Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Superstition – United States

Nationality: Filipino
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 2, 2008
Primary Language: English

Another piece of Navy folklore that Vince shared with me is one about dolphins and their significance to seamen.  Dolphins are considered a good omen to submariners.  If and when dolphins encounter a submarine, they are a telltale sign that everything will be okay and that the seas are safe to wander.

Vince sees dolphins as mystical animals, who connote good vibes and good thing to come.  I agree in that dolphins are, indeed, mystical animals.  In a sense, they are reminiscent of fairytale and marchen, in the fact that they are indeed so mystical.

Superstition – Chinese

Nationality: Chinese-American, and Filipino
Age: 19, and 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Atlanta, GA, and Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: March 14, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin

I have heard many different types of folklore regarding chopsticks.  My Chinese roommate, Rachel, shared with me a version I had never encountered before.  In Chinese culture, it is said that God is present in chopsticks.  Therefore, it is considered highly disrespectful to do such a thing as drop or damage your chopstick in any which way.

Considering how essential chopsticks are to many Asian cultures—Korean, Chinese, Japanese—such a superstition would make sense.  Chopsticks are the main utensil when it comes to these types of Asian cuisine.  In my own experience, I had heard Japanese folklore in that it is disrespectful and, in fact, malicious and ill-wishing to point one’s chopsticks at someone across the table—either at the direct opposite side of the table, from where you are sitting, or at any place setting at the table at all.  To aim pointed objects such as chopsticks at someone, whether intentionally or unintentionally, connotes either killing or shooting and is highly looked down upon in Japanese culture.

With a continent such as Asia, with a history so rich in fighting and which bears the roots of many of the world’s different forms of martial arts, it is no wonder that such a superstition would even exist.  For the Chinese, with religion as an important element of their culture, it is also not much of a surprise that their culture would connote such sanctity to such an important element of their daily lives: chopsticks.

Superstition – Korea

Nationality: Korean-American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 26, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

Superstition—Korea

“Whistling at night attracts evil spirits.”

Paul learned this superstition from his father when he was 9 years old.  He remembers the instance when he picked it up and to this day, he follows it religiously. He recalls a night when he was trying to sleep.  His dad came in to his room to say goodnight, and heard Paul whistling from his bed.  His dad, with a serious expression on his face, ordered him to stop.  He told him that his father passed this superstition onto him when he was little, but he wanted to be tough and he didn’t listen.  He said he was home alone one night when he was in his early teens and he started to whistle.  That night he had a traumatic experience. He wouldn’t give Paul any further details but begged him not to whistle at night.  In talking to me, Paul has no idea why this superstition exists, or where it originally comes from (his father was born in Korea, he was born here in L.A.).  He also has no idea if his father was just pulling his leg, or if he really had “an experience” with an evil spirit because he refuses to tell him.  Paul suggested a potential background on the superstition, “Koreans are really afraid of the dark.  Someone one day decided that making as little noise at night was the best way to keep evil forces away.”

Whatever the significance of the superstition, Paul swears by it.  He loves to whistle, but when the sun comes down, he refuses to, especially when he is alone.  I interviewed him on campus at Leavey Library at about 8PM, and he told me that in his short bike ride back to his fraternity house on 28th street, he wouldn’t even think of whistling, not even for a second.  In interviewing him, I was not at all surprised that he abides by the superstition to the extent that he does.  Personally, I am a big believer in superstition; when I lose an eyelash I always make a wish, and I refuse to walk under a ladder.  Paul similarly has lived his life never whistling at night after learning about the superstition.  I find it funny how nobody knows why any of these superstitions exist, but because we were raised believing that they are true, we always abide by them.

Superstition – USA

Nationality: American
Age: 51
Occupation: Director of Interactive TV
Residence: New York, NY
Performance Date: February 26, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: French

Superstition—USA

“When pregnant, you must not physically change your house, set up any furniture, or otherwise alter any room in preparation for your child.  You may have things ordered or purchased, but nothing can be set up or altered for the baby’s arrival.”
Nancy told me that she first learned this superstition when she was pregnant with her first child in 1987.  She was nervous over the whole process and her only prayer was that she would give birth to a healthy child.  She recalls a phone conversation with her mother Elaine Lieberman, living in St. Louis, Missouri who informed her of a Midwestern folk belief that her mother told her when she was pregnant with Nancy.  She was careful in her instructions; nothing in the house should be changed, and she should do no renovation or other alteration for the baby.  As Nancy described her conversation with her mother; “this was a jinx to the pregnancy and could complicate it, or god-forbid, otherwise affect it.”  She went on to state that things could be purchased or ordered form a store, but nothing was to be set up nor  were any physical accommodations to be made to any room in the house.  Nancy says that she did not ask questions and went along with the superstition.  Nancy can’t express how thankful she was that the pregnancy went smoothly.  Of course, she followed the same superstition in giving birth to her two other children, both pregnancies went very well she is overjoyed to report.

This is a terrific example of folk superstition.  Though we know that Elaine heard it from her mother and thus it can be traced back to the Midwest, we will never know the true origin with certainty.  Strangely enough, there are several “jinx” based folk superstitions very similar to this one.  While I was in high school in Scarsdale, New York, the school-wide superstition for those waiting to hear back from colleges was that they could not wear any paraphernalia from any of the schools that they wanted to get into or they would get rejected.  People could buy or order hats, shirts, sweatshirts, etc. from the schools of their choice (they frequently did this after visiting the gift shop on a college tour), but could not wear it until they had officially got in.  I know I refused to wear anything “USC” until I was officially accepted as not to jinx my fate.  It is interested recognize the similarities between these two folk superstitions.  We will never know if they are the results of two cognates that were created in two different places and evolved differently, or if the superstition really comes from the Midwest but spread and evolved into a different form as it traveled to the east coast.

Folk Medicine – Transylvania

Nationality: American
Age: 52
Occupation: Real Estate Developer
Residence: New York, NY
Performance Date: April 1, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Hebrew, Chinese, Russian

Remedy—Transylvania
“Ocean and Sea water have special healing and curative powers.”

Philip informed me that he learned this folk remedy from his grandfather Adolph Katz, who was born and raised in the mountains of Transylvania, what is present day Rumania.  Perhaps it was because Pop (as Philip referred to him) was born in the mountains, he believed that the oceans and seas (he was familiar with the Black Sea and the Mediterranean especially) had mystical curative powers.  Philip used to travel with him every morning and they would walk along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean at Jones Beach, and Adolph would make sure that Philip’s feet were in the water.  He would also make sure that Philip scooped ocean water into his hands and “snorted” it up his nose—especially if he had any type of cold or cough.  Through Adolph’s eyes, this was sure to clean out the throat and nasal passageway.
This is a great example of a folk remedy because there has been no proven scientific research that seawater or ocean water can cure individuals of their illnesses.  However, through what his family and members of his community in Transylvania told and showed him, snorting such water was an assured way to be cured through the eyes of Adolph Katz.  It is a form of folk medicine both because it is only believed to be true and because it isn’t written anywhere in any popular medical publications, but has been passed down through word of mouth.