Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Heal, Heal Little Frog

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Houston/Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 30, 2014
Primary Language: English

My roommate told me about a Spanish rhyme that her mother would say whenever she or her brother got hurt. She knows the rhyme originated in Puerto Rico, but she isn’t sure if it came directly from her Puerto Rican mother or another source. She has fond memories of hearing this rhyme, because even though she was hurt, it was very soothing to hear and could make her feel better.

“My mom, when me or my brother would get hurt as a child, she would…it’s kind of like kissing the wound better, but a little more intricate, because she would rub above it and go ‘Sana sana colita de rana, si no sana ahora, sanaras manana’  Which, the English translation is ‘Heal, heal, little frog. If you don’t heal today, you will heal tomorrow’ I guess the interesting bit is that it was always my white mother who would say this to me, even though my other mother was Puerto Rican… She might have learned it from my other mom or my abuelita, but she also lived in a lot of Spanish-speaking areas so it’s possible she picked it up from somewhere else”

Hunting for the Wendigo

Nationality: American, Mexican, Scandinavian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC Campus
Performance Date: 4.21.14
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

The Informant is 20 years old, a junior at USC studying Critical Studies in Film, and is from Plymouth, Minnesota.

Him: On the first day of winter, well, we live in Minnesota, so, by the first day of winter it’s already snowing there. On the first day of winter, we hunt for the Wendigo.

Me: What’s a Wendigo?

Him: A Wendigo is like a giant, werewolf-bigfoot-giant-bear creature, and it only comes out on the first day of winter to prey upon the goats and cattle of the area.

Me: Is it real?

Him: That’s the thing! Maybe! But probably not. The tradition started with my Grandpa who really, really believed that the Wendigo was real.

Me: What’s its significance? Why is it so important?

Him: Its meat is supposed to give you long-lasting life. So, on the first day of winter my Grandpa would go out into the woods and try to hunt it. The Wendigo. But, of course, he’d always come home empty-handed. But my Grandma was always there waiting for him and would make him cider for when he came home. And she’d put some nutmeg in it as a ‘secret ingredient’.

Me: So, does your family now like go out and hunt together?

Him: Nowadays, on the first day of winter, my family just likes to go out and appreciate nature. We don’t hunt anything, but we like to go to different national parks for the day, go camping, stuff like that, and just have some general family bonding. We’ve been doing it since probably forever. But we still come home and drink cider!

Analysis:

This example shows the ways in which tradition can change in a household throughout it’s performances. The variation of ways in which the Informant’s family has hunted for the Wendigo are drastic, yet they still hold importance to the family. Even the intentions behind the tradition have changed over the decades.

The ways in which the tradition has changed are probably influenced by the way that society has also changed over the years. Hunting used to be much more popular 80 years ago, but due to hunting laws, registering weapons, attaining of permits, etc., hunting becomes a different type of process. Somewhere along the way, the Informant’s household decided to adapt the manner and reason that their tradition is performed. Now, their goal is to no longer literally hunt the Wendigo in order to attain long-lasting life, but instead to appreciate nature and go on a family-bonding vacation into the wilderness in order to remember their ancestors.

St. Anthony Prayer

Nationality: American, French
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Downtown LA
Performance Date: 4.22.14
Primary Language: English

The Informant is 20 years old, a sophomore B.F.A. actor at USC, and she grew up in Louisiana and Texas.

Her: Well, I learned this from my Mom when I was really little or something. But whenever we can’t find something we say a small, rhyming prayer to St…St…who’s the saint that helps you find things? Oh, wait. Okay. No. Yeah. I think it’s St. Anthony. So, yeah, we’d pray to that guy, St. Anthony. The little thing-a-ma-jig we said was like, “Dear St. Anthony, I hope you’re around. Something is lost and can’t be found.” And then apparently he’d help you find whatever it was that you were looking for! I can’t remember if it always worked, but we always thought it did. My mom learned it from my grandma when she was little and passed it on to my sister Adeline and me. I think Addy still does it a lot.

Me: I was taught a similar prayer growing up! I still use it today, I think it at least brings good luck.

Her: Yeah, that’s the thing. I’m defs not as religious as I was raised to be. My mom made me this little card that I keep in my wallet that has the prayer written on it. Like, I have a super-southern-catholic family from Louisiana and Texas, but I like keeping little things like that with me when I remember them because they remind me of my mom and make me happy. I do the prayer every now and then, but not as often as I used to. I might start doing it again now.

Analysis:

This shows the small ways that religion can help bring families together and remain in a person’s life, even when they no longer consider themselves religious. This prayer was a little activity that the Informant was able to participate in with the females of her family when she was a child. In this way, this prayer became something that she closely associated with the women in her family and will probably always be a bonding factor for them when she looks back on it. The small card that her mother gave her then becomes a folklore object in that it remains in existence after the performance of the folklore has ended.

Underground City – Edinburgh

Nationality: American, German, Mexican, Irish
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Downtown LA
Performance Date: 4.29.14
Primary Language: English

The Informant is 21 years old, a senior at USC, was raised in Las Vegas, and now her family resides in The Bay Area.

Her: I studied abroad last semester in Edinburgh, Scotland, and before I got there I was told about this urban legend from some people I know. A teacher, my mom’s fiancé, and then one of my friends going to Edinburgh with me all told me about this urban legend that there was an underground city beneath Scotland. Beneath Edinburgh.

Me: So, these were Americans telling you about Scottish urban legends?

Her: Yes! When I was in Edinburgh though I didn’t go on any tours for the underground city or anything. I actually didn’t really see them. No one in Scotland that I talked to really heard about it when I asked them *laughs*. I think there were like cemetery tours and torture tours that would talk about stuff LIKE that, but nothing really on the nose.

Me: So, when you were in Scotland you realized that the underground city wasn’t really an urban legend that Scottish people talked about?

Her: Yeah, exactly. It was like a Scottish legend that Americans had heard about but like wasn’t really true! Or maybe it is! I’ll never know! The same thing happened with the term “water closet” though.

Me: What happened?

Her: Well, I was always told that English people say “water closet” for bathroom. I also heard that they said “loo”. But then when I went to England and I brought it up to my English friends they laughed so hard! They’d never even heard of that word before and thought it was ridiculous. No idea where it came from. I was so confused.

Analysis:

I think this piece is especially unique and informative of how folklore is transferred across and perceived by other cultures. It gives insight to how cultures view one another, and how inaccurate they may be sometimes, bringing about the significance of “emic” and “etic” observations. The difference of opinions between the “emic” culture (Edinburgh and England) and the “etic” culture (America) are striking in this instance in that they cancel one another out. Alone, each of these views are uninteresting, but when combined we get a more complete picture of each of the cultures.

Christmas Run

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Downtown LA
Performance Date: 3.16.14
Primary Language: English

The Informant is 20 years old, a junior at USC studying Screenwriting, and is from Denver, Colorado.

Him: Yeah, I come from a big running family. Christmas morning we get up super early and all go on a 5k run together. We’ve always done it. I run with my dad like 2x a week or so whenever I’m home. And I run a 5k about 5 days a week. It’s just habit at this point. Running is a big part of my life and our family’s life.

Me: Do other members of your family still run? How has this tradition changed as you’ve grown up?

Him:  I think my grandparents on my dad’s side are the ones who started it. My aunts and uncles do it too, but not with their kids I don’t think. My dad has always been a runner, and I think my mom just started doing it when they met. I’m not sure how the Christmas Run thing got started though. I don’t even remember NOT doing it. It’s always been a thing for us. It’s changed a little. When we were younger, we’d just run 1 mile or so, but now that we’re older and all still running, we bumped it up a bit. This is BEFORE we open presents by the way. I think that shows how ritualistic it is *laughs*.

Me: I know you’re from Colorado, so it can get pretty cold out there. Do you always go on a run no matter what the weather?

Him: Typically, yeah. It just might be a shorter run. It’s just a habit for us. We can’t NOT go on our Christmas Run! My dad would get sad and it wouldn’t be a proper Christmas *laughs*.

Analysis:

This tradition is interesting because it shows how holidays can differ among the people who celebrate it. Christmas in my household is about staying inside and eating as much as possible. No exercise required. In fact, if you exercise, you’re “doing Christmas wrong” in my house. However, in the Informant’s home, running is such an important factor in their lives that they make sure to fit it in even before opening Christmas presents. Even when they were children. Which tells me that there is a great level of significance and discipline placed on this Christmas morning run. Yet, despite the differences in how each family may celebrate the same holiday, the same intentions hold true. It’s about unity, family bonding time, and creating a sort of happiness among those you love. The different ways families choose to address those intentions will always be different according to each household.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Colorado tends to be a very athletic state. There’s snowboarding, skiing, sledding, running, etc. In Las Vegas (where I’m from), athletics isn’t a big factor at all. It wasn’t until I moved to California that I realized how important physical activity can be in social and familial aspects.