Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Mexican folk prayer, “Angel de la Guarda”

The informant is a 47-year old accountant working in California, originally from Michoacán, Mexico. She lived a modest life as a young adult, having to take care of her family at a very young age while still finding success in management. She then moved to the United States with her husband to raise their family and now works in accounting. She primarily speaks Spanish with English as a second language.  He shall be referred to as MB.

“Ángel de la Guarda, mi dulce compañía, no me desampares, ni de noche ni de día, porque sin ti, yo me perdería.”

“Angel of the Guard, my sweet company, no me abandons, no of night no of day, because without you, I myself lose.”

“Guardian angel, my sweet friend, do not abandon me by night nor by day, because without you, I would lose myself.”

This is a common prayer taught to small children. As MB explained, this is often the first prayer children learn in Mexico, even before the traditional “Our Father” (“Padre Nuestro”). It is often taught as early as the age of three, or whenever children begin speaking. MB explained how this becomes a very personal prayer for small children, who take it as a sign of security. Because it refers to “my” guardian angel, every child who recites it will interpret it as a very personal relationship with a guardian angel. In a Catholic community, MB explained that this reinforces the idea of divine protection from a very young age. It is often recited when children are feeling afraid, or sometimes simply before bed. In that case, it is usually accompanied by a small picture that portrays a tall angel guiding a small boy and small girl over a narrow bridge, crossing over a tumultuous river. This provides a visual reference for the children, who may have trouble with the idea of an unseen guardian angel at first.

MB noted that in her family, her younger sister believed for the longest time that their own picture of the guardian angel was a photograph of herself and her brother, the two eldest children in the family.

By my interpretation, this demonstrates the closeness a child can form with this prayer, even if not directly relating to them. The guardian angel becomes an extension of protection from the home and the family, as the angel can protect children wherever they go. It also encourages an active prayer relationship from an early age, as this prayer does not take on the form of a formal address to God, but a simple, rhyme-based call to the guardian angel. The portrayal of small children in the picture also reinforces a youthful involvement in religious life, particularly to the small Catholic town that MB grew up in.

Chinese Legend- Mao Zedong, Chiang Kai-shek and National Disasters

Nationality: Chinese-American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 25th, 2011
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

The informant is an eighteen-year old student from Los Angeles. He was born in Taipei and received schooling in America. He had been studying in Taipei before moving back to the United States for university. He speaks Chinese and English and will be referred to in this transcript as “GS.”

GS: Okay, so, uh, this is something that my grandmother said during a family gathering ‘cause, like, I guess in Chinese culture everybody look after our their elders, it’s a dominant belief, so, like, uh we have family gatherings every week at our house, there’s always someone over at our house. So this is during a family gathering and we’re sitting around the living room. And she, uh, tells us about how- I don’t exactly remember the context, but she mentions how back in um, when Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong’s time, when Mao Zedong passed away, there was a great earthquake in China. She mentions the great earthquake, but what I think she’s referring to is the Tangshang Earthquake in 1976, and when Mao Zedong passed away that big earthquake happened and because, uh, he was actually a turtle spirit, the reincarnate of a turtle spirit from heaven. So when he passed away he made a big ruckus. That was Mao Zedong, but Chiang Kai-shek is a sky spirit, he’s like a dragon or an eagle, like a sky spirit, so when Chiang Kai-shek passed away, there was a great storm. There was a great storm in Taiwan and my grandmother describes it as all of a sudden, she said she was, at the time, she was in the living room, and then all of a sudden everyone heard and all of a sudden this great storm, there was peace and then a great storm, and the next day the news reports that Chiang Kai-shek died in the night yesterday. And she like, really said okay, Chiang Kai-shek died, that storm, he caused it ‘cause he passed away to heaven, making a ruckus as he left, as he went into the sky. And uh, interestingly, my mother and my father both remember this, they both remember, of course, cause the Tangshang Earthquake is, you know, infamous in how many lives it took, they remember the Tangshang Earthquake and said yes, this is about the time that Mao Zedong died, and they also remember the great storm that came all of a sudden in the dead of the night when Chiang Kai-shek passed away, uh, it’s interesting cause I wanted to tell you this so I just searched it up, but the Tangshang Earthquake, was in a, uh, it was in June, it, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, (he laughs, as he’s trying to fix a problem on his phone), in June, 1976, or July, 1976, but Mao Zedong passed away in September of 1976…  (indistinguishable) ever most known strangely associate this happen together. I’m not sure when Chiang Kai-shek passed away because that storm isn’t that as notorious as the earthquake. But this is this belief that these two people were so historically, like they changed the, uh, East Asia so much historically because one is an earth spirit and one is a sky spirit, and they fought each other.

Interviewer: And so what’s the significance of that story?

GS: I, I think, it’s just uh, for Asians they or, not just Asians, Chinese, but like my background Chinese and Alamanese, they think that great historical figures are often like, like, uh, reincarnates or descendents of some kind of celestial being so they would say, you know Mao Zedong is an earth spirit, and then they would say, uh, Chiang Kai-shek is a sky spirit because of how much change they did to the world.

Interviewer: Cool.

GS: Just like, another belief in like the supernatural for the Chinese.

As a person born into Chinese culture and educated in the United States, GS offered some interesting insight into this and other of the stories he shared. As he explained, for older Chinese generations, this story happened literally: His grandmother immediately attributed both the earthquake and the storm to the death of Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek respectively. GS explains that grand political figures were associated with celestial bodies that affected life on earth. For the modern generation, he felt the story was more symbolic than a literal story as told by his grandmother. Nonetheless, while not always associated with the powers of the heavens, the deaths of political figures are usually seen as major social upheavals even in our own society. Consider the international mourning of Princess Diana or It seems that when a figure has life as powerful and influential as that of Mao Zedong or Chiang Kai-shek, their people felt that their deaths could only be matched by just as devastating a force. Because of the belief in the eternity of the spirit in China, it is no surprise that the work of an influential figure is far from done after death.

Annotation-

Cheater, A. P. “Death Ritual as Political Trickster in the People’s Republic of China.” The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs 26th ser. (1991): 67-97. JSTOR. Web.

The relation between people’s reaction to Mao Zedong’s death and the Tangshan Earthquake is discussed in this article, albeit it in a reversed context from the one GS related. While GS only heard the story in positive terms (always that Mao was “influential” and “powerful,” never “ruthless”), it is clear that some people did not hold him in high regard. As stated by Cheater in the article, “When the Tangshan earthquake preceded Mao’s death by less than three months, some invoked the ‘feudal’ notion that the Mandate of Heaven was slipping” (80-81). Here, while his death and the earthquake are connected, it is more in the context of criticizing him.

Chinese Wedding Prank

Nationality: Chinese-American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 25, 2011
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

The informant is an eighteen-year old student from Los Angeles. He was born in Taipei and received schooling in America. He had been studying in Taipei before moving back to the United States for university. He speaks Chinese and English and will be referred to in this transcript as “GS.”

And then, um, another tradition is that, which I never saw but I heard about was that the family and friends would basically try to get the couple into bed. So, like, after, um, after the banquet, you know, the couple might go home you know and have their what is usually considered their first time in bed together, okay, so the couple will be resting and then of course, all the family and friends will come knocking on the door, you know, and they burst in the door with like, drinks and, like, lots of chatter and they’re like, they’ll like have chaos in the party in the room and then the last thing they’ll do before they go away, usually be soon which is usually like after a few hours is make sure that the couple are in bed, like physically in bed under the sheets together and then they’ll leave. Thinking that they have done their duty of getting the couple together in, to have, you know, sex. So that’s two things I’ve, um, heard about Chinese weddings.

On the other hand, uh, the interrupting them when they’re in the room is also a prank, but it’s a prank geared towards you know getting the couple to be in bed. You know, to have sex. So it’s kind of like ensuring that they have sex. I mean, there’s like a focus on producing a child, uh, like after marriage in Chinese culture, I guess for every culture there is but especially in Chinese culture and having a son but, um, for this I think it’s to ensure that you’re making children and ensure that you guys are gonna, you know, have sex. I guess for more conservative families this might be a way of saying, okay now you can have sex, now that you’re married you can have sex.

I agree with GS’ explanation of the conservatism of Chinese culture informing the insistence that the couple produces children as quickly as possible after the marriage. In this tradition, the couple is not allowed to simply go to bed together: First the family must invade the home, as if to make their mark of familial values. The partying and games that follow seem to be suggestive of the life they hope the couple will be able to enjoy for themselves someday. Then the family must actually ensure that the couple is in bed together, as if an outside force was necessary to coerce the couple into reproduction. This oddly invasive part of the wedding ceremony reinforces how strongly the rest of the family feels about the continuity in their family. As GS explained, the continuity of the male line is incredibly important, so making sure the couple begins having children as soon as possible increases the chances of a boy being born.

Children’s Saying

Nationality: Indian
Age: 20
Occupation: Biological Sciences Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 4, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Hindi

April showers, May flowers, June bugs.

Payal goes to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.  She is earning her bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences in three years and is beginning her application process for dentistry school.  She was born and raised in the city of Cypress, which lies in the city of Orange County south of Los Angeles.

Payal told me this saying when we were talking about the weather.  It was raining outside when we were talking, and she referred to this saying.  It is a reference to the stereotypes about the weather during the months of April, May, and June.  Additionally, the saying includes a variation that includes the month of June whereas other versions only consist of April and May. April showers refer to the predictable and copious amounts of during the month of April. May flowers refer to the earth cycle following April showers.  Understandably, with all the rain in April, flowers will flourish and bloom  in the month of May.  As a humorous addition, June bugs refers to the flowers that began to bloom in May as a result of the April showers.  With the increase in flower population, the bug population will also become more conspicuous and abundant.

I am familiar with this funny version of the April Showers, May Flowers rhyme that includes June Bugs.  I think I first learned it when I was very young on a Nickelodeon educational television show.  I think it fosters particular stereotypes about the weather during particular months of the year.  Because of this, I expect rain in April, more flowers blooming in May, and even more annoying bugs in June.

Folk Saying- Arabian Standard Time

Nationality: Egyptian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 27, 2011
Primary Language: Arabic
Language: English, French

The informant is a nineteen-year old student born in Australia who’s lived in Egypt for two years, England for two years, Jordan for four years, Egypt for two years, India for four years and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA for university.  He is the son of an Egyptian ambassador and speaks Arabic, English and French. He shall be referred to as SH.

SH describes how in many warmer countries along the equator, people are not as inclined to strictly adhere to a schedule as they would in other countries, resulting in people often being late. He refers to this as running on “Arabian Standard Time,” but says a variant of that is “Indian Standard Time” or other versions. He explains how it is a way of referring to the stereotype of people from those countries as being inclined to be late. However, he addresses this with a sense of humor, smiling as he talks about it. He explains that since people from the tropical climates are used to having long hours of sunlight, it is not essential that they follow a clock so closely and that not too much is lost by being twenty minutes late.

Conversely, much of American culture is derived from British culture, where sunlight is scarce and rarely lasts long. Thus, people from those countries place more value in sunlight hours and thus are more insistent on punctuality.

While this is a negative stereotype, it seems to be embraced by the people who it applies to (at least in the case of SH). Thus, it appears they do not take it as negatively. Rather, SH explains a sort of pride at his country of origin and the lifestyle they live. The use of the term “standard time” suggests this is the official way they choose to address time, thus embracing a culture that is not so strict on punctuality.