Buddhist, so a lot about, you know, the passion, kindness, love, in that form, was always definitely valued. What was interesting is, I’ve heard it in a different form, one time at a Buddhist summer camp. Um, it was flipped around to say, “Do not do unto others what you would not like done to you.” Um, the whole premise being, like, don’t, you know, don’t project your beliefs or values onto another person, um, because the previous iteration of that would have you projecting, like, “Oh, I like this thing. So thereby you must like this thing as well.” But that’s flipped to be the other way, where you don’t assume you know what they would like, but recognize what you would not like, and then respect those boundaries in other people as well. And I think, I think that’s a good way of flipping it. And I think it’s also a very Buddhist way of flipping it, in that like… Oh, you know, to mitigate suffering for other people, recognize where suffering comes from and like, just don’t do it. But definitely the first time I saw it, I think was like a poster in the middle school, a really like, tacky, general quote that people have. Like inspirational things. And then like, I read it and I was like, yeah, that’s a pretty good proverb.

Analysis:

The Golden Rule is a teaching from the Christian Bible that concerns how to treat other people. The informant shared with me the Buddhist version of the Golden Rule. The teachings between the two versions are similar, but the Buddhist version focuses on how to not treat others rather than on how to treat others. The Christian version of the Golden Rule is popularly known and used, and, like the informant mentioned, many people learn it at a young age. Versions of it appear in various places, from Bible verse Matthew 7:12 to Charles Kingsley’s The Water Babies to the song “3-Way (The Golden Rule)” by The Lonely Island. Versions of this principle taught by other religions, however, are lesser known.

Dining Etiquette

Nationality: Taiwanese
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/1/15
Primary Language: English

Context:

The informant, who is Buddhist, gave a presentation at a recent retreat on spirituality that I had gone on. I asked to meet with him to talk about other Buddhist principles and lore that he had not gone over at the retreat.

Interview Transcript:

Informant: So, again, I was raised Buddhist. So my parents are Taiwanese Buddhist, which is a very specific like type of Buddhism. It’s a kind of pure land Buddhism, where it’s like, borderline spiritual, like religious Buddhism. Like a savior type of Buddhism, as opposed to, like the origin of Buddhism in India, which was more about self cultivation. One of the things that they espouse, or like, one way of practicing that Buddhist practice, is not eating meat. Because, you know, obviously if you eat meat, you are then thereby, you know, perpetuating the suffering of animals, or other living beings. So that makes sense. So there’s no beef, no chicken, no pork, no fish, no eggs… Actually they do eat eggs. Um, but then they go a step further, actually, and there’s a rule where you don’t eat garlic. Or you don’t eat anything that would like, smell bad. Which is so interesting. And like, my dad would always like, “Oh, make it vegetarian, but no onions.” And I was like, “What? Onions aren’t meat.” And he would be like, “But it’s the Buddhist thing to do.” And I’ve heard various, like, folklore as to why that is. Um, one of it is, like, so silly, like “Oh, you know. You don’t want to offend someone with the smell, so you don’t do it.” Because other people would be offended by the smell of onions, apparently. That’s one story. And then I recently heard, recently being like a year ago, where I heard a whole different story that was fascinating to me. Which, now, reflecting on it it doesn’t make any sense. But, the whole premise is, like, those types of foods tend to be like roots, so you would need to, like, harm the Earth by physically digging at it, like opening up the Earth, to get these, like, vegetables. Or like these very pungent, um, foods. So that’s like, ginger, garlic, onions. But then I’m thinking like, doesn’t that include like, carrots?

Me: And potatoes?

Informant: And potatoes! [Laughter] So, um, but that was something somebody told me. And again, it comes from the place of like, mitigating suffering and not causing harm, even to the Earth. And like, I can see how someone would espouse that folklore, and just be like, “Yeah, makes total legitimate sense.” But, for me I was a practicing vegetarian, but I didn’t buy the whole onion thing ’cause I didn’t get it.

Analysis:

This dining custom embodies the Buddhist principle of not causing others unneeded suffering, similar to the practice of vegetarianism. The extra explanation about preventing harm to the Earth also espouses this principle, though the informant pointed out a flaw in that explanation. The informant did not subscribe to this practice himself, though he learned it from his family.

Vegan Jokes

Nationality: U.S. American
Age: 20
Occupation: Actress, Musician
Residence: Florida
Performance Date: 4/24/15
Primary Language: English

Context: My informant is a vegan. While we were conversing on Skype, we started talking about jokes vegans tell about non-vegans and ignorant comments vegans hear from non-vegans. These jokes were all told in quick succession and the conversation flows too naturally to make sense in parts, so they were included together.

Joke 1: What’s the best way to keep milk fresh? Leave it in the cow.

Joke 2: Can vegetarians eat animal crackers?

Joke 3: Isn’t it weird that we drink milk, stuff designed to nourish baby cows? How did that happen? Did some cattleman once say, “Oh man, I can’t wait till them calves are done so I can get me a hit of that stuff.”

Full Interview Transcription: 

Me: What are some jokes that vegans tell?

Informant: Um, what’s the best way to keep milk fresh?

Me: What?

Informant: Leave it in the cow.

[Laughter]

Me: That’s great. [Laughter] So um, who told you that?

Informant: I found it. Like I was scrolling on an Instagram post that had to do with veganism, and I like wrote it down immediately when I saw it because I was like, this is funny.

Me: Yeah. It’s great.

Informant: Um, and then, another one is: Can vegetarians eat animal crackers? And I get asked that all the time.

Me: Like, do people ask that seriously?

Informant: Seriously. Especially one of my band mates. They’re like, “Can they eat animal crackers? Or what about, like aren’t you hurting plants?”

Me: Oh my god… I don’t understand.

Informant: I don’t either! Okay… This one will probably… This one makes you think. Isn’t it weird that we drink milk, stuff designed to nourish baby cows? How did that happen? Did some cattleman once say, “Oh man, I can’t wait till them calves are done so I can get me a hit of that stuff.”

[Laughter]

Me: Oh god… Where did you hear that one?

Informant: I found it on a website.

Me: Okay… So when do you usually tell these things? Among other vegans?

Informant: Among other vegans and among, like, meat eaters who are being judgmental of my veganism.

[Laughter]

Informant: Just to make fun of them.

Me: That’s brilliant. What do you think the jokes are making fun of in particular?

Informant: I like to hope that it’s making fun of people’s ignorance towards different diet types. You know?

Me: Mhmm.

Informant: Not actually making fun of vegans.

Me: They’re funny. I like them. I can’t believe people ask the animal crackers one seriously.

Informant: Seriously all the time. And I also hear: “Why do you want to hurt plants? If you care so much about animals, what about the plants?”

Me: Are there any other things people say to you like that?

Informant: Um… Hmm… I hear about vitamins a lot. As soon as you become a vegan, everyone’s concerned about your vitamin levels. Not before you become a vegan. Like as soon as you become one. “Are you getting enough calcium? What about this? What about that?” And you’re like, “What if I wasn’t drinking milk before I was vegan?” You know?

Me: Yeah, good question.

Informant: Did you not care before?

Me: Yeah… Assumptions.

Informant: I’ve also noticed that people around me, when they’re with me, they’ll purposely… overly non-vegan-ify their food. Like completely. Like “I’ll take a steak, and some eggs, and put butter on that, with some bacon.” Just to be able to eat it in front of me.

[Laughter]

Informant: I’m just like, you’re just clogging your arteries. It’s not bothering me.

Comments: This conversation informed me about some of the hurtful comments non-vegans say to vegans to try to delegitimize their lifestyle. The jokes the informant told me are also an example of a misunderstood group using humor to deflect ignorant remarks from outsiders.

The Red Ribbon

Nationality: Guatemalan
Age: 50
Occupation: Dining Service
Residence: Boston, Massachusetts
Performance Date: 4/1/2015
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

“When I was a younger, my grandmother would be the one to dress my hair up in the morning. My mother had absolutely no patience to do this, because she had many chores to do and breakfasts to make for me and my five other sisters. It’s funny…Unlike my mother, my grandmother had the patience to tenderly brush my hair? (Laughs). She would put my hair up like this in either braids or pigtails, but always tied with a red ribbon.

I think it’s common in Guatemala to put red ribbons in the hair of young girls. My grandmother would always tell me that the color red was a sign of good luck, to protect me from any sort of evil or people with bad energy…like bad voodoo?…Does that make sense?…If someone wants to pass on an evil to a child, the red ribbon will protect them… Also, mothers who are pregnant tend to wear red ribbons tied to their underwear. This will protect them and the baby.”

Context and Analysis: The informant grew up in a very isolated town in Guatemala where the common belief was not in westernized medicinal practices, but in witchcraft and curandería. The informant later told me a little more about Curandería over the phone: it is the use of religious rituals and natural remedies to cure or protect people with ailments. Natural remedies are made with plants native to the highlands of Guatemala. The red ribbon is used as a form of protection from bad energy, spirits, or the evil eye. Though the informant does not wear a red ribbon anymore, the ribbon is most commonly used for women because they are believed to be more vulnerable to evils. Ultimately, this folk belief is a variation of the idea that the color red is supposed to ward of evils. In other cultures, such as in certain Asian cultures, red is also used as a lucky color to protect from evils.

When the informant first heard about the ritual, she was a young child of 6 or 7. Because it was the first piece of folklore she performed in front of me, it holds much significance because it reminds her of her deceased grandmother. During the informant’s performance, she spoke of the memory very tenderly suggesting that she remembers that folk belief very dearly. She informed me she still believes in the folk belief, but has changed it to suit her age. She no longer wears a red ribbon, but instead wears a red ring.

Solar Eclipse

Nationality: Guatemalan
Age: 50
Occupation: Dining Service
Residence: Boston, Massachusetts
Performance Date: 4/1/2015
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

“It is not good for a solar eclipse to occur during pregnancy. They say that the baby could come out with a birthmark on its face shaped like the solar eclipse…Um…Usually on the face. That is why they always told me to wear a red ribbon on my underwear when I was pregnant. The red ribbon is supposed to prevent the birthmark from developing. Luckily, no eclipses ever happened during my pregnancy.”

Context and Analysis: The informant grew up believing in Curanderia, a type of witchcraft used in Guatemala. The informant first heard this folk belief when she was pregnant with her first child back in Guatemala. She informed that she was also told many other beliefs to prevent ailments to the baby, including wearing gold or not wearing black. Superstitions for pregnant women are incredibly common in Guatemala. Like the informant had remarked, many Guatemalan women are recommended to always wear a red ribbon tied to their underwear because it will prevent the formation of a birthmark when there is a solar eclipse. Because there is a large population of indigenous people living in Guatemala, folklore with solar-themes is very common, suggesting that curanderia is highly influenced by mayan beliefs and traditions. While this is true, it is a very common belief among cultures that the color red wards off evils and ailments, indicating that the red ribbon of curanderia is a varitation of these common beliefs across cultures.