Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Folk Superstition – Jewish

Nationality: Jewish
Age: 58
Occupation: Homemaker
Residence: Erie, PA
Performance Date: March 28, 2008
Primary Language: English

Folk Superstition- The Blue Ribbon

When I was born, I came out three and a half months premature.  I almost died and had to stay in the hospital for three months following birth.  Because of this, I think my mom was always trying to find things that would bring me good luck.  When I was out of the hospital and taken home, my mom had a blue ribbon attached to my baby bed.  Of course I don’t remember seeing it then, but my mom kept it with her for quite some time.  She showed me it recently and said that putting a blue ribbon on a baby’s bed prevents bad luck from falling upon the baby.

My great grandfather, who is from Eastern Europe, told this story to her.  Supposedly he was very into superstitions and practiced them frequently.  My mother said this is only used on a baby’s bed, and shouldn’t be used otherwise.  I am not sure of the reasoning, but I have a good guess.

In most cultures, babies are seen as completely pure and innocent.  By the time a baby grows, innocence is already escaping them.  This blue ribbon that can only be placed on a baby’s bed might be done so for this reason.  It will protect them from bad luck during their first few months of life, so they will be lucky forever.

Another thing I found interesting was the color of the ribbon.  Since my family is Jewish, blue is seen as a color of beauty.  Supposedly, it is the color of God’s Glory.  It is a strange coincidence that blue was the color chosen.  I believe this superstition also helped my mom connect with her grandfather.  In a way, it allowed me to do the same.  Also, it probably connected my mom with her Eastern European heritage.  My mother tells people the ribbon was the reason for no complications after I left the hospital, but I think she just likes the story.

Folk Remedy – Juaneño

Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: March 14, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Folk Remedy- How to Stop a Cold Juaneno Style

Ok, your gonna think I am really weird, so please don’t judge me for this.  I am part Native American. My family originates from the Juaneno people.  So, my family has a bunch of different superstitions and remedies that were passed down to us from past generations.  Like, you know, when you get a cold, you take Tylenol.  Well, when I get a cold, it’s a little bit different.  My father makes this concoction of green chili, beans, and bird meat.  He makes it into some type of stew.  He has never showed me how to make it, but he always makes me drink it when I am sick.  The funny thing is, my sickness always goes away.

This cold remedy is something I never heard before, but Raquel swears by it. “ Believe me, I think it is weird too, and it tastes gross.  But I rather be healthy”.  She said her dad made it for the first time when she was about six years old.  She said he would only go to this special natural store to get the ingredients and the meat.  I asked her why she thinks the ingredients are so effective, and she really had no response.  She was not sure and thought there might be something else in the mix that her father would not say.

This concoction serves as a connection to Raquel’s Native American heritage.  I think her reaction to it might be more mental than anything, unless the father knows something the medical world does not.  She also said her father only buys ingredients from a special store.  This makes the stew seem more authentic and pure.  If he shopped at a normal grocery store, I doubt the stew would seem as important.

Another reason I have for this unique remedy is that it builds a bond between Raquel and her father.  Every time she is sick, he will make this for her.  This comforting feeling might be the reason for quick recovery.  Also, it shows her both the importance of her heritage and the knowledge of her ancestors.

Lastly, Raquel mentioned her father is the only one that makes it.  This shows the male dominance in the Juaneno tribe.  It reinforces the fact that he is the man of the house and he can provide during good and bad times.  Whether the remedy is effective or not, Raquel knows she can rely on her father for anything.

Folk Belief – Jewish

Nationality: Russian, Polish
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Anaheim Hills, CA
Primary Language: English

“I guess I can talk about the Evil Eye. And this is almost kind of a universal um idea that not that many cultures have a concept of evil presence, or Evil Eye. And specifically, in Eastern Europe and southern Europe a lot of cultures um have talked about it that there’s this kind of evil presence in the world and uh you just kinda wanna scare it away. It’s really common among older people who are in the immigrant generation like the late 1800s or early 1900s and I’ve heard stories of my great-grandmother who would um almost spit at the ground if something bad was said and there is a Yiddish phrase called ‘Kanahora’ uh which kinda means God Forbid, it’s kinda like ‘knock on wood’ and uh basically you say that if you do say something bad. You say that and it kinda scares away any evil presence that might actually cause that to happen. Um the Jewish phrase is ‘Kanahora’ but I know that a lot of different cultures and religions have this notion of the evil and try to keep it away. I don’t know if it’s so much of a literal eye, I think it’s more just the fact that there is that presence watching over you and you wanna scare it away. I know that different cultures have talked about this and there’s always that fear of the unknown, nobody really knows for sure what’s gonna happen so they just hope for the best. Occasionally I would hear my grandfather who grew up speaking Yiddish yell out or say ‘Kanahora’ after something. But they haven’t told me any stories about them actually seeing any evil. I think my grandfather uses it because his mother or my great-grandmother used it all the time. There was a lot of lack of communication between my great-grandparents who came here from Russia and Poland and my family here now because they spoke Yiddish. Um, my family here basically weren’t so aware of how to speak that language so there is a lot of kind of cultural traditions that were lost there and a lot of lack of understanding ‘cause my parents would have been like the third-generation here so even my grandparents who were like the first-generation born here, there was a lot of Americanization that went on there so even if my grandfather says ‘Kanahora’ I don’t know if he really thinks that there is an evil presence. It might just be him using a term that he heard his mother speak when she came here. So ‘Kanahora’ is kind of the Yiddish version of ‘God Forbid.’ I guess the notion of the Evil Eye, specifically, is common in Eastern and Southern European cultures, mainly Eastern.”

I think this belief in the presence of an Evil Eye is more prevalent among religious cultures because they speculate that if there is a god(s) to help or protect them, there must also exist negative forces out there that harm them. This fear of the unknown reinforces people’s faith in God as they use the phrase ‘Kanahora’ in their everyday speech to call on God’s power to protect them from any unseen evil.

More information on the Evil Eye in the Jewish tradition can be found in:

Brav, Aaron. “The Evil Eye Among the Hebrews”. The Evil Eye: A Casebook. Wisconsin Press: 1981. page 44-49.

Folk Belief

Nationality: African-American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Hillsborough, NJ
Primary Language: English

“We were in the park, this was in New Jersey…um like I think it was in Junior year of high school I’m not positive. Um, we had to go play outside because Serena, my friend who I was playing with, her mom didn’t like the idea of us playing Ouija board in the house and she thought it was kinda eerie just because…I guess it’s ‘cause she believe that it works, that you could recall spirits and she didn’t like the idea of having it in the house or of us playing it in the house so she made us go outside. So went to a park that was right by her house…me, her and my friend Christine… and we started playing with the Ouija board. We started asking “Is there anyone there? Is there anyone there?” and the pointer started moving. I don’t remember who we talked to or what they said or anything but pretty soon I got stung by…I don’t know what I got stung by. I just assumed it was a hornet or something but it could have been a little bit from a bug and it hurt really badly and I still have a scar from it actually but um…anyway, it was just really weird and it kinda freaked me out just ‘cause… I guess, of her mother making us leave and everything… so I already had it in my head that it was, you know, could be a bad thing that we were playing Ouija boards but….prior to that, um…we had played in her basement and it was just me and Serena I think when we played then. And we asked “Is there anyone there? Is there anyone there?” And it started moving and somehow or other, I think she asked “What year did you die?” And it had said the same year that her uncle just died…and she started asking it some more questions and she figured out that it was her uncle. And um, I think she asked for his initials…the initials of whoever we were speaking to and it was her uncle’s. And then she was asking a couple of questions like how her cousin was – her uncle’s daughter – and uh…whether or not he had seen or spoken to her grandmother who had died and she was just asking a couple of questions like that and…I didn’t really ask any questions because I didn’t really know him. I think it was that experience that made me believe it a little more because I don’t think that she would, you know, pretend…you know how they say people can push it but I don’t think she would have done that which is why it made me believe that it might be real. Plus with that whole sting thing. It was really scary, it wasn’t like he was freaking us out or anything…it was just kinda eerie, just kinda the thought that her uncle’s spirit could be like in the room with us. And the other time, it was just really strange…’cause I’ve never been stung by a bee or anything before and it would itch a lot afterward and I didn’t know what it was. It was just really weird and it left a mark.”

I think the Ouija board is a good example of folk belief because to some people it may be just a game but to others, it really is a way of communicating with the dead. Zakiya’s friend’s mother refused to let them play in her house because she believed strongly in the Ouija board and was afraid to “invite” the dead into her house. Perhaps this is out of fear that they may accidentally welcome evil spirits to their home. People who don’t believe in the Ouija board, however, may be skeptical about it and think people are just pushing the pointer themselves. Zakiya trusts her friend and doesn’t think she’s the type who would play such a prank but it could also very well be that her friend believes in the Oiuja board so much that she is subconsciously pushing it without intending to.

More information about the Ouija board as it relates to adolescents’ search of self-identity can be found in:

Tucker, Elizabeth. “Ghosts in Mirrors: A Reflection of the Self”. Journal of American Folklore: 2005.

Superstition – Asia

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Singapore
Performance Date: April 16, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese, Mandarin

“Like you know people usually go like this all the time (she is sitting and shaking one of her legs up and down) you know it’s like a bad habit and your parents tell you to stop because it’s like your shaking your luck and money away.”

Samantha heard this superstition from her mother and her relatives when she was in kindergarten, living in Singapore. The superstition is said when people shake their legs because they are anxious, bored or just out of habit. For example, when Samantha sees her friend shaking his or her leg during class, she will tell him or her to stop because it is bad luck. The superstition spread because her parents told it to her when she was little and then she would tell her friends when she grew up. She also says that she will most likely share this with her children if she has any. This is an example of Carl von Sydow’s transition between passive and active bearers of folklore. Samantha was once a passive bearer as she listened to what her parents said and then she became an active bearer when she started telling it to other people. She thinks that its origins come from mainly bad manners, so parents will tell their children this to scare them because they do not want to be poor when they are older.

This superstition is widely held within the Asian community because my Korean, Japanese and Chinese friends all know about this. I think that since Asian families are very superstitious and focused on doing well in the future, they use luck and money as the main components of this belief. The theme of luck and achieving or losing luck is very prominent in Asian cultures. For Lunar New Year celebrations, many traditions incorporate the theme of obtaining and keeping luck, while getting rid of evil spirits. Many Asian superstitions follow these general themes and they mostly deal with luck. It reveals a part of what Asians believe in by focusing on luck and money.

I agree with all of these ideas of the origin of the superstition, but I also believe that it was started to stop children from engaging in this irritating action. Not only is it impolite to do it at a dinner table, it is also quite annoying for the person in the general vicinity of the person. In class, if a classmate is shaking his leg, it can be very disruptive to other students. I do not think that this superstition is only limited to children because it is incredibly applicable to adults. Adults have more awareness of what they are doing and so, they would be able to control their actions better. This superstition would be most effective for people who grew up in an Asian household because they would understand the value of luck and prosperity. I was taught to do things a certain way so that I would have a better future. It was all based off of luck and the idea that what we do now would affect us in the future. If we shake our legs now, then we will lose the potential to be wealthy in the future.