Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

The Black Egg

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

“One day my grandmother was feeling incredibly ill. She looked much older: she looked pale, had chills, and had dark circles around her eyes. My mother took her to a medicine woman who lived high up in the mountains. The medicine woman sat my grandmother in a chair and looked into her eyes. They were bloodshot. The medicine women left the room, and returned with an egg. The medicine woman brought the egg close to her mouth and whispered something into it, as if she were praying. Then she began to pass the egg over the body of my grandmother. When she cracked the egg open into a bowl, the yolk was black and rotten. Later we found out that she had developed a lung tumor.”

Context and analysis: The informant first heard of this folklore when they were much younger, but remembers the instance with her grandmother more vividly. It is significant and memorable to the informant because it was the moment she realized she was going to lose her grandmother. When she was in the presence of the ritual, she was asked to stay far away from her grandmother, to have a clear positive mind, and to not allow negative thoughts to intrude. Ultimately, the black egg ritual is performed to confirm ailments in a person who is suspected to be sick. The ritual begins with a common catholic prayer while holding rosary beads. It is important to note that even though these rituals are part of the Curanderia magic of Guatemala, a lot of this magic is intertwined with Christian-catholic beliefs and prayers.

How to Cure Trauma

Nationality: Guatemalan
Age: 45
Occupation: Landscaper
Residence: Boston, Massachusetts
Performance Date: 4/1/2015
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

“When a person is startled by something, whatever it is, it is a custom to give the person three spanks on their butt and a glass of water so they don’t have further psychological trauma.

During the Guatemalan earthquake of 1976, the entire country was in shock. I remember being 5 years old, my whole house being crushed to the ground. The dogs were still barking and children were screaming. After much time, I still had nightmares about the intense shaking and being locked in the house. My mother gave me three spanks on my bottom and a glass of water. I continued to have nightmares, so they took me to a medicine woman. I was crawling on my knees around the room in circles, holding a candle. The medicine woman made me chant prayers. She said that if I had strong faith, I’ll get better…I stopped having night terrors after that.

Context/Analysis: The informant first heard this back in Guatemala, before he had immigrated to America. Now that he is here, he has much more access to western medicine as opposed to herbal medicines and Curanderia. It is significant to them because it indicates how they managed to overcome the trauma of the Guatemalan Earthquake of 1976, which made global headlines. Ultimately, this tradition is part of his heritage. Though he does not practice it today, it is still something he remembers dearly.

Ashes for Wind Protection

Nationality: Guatemalan
Age: 45
Occupation: Landscaper
Residence: Boston, Massachusetts
Performance Date: 4/1/2015
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

“Yeah, you know what? I think I actually do know some stories about weather and weather cycles. So actually, my mom used to do this because we had this tiny adobe house that would not withstand harsh weather. It needed to be protected. Lots of hurricanes would pass through the highlands. What my mother did was make a cross out of ashes in the backyard in the direction the wind was coming in?…The house would always be protected from the winds. Does that make sense?”

Context/Analysis: The informant told that this piece was significant to him because it was a way that his family would withstand the harshness of the winds against their impoverished life. They had nothing growing up, so protecting their adobe house incredibly important to them. He now lives in a very sturdy concrete house but the folk belief just reminds him of his up bringing and how he grew up with such poverty. This folk belief is a family heirloom: his mother told him and his grandmother had told his mother. Even though they no longer live in an adobe house, they still whole-heartedly believe in the power of prayer and the iconography of crosses.

The Blackbirds of Los Terrones

Nationality: Guatemalan
Age: 45
Occupation: Landscaper
Residence: Boston, Massachusetts
Performance Date: 4/1/2015
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

“The first thing I learned as a boy was how to farm. I would help my father out tending the small plot of land we had…um…cultivating the corn. The winter months were the driest in Guatemala, so we always yearned for the black birds to come back in the spring. Every year during April, hundreds of little black birds would fly over the town. 40 days after the day they flew over, it would start to rain. In November, the birds return from their migration. When they return, the rain stops and dry season begins.”

Context and Analysis: The informant grew up in the highlands of Guatemala, and first heard this folk belief when he was younger and spent time with his father. This belief is significant to him because it reminds him of his deceased father. His father had told him the belief, indicating how they would both feed his four older sisters and his mother with the crops they grew. Ultimately, this folk belief is an explanation for the unusually consistent pattern of dry and wet season in the Guatemalan highlands. It is used to calculate the ideal time to plant corn and other crops.

 

“Doyers”

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Host
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 3/24/2015
Primary Language: English

“I’m half Mexican, but grew up speaking English. My Parents never taught me Spanish. It was kind of an embarrassment, but it made sense. I don’t know man. So anyway, we’re a big fan of the dodgers here in LA for obvious reasons, right? But it’s funny how the real Mexicans who didn’t speak Spanish said “dodgers.” They would say Doyers. Now every Latino says doyers. Doesn’t matter if you speak Spanish or not, it’s just doyers.”

Context/Analysis: To the informant, this blaison populaire is just part of their SoCal culture. Within the Chicano population, they make fun of how the native Spanish speakers talk in English. This of course is done from a perspective of admiration and respect, like a friendly way to tease a neighbor. Even the native Mexicans who do say “doyers” are not readily offended by this blaison populaire. The informant first heard this piece of folklore when he was invited to go to a Dodgers game with his cousin who is a native of Oaxaca, Mexico. This piece of folklore is significant to the informer because it gives him a national identity. He feels that he is connected to the Chicano population, even though he is only half Mexican.