Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Folk Superstition

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Fairfield, NJ
Performance Date: March 14, 2008
Primary Language: English

Folk Superstition

“Lending a bat to a fellow player is a serious jinx.”

“Some players actually sleep with their bat to break out of a hitting slump or stay in a groove.”

George told me that this superstition regarding baseball is really common and that baseball players are apparently very careful about how they treat their bats.  As he stated, there are a couple specific superstitions that players follow in order to bring good luck or play well in a game.  A lot of superstitions, understandably, are related to the items that the players use during the game.  Bats in particular, along with mitts, hats, and uniforms, happen to carry a lot of weight in terms of bringing good luck.

The first superstition is associated with a players unique batting skills on a team.  Each individual is chosen on a sports team because of their abilities and what they have to offer as players.  When a player has a specific bat they play with, or bats, they associate that bat with their strength, power, and ability to succeed during the game.  The bat is also like a token that signifies a player’s ability to help carry the team.  If players were to switch bats, it most likely believed to be bad luck because it carries the significance of another player’s skills.  Though this clearly can’t be proven, exchanging bats would be like trying to exchange vibes or comfort zones.  Additionally, it is probably simply more comfortable to play with a bat that one has been practicing with and using over and over.  If it is a bat that has brought the player luck and has helped them score, exchanging the bat could be believed to be bad luck because it will stop the luck.

This is similar to the second quote which associates winning/losing streaks with bats.  If a player is doing really well and helping his team win games, he might sleep with the bat to try to stay on that winning streak.  However, if the player stops playing well and the team starts to lose, sleeping with the bat might also help get them out of that slump.  Players most likely believe on that having the bat close to them will literally give them extra playing powers.  Also, some players may believe that the bat will send good luck vibes to their subconscious while they are sleeping.  Being with the bat as often as possible makes the player feel more comfortable with the item they will be using on the field later in games.

The reason these superstitions are probably so popular and common is that they may actually have an indirect effect on the players.  Even though technically sleeping with a bat or consistently using the same bat doesn’t actually give the players physical powers or lucky necessarily, it still has a subconscious effect.  If the players believe that the bat is bringing them good luck, it probably gives them more confidence and as a result they perform better during the games.  Though it can’t be proven, these superstitions are widely held on baseball teams and believed to be true on both a conscious and subconscious level.

Folk Superstition

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Fairfield, NJ
Performance Date: March 14, 2008
Primary Language: English

Folk Superstition

“During hockey playoffs, a lot of guys grow beards for good luck until the end of the season so that their favorite time will win.”

My manager at the Original Pancake House is a huge sports fan, especially when it comes to hockey.  He absolutely loves the Rangers and goes to as many games as possible every season.  He is a very intense fan, and he and his friends do a lot of different things to try to bring their team good luck.

He said that this superstition is really common, especially with hockey fans.  If a favorite team makes it to the playoffs (and some even do this during the whole season, but it is generally based on the playoffs), a lot of the fans will let their facial hair grow, specifically their beards.  They tend to believe that as long as they keep their hair growing, their team won’t lose.  Of course this isn’t necessarily true, but it gives them something to hope for.  One of the reasons this superstition is probably to common is that it encourages fans to be more involved.  By growing their beards out and doing something that seems to contribute to the team’s success, the fans feel more involved.

The specificity of growing a beard is most likely due to men’s desire to come across as being very masculine.  Since men already tend to love sports because it associates them with masculine qualities, this trend seems to emphasize that.  In growing a beard, which is clearly a trait that is unique to men, they are asserting their masculinity and trying to make a statement that they have the male power to control, or contribute, to a sports team’s success during the playoffs.

Furthermore, growing a beard can be symbolic of the teams success (or lack thereof) because of the fact that bears grow and can be cut off.  As the beard is growing, so is the team as they win games during the playoffs.  However, if the team loses, the fans can easily shave off their beards in order not to be reminded of the downfall.  Growing a beard provides an easy and convenient way of showing support for a team without making any huge commitments, and it still makes a bold visual statement.  When people who are aware of this tradition see a man with a beard during the playoffs, it can serve as a sort of advertisement for the team and for the sport in general.  In many senses, this superstition is a convenient and practical way for men to show their support and assert their masculinity during game season.

Ancestry Story

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 64
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Essex Falls, NJ
Performance Date: April 24, 2008
Primary Language: English

Ancestry Rumor

“There has always been a rumor that the LeCates family ancestors were seafaring pirates.  Another rumor is that we come from a band of thieves in France.”

These amusing rumors about our ancestry are said to have started a very long time ago.  It is obviously quite unclear as to whether there is actually any truth to the rumors, but they have provided amusement to the family for years.  We bring it up a lot at family events and holidays that many of us gather for, especially Christmas and Thanksgiving.  My family generally has a great sense of humor, so we enjoy talking about anything that could provide humor.

I believe this rumor started because of our last name, LeCates.  We are of French decent, though many generations ago.  We don’t really consider ourselves French, but every once in a while if something amusing comes up we’ll associate ourselves as a joke.  The particular rumor about being a band of thieves in France most likely came up because we also happen to be a troublemaking family (to some extent, not necessarily in a serious way.)  We tend to enjoying fooling around pulling pranks, etc.  Sometimes we really do get into trouble with the law for tickets or driving and whatnot, and that specifically is when the rumors come out and start getting repeated.  When these situations are combined with out good sense of humor, this creates a perfect environment to stir up old rumors.

The “seafaring pirates” rumor is very similar in that it comes up when any member of our family gets into any kind of trouble.  This rumor in particular comes up when my siblings or I talk about our spending money.  If we had gone out a lot recently or had done a lot of shopping and realize the next day that we’re starting to run low on cash, we joke around that our seafaring ancestors took it.  We say the same thing if money somehow goes missing, as well.  This rumor tends to provide a lot of humor because it can be interpreted, shared, and repeated in a variety of ways.

Family ancestry rumors tend to be very common because they involve a sense of pride.  Even if it seems to be a somewhat negative rumor, like this one, it is still a way of recognizing and identifying a family.  This makes the members of the family feel proud for their heritage, gives them something to talk about, and helps them feel even more connected with each other to have something to peculiar in common.

Car Game

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Beverly Hills, CA
Performance Date: April 4, 2008
Primary Language: English

Car game

Game: When running through a yellow stoplight, kiss your hand and touch it to the top of

your car

I learned this trick from one of my friends in high school, around when we both started driving, so around sixteen. We were driving to school one day and we ran a yellow light and she kissed her hand and hit the top of the car. When I didn’t repeat what she had done she seemed to get very upset and I asked her why. She said her mom had told her since she was a child that if you didn’t do something to recognize that you had ran a yellow light, you would have bad luck, most likely a car accident of some sort. Not being a very superstitious person, I didn’t believe it, however, I ended up getting in the habit of doing it and since have told many people the same story thus convincing myself it was true.

My friend believed her mother told her that story in order to make her more aware of driving. She believes that by her mother telling her to do an action every time you run a yellow light, it could make you more cautious about running a light for fear of forgetting to perform the action and thus in turn having bad luck. While I definitely do not believe that not performing the action will cause bad luck, I agree that performing this action does make you more aware of your driving. There have been many times where I’ve ended up running a yellow light and fear has stricken me because I am scared of getting a ticket. However, when I was discussing this particular game with my friend Mandy, she feels that the game is dangerous itself because you’re choosing to take a hand off the wheel while simultaneously speeding up to run the yellow light. I agree that it could be perceived as dangerous since you would be removing one of your hands from the wheel, but I think sometimes in our society, having bad luck upon you instead of just taking the small risk in order to prevent bad luck seems to prevail and that’s why I think this car game has been spread around so much.

Myth – Hawaii

Nationality: Filipino
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Waipahu, HI
Performance Date: April 10, 2008
Primary Language: English

The story of Hawaii’s native volcano goddess, Pele, is a common tale, known to anyone native of the islands of Hawaii or anyone who is a frequent or even first-time visitor to the beautiful Aloha State.  Pele is the volcanic goddess who continues to find her home, to this day, in the Halema’uma’u crater on Mt. Kilauea, one of the world’s most continuously active volcanoes, which is located on the Big Island of Hawaii.  There are many tales surrounding the legend of Pele.  Essentially, Pele is the volcano goddess who is, in essence, the most revered mythological figure throughout all of Hawaii.

Izach shared a common rule with me, regarding the mystical Pele.  In Hawaii, whether you are on the laid-back and somewhat secluded Big Island or on the popular island of O’ahu, if you pass an old lady on a highway or on any given street, you must pick her up.  That old lady is Pele in human form.  The old lady will appear as though she is in need of help, and, as a rule, you must help her out in any way she requests.

My family and I are frequent visitors of the islands, and on one particular trip to the Big Island, we heard many stories of Pele while we were on our tours.  One in particular stood out to me.  There was a young couple who lived in an area near the foot of Mt. Kilauea.  One fateful day, they heard a knock at their door.  It was an elderly woman, asking to come in.  Seeing an old woman in need of help, they let her in and entertained her.  She sat with them, dined with them, and interacted and conversated with them.  The old woman then proceeded to ask if she could use the restroom.  They let her into their bathroom…. and the old lady never came out.  They came to the realization that there was no one in the restroom any longer.  It was then that they realized they welcomed the volcano goddess, Pele, into their home.

On a similar note, unrelated or related to Pele, Izach’s brother shared a story with him.  A friend of Izach’s brother, who reigns from the island of O’ahu, was in the restroom to take a shower.  He stepped out of the shower into his hot and steamy bathroom with a fogged-up mirror.  Looking through the haze in the mirror, he noticed a figure standing behind him: it was a man, who was clad as a native Hawaiian warrior, complete with tribal tattoos, and obviously not from the current time period.  Unable to believe the image reflected back to him, he looked behind him and saw no one standing there.

Izach, as a native of Hawaii grew up to naturally revere Pele in the deepest regard.  I feel like the Hawaiians’ view of Pele perfectly highlights the way in which they highly value their culture and respect the laws of their land.  They hold Pele in the highest regard, in the same way in which they revere other natural elements of their beautiful islands, such as the sacred ocean or the majestic mountains.

Annotation:  More about Pele and traditional rituals and beliefs regarding the volcano spirit, Pele, have been documented in

Behavior and Beliefs during the Recent Volcanic Eruption at Kapoho, Hawaii

Roy Lachman and William J. Bonk

Science, New Series, Vol. 131, No. 3407 (Apr. 15, 1960), pp. 1095 – 1096

Published by: American Association for the Advancement of Science