Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

“Night Marchers”

Nationality: American
Age: 24
Occupation: Student (Medical School)
Residence: Honolulu, Hawaii
Performance Date: April 12th, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish, French

Informant Data: The informant is a second year medical student at John A. Burns School of Medicine with the University of Hawaii. She is Caucasian, and with a distant Irish and Russian lineage that she feels little connection to. She grew up in Seattle, Washington, and obtained an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering before starting her medical school journey. She is very enthusiastic about medicine and healing people. Living in Hawaii, she has been increasingly exposed to Hawaiian folklore, mostly through the patients she treats at the clinic.

Item: The folk-belief of “Night Marchers”, ghosts of fallen Hawaiian warriors that rise from their burial sights on specific evenings, to march into past battles or to sacred locations. While this would seemingly qualify as a folk-legend, due to its debatable veracity and setting in the real world, the on-going nature of the warriors’ march renders it a folk-belief, as people believe it is a continuing practice (as opposed to a one time occurrence). The following quotations are direct transcriptions of my dialogue with the informant, while the additional information provided is paraphrased.

Contextual Data: My informant first heard of the Night Marchers while in her first year of medical school, volunteering at the clinic. A patient warned her that tonight was one of the nights, according to the lunar calendar, for the warriors to march. My informant explains her grasp on the folk-belief as so: “the Night Marchers are ghosts of ancient Hawaiian warriors who were slain in battle. There are certain nights, I’m not sure which, she just told me they depend on the lunar calendar, where they rise from the dead and march into battle. They carry torches and people say they can hear their drums. Their journey is either to a battle ground or a sacred place, but most important is that you are not to see them, or it will surely be your death.” My informant explains that crossing their path, observing their march, or even the light of their torches in the distant hills is a death prophecy. “She told me that if for some bad reason I hear them nearing, and running away isn’t an option, to lie face down on the ground until they pass is the best alternative. Perhaps this is a sign of respect, or perhaps they won’t see you this way.” My informant tells me she has not met anyone who has encountered the Night Marchers, “maybe because it’s a true death sentence!” she says light-heartedly. While she personally does not believe in their existence, she thinks it’s a very interesting belief and is always curious to hear another Hawaiian native speak about their marches. This belief can fall under the category of sign superstitions, holding a parallel structure to the belief that a black cat crossing your path is bad luck, the sight of the Night Marchers is a sign of your imminent death. Conversely, the belief can fall under the homeopathic category, which employs the concept of “like produces like.” Seeing the dead will produce your own death.

Another version of the Night Marchers folk-belief was published in the Seattle Times newspaper (see citation below). This article serves beautifully as a supplement to my informant’s account, as it does not stand in contrast but rather it enhances her description with additional details and specifics of the marches. For example, the author employs the Hawaiian term for these warriors, “Ka huaja`i o ka Po”. The article harmonizes that it is a death sentence, unless you have a relative marching among the dead who can claim you. Additionally, the article illustrates an application of the belief, when stating: “If a man is found stricken by the roadside a white doctor will pronounce the cause as heart failure, but a Hawaiian will think at once of the fatal night march.”

“The Marchers Of The Night — Beware As Hawaiian Gods And Ghosts Go On Parade.”Seattle Times 08 Sept. 1996: K. 1. Web. Apr. 2013

“If you swallow your gum, it will stay in your stomach for seven years”

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 18th, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Tagalog

Informant Data: My informant is an International Relations and Global Business major here at the University of Southern California. She is a first generation Filipina and is fluent in Tagalog.  She grew up in Oakland, California before coming down here for her undergraduate degree. She is very bubbly and loves to use proverbial phrases in everyday life.

Item: The folk-belief that if you swallow your chewing gum, it will stay in your stomach for seven years. The following quotations are direct transcriptions of my dialogue with the informant, while the additional information provided is paraphrased.

Contextual Data: My informant first heard this belief as a young child, “as early as I first started chewing gum,” she says. The belief is that “if you were to swallow your gum, it would stay stuck in your stomach for seven years, piling up with all the previous pieces you have swallowed.” When asked if she believes this, she says “I understand that it is not true, I’ve looked it up and gum goes through your system like everything else. But still, I can’t swallow gum! It feels so unnatural after believing I couldn’t for so long.” Where this belief originated is rather tangible, chewing gum is different than the other food items we consume. It is very obviously man-made, does not disintegrate when chewed and it has a very sticky, adhesive-like consistency. All these factor into a question of whether one’s stomach could break it down. “I always thought it would get stuck in my stomach, because it was so sticky, not that it was mysteriously impassible.” When asked why she thought it was seven years, my informant said: “I think seven is often a daunting number, there are a lot of other sayings that involve it, like for instance they say if you break a mirror you will have seven years of bad luck. I guess it’s completely arbitrary but it also sounds convincing.” Despite the folk-belief being disproven, it serves as a good general caution for children to be careful what they try to eat. However, it should be noted, that eating anything indigestible in mass quantities can be dangerous. If a child is to swallow one marble, something even more apparently inedible than gum, there is relatively low risk (despite the major choking hazard) of complications—it should pass through your system just like chewing gum. But, there are commonplace stories circulating of a kid who swallowed all his marbles and needed surgery. Albeit these are legends with questionable veracity, it seems to be common sense that this is a dangerous activity. On the other hand, chewing gum resides more in the grey zone between food and not-food, and should be swallowed (if you must) with caution.

“If you are about to sneeze, say Orange”

Nationality: American
Age: 49
Occupation: Therapist
Residence: Newport Beach, CA
Performance Date: April 10th, 2013
Primary Language: English

Informant Data: The informant is in her late 40’s, Caucasian and self-identifies strongly with Judaism. She is married with two daughters, and has a career as a Family Mental Health Therapist.

Item: The folk-belief that if you are about to sneeze, say “Orange” and it will stop you from sneezing. The following quotations are direct transcriptions of my dialogue with the informant, while the additional information provided is paraphrased.

Contextual Data: My informant first heard this phrase sometime in her mid-20’s. “I was about to sneeze, and a friend of mine at the time shouted “say “Orange”!” and after I lost the need to sneeze. Since then, I’ve used it in situations where I’d rather not sneeze and it seems to work for me.” Referring to it as a “not infallible technique,” the informant says she “partially” believes it works, and therefore “why not use it?” When asked about the relevance of the word “Orange”, the informant replied “well it could be completely arbitrary, or perhaps there’s something going on with the pronunciation that affects your nose, maybe in the “n” sound.” Or maybe, the word itself is inconsequential, but the act of saying (or repeating) a word distracts your system from its sneeze. Or perhaps, when you are focusing so hard on not sneezing, you suppress the sneeze by simply “willing yourself not to sneeze.” The informant says she has shared this belief with her family, and thinks they occasionally employ its use, but that she doesn’t take it seriously enough to tell others outside the home. This folk-belief can be placed into the category of protection or protective superstitions, if one views a sneeze as an unpleasant occurrence. The custom of employing this miraculously endowed term “Orange” will inexplicable ward off the disagreeable and normally compulsory act. It could also fall under the category of folk-medicine, if one regards a sneeze as a medical condition or function, with “Orange” being the proposed remedy.

How to guess the sex of a pregnant woman’s baby

Nationality: Am
Age: 49
Occupation: Therapist
Residence: Newport Beach, CA
Performance Date: April 10th, 2013
Primary Language: English

Informant Data: The informant is in her late 40’s, Caucasian and self-identifies strongly with Judaism. She is married with two daughters, and has a career as a Family Mental Health Therapist.

Item: The folk-belief that in pregnant women, girls are carried high and boys are carried low, as well as the folk-ritual of guessing the baby’s sex at the baby shower. At the baby shower, the expecting mother with lie down on her back with her belly exposed. A friend will then dangle her wedding ring, tied to a string, over the belly. If the ring swings back and forth, it’s a boy, and if the ring moves in a circle, the baby is a girl. The following quotations are direct transcriptions of my dialogue with the informant, while the additional information provided is paraphrased.

Contextual Data: My informant was introduced to both of these items when she was pregnant with her first child. “I was told that I was going to have a girl, because I was carrying so high. And sure enough, I did. Second time I was pregnant I was carrying high again and many people I met told me as well “must be a girl!” And sure enough, another baby girl. I always thought it would be more comfortable to carry a pregnancy low though, but never got the chance to find out.” When asked, my informant said she did not believe it’s a valid predictor of sex, that her experience with it “was two coincidences back-to-back.” Furthermore, she says that “whether you carry a baby high or low, I think, is dependent on your body type and configuration. I don’t think many women who have multiple children switch.” As for the baby shower folk-ritual, my informant detailed that “this was done for me at both my baby showers, almost more for the delight of my friends than my own! They took my wedding ring, tied some thread around it and held it above my belly. Then, they all screamed as it started in an oval-like path, both times. I took this as an “in-between” kind-of answer, since it wasn’t really a circle and it wasn’t really back and forth, but my girlfriends took it for a circle.” Again, the sex of her children correlated with this method’s prediction as well. “I still don’t think there’s much validity to it, but I sound so cynical because both methods of guessing my babies’ sex were right, four out of four times!” My informant chalks both of the items up to coincidence, explaining “I don’t think I could even guess a biological or rational reason why they worked for me, so I’m going to say it’s a funny coincidence.” These practices seem to have their roots in a pre-modern era, due to the contemporary technologies that eliminate the need for guessing. Therefore, they seem to be upheld by tradition and their interactive nature. “People love to comment on pregnancies, whether it evokes nostalgia for them or perhaps your excitement is contagious, loved ones like to feel like a part of the process,” and these two items are ways to feel incorporated.

“Never buy your husband new shoes as a gift because he will walk out of your life with them”

Nationality: American
Age: 49
Occupation: Therapist
Residence: Newport Beach, CA
Performance Date: April 10th, 2013
Primary Language: English

Informant Data: The informant is in her late 40’s, Caucasian and self-identifies strongly with Judaism. She is married with two daughters, and has a career as a Family Mental Health Therapist.

Item: The folk-saying that you should never buy their husband or boyfriend new shoes as a gift, because they will walk out of your life with them. The following quotations are direct transcriptions of my dialogue with the informant, while the additional information provided is paraphrased.

Contextual Data: My informant says that she first heard this in the beginning of her therapy practice, and has since had several women mention it since. “As a therapist, if a woman says this to me it tells me several things. They are showcasing an external locus of control; they think they are not in control of their relationship.” While this may cause anxiety and feelings of helplessness, which often is the origin of folk-beliefs and rituals (adhered to in attempt to avoid some assumed fate), they are also divorcing themselves from blame, a protective strategy so that if their significant other were to leave them, the blame lies with the circumstances and on anything else—besides themselves. “Something as insignificant as shoes, just because it is situated within a saying that’s catchy and that indicates a feared consequence beyond one’s control; it will make women stop and think to avoid such a thing, just in case.” But this type of thinking, especially in one’s significant relationships, “is unhealthy and eliminates one’s own voice.” My informant clearly saw no validity in the belief. This is an example of folk-speech that can be employed as a folk-belief. Someone may hear this saying, and add it to their collection of life guidelines. Additionally, its classification as a proverb is debatable, because it is far from a generally accepted truth; moreover, it reflects the fear of abandonment that plagues many individuals in committed relationships.