Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Mexican Good Luck Ritual- Money in Water

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 47
Occupation: Civil Engineer
Residence: Sacramento, CA
Performance Date: March 15, 2011
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

The informant is a 47-year old civil engineer working in California, originally from Michoacán, Mexico. He lived a modest life as a young adult, studying to be an engineer. He then moved to the United States with his wife to raise their family and make his career. He primarily speaks Spanish with English as a second language.  He shall be referred to as JB.

JB’s father owned a small convenience store for a time. He explains that with both his father and other business owners, it was good luck for the business to not spend the money made on the first sale of the day. Instead, that money is placed in a small glass of water left somewhere behind the counter. In addition to this, it was very important that the first person to walk into the business in the morning did not leave without making an actual purchase. JB explained this could simply mean being as friendly a salesperson as possible or even offering a deep discount to the customer. If the first person to walk in did not make a purchase, it was bad luck for the rest of the workday and vice versa.

JB believes that this is a matter of reflecting yourself as a good businessperson. If you let the first potential customer go without making a purchase, this could easily mean that the same could happen with the next. He said there’s a strong importance in making every possible sale count, and by successfully making the first, you are setting yourself up for a successful workday as a whole.

I agree with JB’s high value in displaying your ability as a salesman with each customer, especially with wanting to guarantee a sale on the first person to walk in. As JB was witness to this in a father-son context, it also demonstrated a desire to instill strong business values in a small child, as well as instilling a value in thorough work throughout life. However, he wasn’t able to provide too much reasoning for the money in the glass of water.

My first interpretation is that it serves as a public display of the salesman’s competence for those that are keen-eyed enough to notice. If another salesman were to walk in and not see money in the glass, they would immediately suspect that the business owner had not made his or her first sale of the day yet and thus think less of his or her ability. Thus, the money in the glass of water becomes a sort of quality assurance mark. At the same time, water has a very protective nature to it. JB grew up in a Catholic community where everyone was baptized around the time of their birth. In that ceremony, water cleanses the person of sin and gives them God’s grace for the remainder of life. In a much less formal manner, putting the money from the first sale in water grants it a level of protection, hopefully for the remainder of the workday.

Mexican Folk Remedy- Rubbing Alcohol and Salt

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 47
Occupation: Accountant
Residence: Sacramento, CA
Performance Date: March 15, 2011
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

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.

MB explained that this was a home remedy she learned from her own mother. It is a simple matter of mixing a solution of rubbing alcohol and salt, then rubbing that over a person’s feet and lower legs to cure a cold. MB herself could not explain how it worked (and it certainly doesn’t seem to make any sense on a medicinal level), but she asserts that it always managed to cure a cold both in her childhood and for her children when she became a mother.

MB explains that rubbing alcohol is a common ingredient in home remedies, as it was a cheap and accessible resource for those without too much money where she grew up. As mentioned above, these solutions were very simple and meant to be easily executed before relying on a doctor for medical advice. Money was often very tight, so any kind of folk remedy was preferred to a costly visit to the doctor (except, obviously, in cases that required it).

I believe that the seemingly non-medicinal nature of this remedy is reflective of MB’s Catholic origin. As the town was made up largely of the devoutly religious, they were unlikely to question that which made no scientific sense and instead function more on faith. After all, there doesn’t seem to be any scientific reasoning for either of these remedies, but MB insists that they served their purpose for herself and her siblings. At the same time, I can personally testify to the reliability of the salt-alcohol solution—I do not know how it works, but only that it can clear up a cold overnight.

Jewish Joke

Nationality: American
Age: 24
Occupation: Freelance Editor
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: April 2, 2011
Primary Language: English

“A Jewish family were sitting down to a family dinner, and the son asks his father if he can borrow $50. The father responds, ‘$40? Why do you need $30?’”

My informant first heard this joke a few months ago at a bar with his friends. He now shares the joke in similar friendly, jovial atmospheres. He told it to a group of our friends one night when we went out to dinner and after someone made a comment about him being Jewish. His joke, in response to the comment, sparked an exchange of jokes among the group.

My informant tells the joke because he feels that it strikes a balance between exaggerating a stereotype, that Jewish people are stingy, and being overtly offensive. Since he identifies as Jewish, he never feels uncomfortable saying the joke, but only says it when surrounded by people whom he thinks will not be offended.

Another reason that the joke may not be seen as offensive is that the joke is somewhat complimentary of the Jewish father. The joke implies that the Jewish father is intelligent enough to trick his son into believing that he originally asked for $30. This joke plays on two Jewish stereotypes: stinginess and craftiness. The joke retains its humor despite generalizing about a group of people because neither of these stereotypes is exceptionally insulting, but Jewish and non-Jewish people alike acknowledge the stereotypes.

Pretended Obscene: That’s What She Said

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: USC Rugby
Residence: Philadelphia, PA
Performance Date: 27 April 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Italian, Arabic

Italian-American

University of Southern California

USC Rugby

International Relations

Italian, Arabic, English

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

27 April 2011

Folk Speech- That’s what she said…

The context.

So I was having my head shaved by CG, my roommate, in a chair on our porch. While he was shaving my head, I stated, “make sure you rub it (the clippers) back and forth…that’s how you finish the head.” As soon as I said this, I realized the situation I had set myself up for. And sure enough, CG responded with, “That’s what she said!” We sat in silence for a second before he stated, “Sorry dude, I had to do it.” When prompted, CG stated that he understood that what he said was supposed to be a sexual innuendo. He explained that he couldn’t really remember when he first heard it or started using it, but that it was sometime when he was in middle school.

Looking at “That’s what she said,” I can definitely state that it is a form of folk speech under the specific category of the pretended obscene. The whole purpose of saying it is to make a relatively benign statement into something inherently sexual. In no form should it be taken as sexist or offensive. I have often heard woman say, “That’s what she said.” I too, recall that it was incredibly popular during my middle school and high school years. During this period, it was not uncommon to hear it on a weekly basis or more.

Seance

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Marine OCS
Residence: Corona, CA
Performance Date: 25 April 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: German, Spanish

White/Hispanic

University of Southern California

Marine OCS

Marshall School of Business

Spanish, English, German

Corona, California.

25 April 2011

Séance

Following is a Séance, reported to me by CB.

“The reason we had a séance in my grandmothers home was because some of the family believed that the house was haunted. Over the years…um my family had seen a lot of things. Like hearing footsteps and see weird floating lights. 13 years ago we had the séance. A man came over to the house, some kind of um spiritual guru or something. He was dressed in normal clothing, a suit I think. I can’t really remember. I was sitting on the couch watching what was going on. There were six of my family members, the guru guy, and then some guy from UCLA…I think he was a professor who studied urban legends. We turned off all the lights and only had a candle light in the center of the table. So sitting around the table, with their hands held, the guru man started chanting in English. Cant remember what he said, but it was like he was holding a conversation with someone we couldn’t see. So ten minutes into this thing, the table suddenly jerks back about three inches. The shadow of the chandelier above the table also started to rotate in circles. After the guru stopped chanting, he said he talked to and confirmed the presence of four ghosts in the house. One was supposedly a little girl who had been murdered, another was an old man.”

He explains that this is story is now told whenever at family meetings He states because the house is so old, that many people have died in it over the years possibly making the house haunted. He also mentions that this is not the first time that things like this have occurred and that many members of the family have their own particular stories. While the story is constantly brought up to within his family, CB states that he doesn’t really believe in ghosts, neither does any of his male relatives. He did mention that he does believe that there is some type of weird energy that is flowing through the house. He stated, “We are all kind of straightforward guys. My Dad’s a Marine, my uncle a cop…I grew up in a no nonsense household.”

From what I can gather from CB’s story is that first and foremost it serves a marker for their family, and a part of the family’s personal lore. By being a member of CB’s family, one would know this story even if they were not present at the event. I think CB’s stance on this event is that of a skeptic. He obviously saw something at this particular event, which can be verified by other family members present at the time, but he doesn’t necessarily buy into the notion that this is somehow related to ghosts. As an individual, I find CB to be very level headed. He is currently in Marine Officer Candidate School, training to be a Marine Officer. I interpret CB’s hesitation and skepticism of the event as a result of his upbringing in a rigidly structured home (his father was a Marine Sergeant). Séances seem to operate akin to the Ouija boards. And that the people present expect some kind of weird happenings, and then when it “occurs” it verifies what they thought. I think of it as similar to a self-fulfilling prophecy.