Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Harvard Cowboy

Nationality: Irish American
Age: 21
Occupation: student
Residence: Ithica, NY
Performance Date: 4-10-2011
Primary Language: English

Harvard Cowboy

“So a cowboy, straight out of Wyoming, decked out in his cowboy chaps, boots and hat, finds himself at Harvard. He wanted to get some work done and needed to be pointed in the direction to the library. After attempting to find his way and failing, the cowboy stops a typical Harvard Bostonian in his button down and khakis and asks “where’s the place y’all study at?”. The Harvard student responds “here at Harvard we do not end our sentences with a preposition” and sticks his nose up and begins to turn away. So the cowboy tries again and asks “where’s the place y’all study at asshole?””

My friend retold this joke to me after over-hearing a doctor tell this story to a hospital resident doctor in San Francisco.  She keeps retelling this joke because of the stereotyped characters and the great reaction she receives.

I find this to be a great find in the folk-joke realm because it appeals to a wide group of audience members.  Most listening to this joke would not be a cowboy or a Harvard graduate and would most likely root for the underdog cowboy.  The end of the joke shows that cowboy, although appearing uneducated to the Harvard student, can jab back and get the last line.  This joke demonstrates the stereotype associated with Harvard as an uptight, stuck-up, know-it all in preppy clothes.  It also portrays the Wyoming man as seemly out of place at an Ivy league institution in his full cowboy get up, suggesting that these types do not attend such prestigious schools.

I also enjoyed how this was spreading around a hospital of educated doctors and residents with degrees from top universities.  It almost shows a distain for Harvard and its affiliates as being pretentious and ‘the best.’  I assume that these doctors enjoy this joke because it rags on a top Ivy school that perhaps they did not or could not attend.  Or perhaps these doctors are Harvard grads and cashing in of the stereotypes for some laughs around the hospital.

Bread and Butter

Nationality: Irish American
Age: 22
Occupation: student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4-26-2011
Primary Language: English

“Bread and butter”

When I was out shopping, two of my friends strolled arm-in-arm.  Upon meeting a garbage can they unlinked and one shouted ‘bread and butter’.  I asked met up with her recently to ask her about the saying and ritual.  She said, “When you are walking with somebody, and there’s like a stationary object and the person you are walking with goes on one side of an object and you walk on the other you say ‘bread and butter’.”  When I asked her why she does it and to explain it further she replied, “My mom does it. Say you are holding hands and a pole comes in between you and you have to let go of hands you say ‘bread and butter’.  It’s like to um make sure you stay together and nothing gets in between you two.”

The folk practice is only used if you must let go of your partner.   You  then say the phrase and reconnect.  It is an idiom to mean one’s livelihood or means of living, and I suppose you are referencing that as a means to getting by the obstacle.  It is a phrase used only when one does not want to be separated from the other and wishes to reconnect on the other side of the obstruction in the path.  It also may refer to the relationship of bread and butter that they so naturally go together, just like you and your partner.

Bird Poop

Nationality: Jewish
Age: 22
Occupation: student
Residence: New Jersey
Performance Date: 3-28-2011
Primary Language: English

“Break a mirror it’s seven years bad luck but if you get shit on by a bird it’s seven years good luck.”

My friend made this comment when watching a television program where the actress broke a mirror and they referenced the first part of the saying.  I had never heard of the second addition to the superstition so I asked her to explain,
“Umm my family friends told me that. Ummm Mallory’s mom told me when Mallory got pooped on by a bird at camp.
Because well I don’t think it’s true. I’ll tell you why… because my friend got shit on by a bird once, and got shit on by another bird a year later.”
When questioned if that friend is extra lucky she responded:
“Umm now that you mention it I’m not really sure. Perhaps the heavens are smiling down on you.  But umm…bird poop doesn’t seem too lucky to me.”

Further pondering of the topic, I recall hearing that bird droppings are for good luck, wealth, and prosperity.  It could be related to the odds of such an event happening to you.  I have also heard that statistically, a bird pooping on your head is equal to one winning the lottery.  So I suppose if you are lucky enough to win the bird excretion lottery, you have the same ‘lucky’ chances at winning the money lottery.

Korean Folk Belief

Nationality: Korean
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: March 24, 2011
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

“If you pull out a gray hair, three more grow back to replace it”

The informant was born in South Korea, but was raised in California since the age of 6. She is currently going to college in the Los Angeles area. My informant said that she remembered her grandmother, who lives in South Korea, telling her this when she was younger. She can’t remember why or what it was in regards too. She doesn’t believe that it is true, but says that her grandmother believes it to be fact.

She is uncertain as to where the folk belief came from or why people say it. She guesses that it might have something to do with trying to prevent the natural process of aging being considered a bad thing. If you try to slow down the aging process you are punished by aging even faster. The more gray hairs you pluck out the sooner your entire head will be covered in gray hair. I agree with my informant’s explanation. It seems like a warning to prevent people from pretending to be younger than they are or to accept aging gracefully.

A Gift of Knives- Folk Belief

Nationality: African American
Age: 49
Occupation: Account Manager
Residence: Fresno. CA
Performance Date: March 13, 2011
Primary Language: English

“If a friend gives you knives as a gift you have to give them a penny in return or the knives will cut your friendship”

The informant was born and raised in Long Beach, CA. Her mother is from Texas and her father was from Arkansas.

The informant could not recall when she first heard this superstition. But she had experience with it. When she was in her late 20s she received knives as a present from a friend at work. He then told her that she had to give him a penny in order to keep their friendship. She forgot to give him a penny and hasn’t seen or heard from him since then. The informant finds her experience ironic, and believes that it usually doesn’t hurt to follow a superstition’s rules “just in case” because you never know.

I actually had never heard of this folk belief before, but I’ve also never received knives as a present. Apparently in many cultures giving someone a knife usually means that your friendship is over or terminated. So giving knives as a gift is considered bad luck. I believe this folk belief is a conversion type superstition. In America a penny represents good luck and is used to convert the bad luck from receiving knives into good luck. However some people think that the penny is given in payment, so that you are actually buying the knives from your friend instead of accepting them as a gift. There is no bad luck attached to purchasing knives from someone.