Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Blason Populaire – University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

Nationality: American
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Jose, CA
Performance Date: March 28, 2008
Primary Language: English

Fraternity Stereotypes:

Lambda Chi (LCA) – Rammed A Guy

Sigma Nu (SN) – Sigma Who?

Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) – (S)exual (A)ssaults (E)xpected

Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT) – (Z)ero (B)itches (T)here

Bobby, who this past year joined the fraternity ZBT at USC, discovered that there is a “Frat Row” lingo, which includes the above blason populaire.  He learned those jokes from several other students who are part of the Greek life here at USC, but are not in his fraternity.  Each of the above are stereotypes that are used to poke fun at the names of each fraternity.  For instance, the joke for Lamda Chi is claiming that the brothers in this fraternity are all homosexual, when in reality that is nowhere near true, that is why this is a stereotype.  Bobby was surprised when he first heard these jokes but learned that it is just part of the competitive fraternity mentality to put down other fraternities.  Being in Zeta Beta Tau and hearing that joke about his fraternity, Bobby was definitely disturbed at first but realized as the year went on that just like all stereotypes, some might believe them but they’re not always true.

Also being a member of ZBT at USC, I have heard this form of fraternity blason populaire but from older brothers in the fraternity.  It is in the nature of many Greek’s, specifically fraternity guys, to be competitive and talk down other fraternities.  All one needs to do is ask someone who is in a fraternity about another house, and most of the time these stereotypes will get brought up.  However, to build on Bobby’s analysis of these jokes, I believe they are not just spread by Greek male students, but also be females and non-Greek males.  Girls, whether they are in a sorority or not, tend to further support these stereotypes by using them when referring to houses they aren’t fond of.  Non-Greek males tend to do the same, however it as more of distaste for the Greek system in general rather than specific fraternities.

I did some further research on these Fraternity/Sorority fake names, and there is a website (http://thespinzone.com/greek.php) dedicated toward listing out all of the fake stereotypical names for fraternities and sororities.  The information is gathered from people across the country, proving that different universities have similar and diverse “spin names” (as the website calls them) for each fraternity and sorority.

Folk Medicine

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Dallas, TX
Performance Date: March 27, 2008
Primary Language: English

To Cure a Hangover:

  • Pour a can of Coke in a glass
  • Put one tablespoon of salt in the Coke and stir
  • Chug the drink as fast as possible as the salt causes the Coke to bubble quickly

“I learned this remedy back home from a friend of mine.  He had told me that his older brother taught him about this hangover cure, so I tried it one day and it actually worked.  I think it has something to do with the carbon dioxide in the Coke reacting with the salt that causes it to fizz so much.  When you do chug the drink, it tastes kind of bad and it is actually difficult to drink the entire glass that quickly.  When you do chug the drink it is almost like getting a brain freeze from ice cream, but after that feeling fades away so does the hangover.  I don’t use this remedy all the time, in fact I’ve probably only used it three or four times, but I’m telling you, it does work.”

Many remedies for hangovers are a part of folk medicine; in fact, almost all are because there is not a scientific solution to cure a hangover.  I’ve heard another similar remedy of chugging a bottle of water before going to bed and waking up, after a night of drinking, however that does not immediately cure a hangover and can be linked to the scientific fact that alcohol causes dehydration.  I believe most hangover remedies are spread from older college students to younger siblings and peers, as it did in this case.

Good Luck Charm – Great Britain

Nationality: English
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Westlake Village, CA
Performance Date: April 02, 2008
Primary Language: English

Fleur de Lis

“I got this necklace as a freshman in high school from my grandmother who is from Great Britain.  Fleur de lis means flower of the lily, and the symbol represents light and life.  Ever since she gave me the necklace I have worn it everyday as a good luck charm.  It also reminds me of my grandmother and my family.  In a sense it also is a representation of my family to me.  I have seen other people wear the necklace as well as the symbol used in different ways.  For instance, the New Orleans Saints football team has the fleur de lis as their team logo.  When I have children I want to buy them similar necklaces too or even pass mine down to them.”

This is the second good luck charm that I have collected in this project and both originated from Europe.  Also in both cases, the people who owned the good luck charm received it from a grandparent who was born in a European country.  Although these are only two cases, there is clearly some commonality between the two.  In both cases, the charms served to represent their original meaning as well as reminding the two subjects of their families.  Matt mentioned how the flour de lis is the team symbol for the New Orleans Saints, and I have observed that it is the symbol for the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority here at USC.  ?

Folk Medicine

Nationality: Chinese-American
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Diego, CA
Performance Date: April 08, 2008
Primary Language: English

Cure for Soar Throat:

  • Glass of hot water
  • Squeeze half of a lemon in the water
  • Place a tablespoon of honey in the glass
  • Stir and serve

Chris grew up in San Diego all of his life and learned this remedy from his Chinese grandmother.  “Growing up, my family was very close and my grandma was always over at my house.  It tends to be a common trend with Chinese families to have close ties with your elders.  My mother is Chinese and my father is American, but still, my mom’s mom always came over and I had a close relationship with her.  Whenever I would be sick, throughout all of my childhood in San Diego, my grandmother would make me this drink and it tended to work the majority of the time, unless I was extremely sick.  If that was the case it did help temporarily.  She probably first gave me this drink when I was five years old.  A simple remedy like this is something that will always make me smile even if I’m not feeling too good, because it will remind me of her.  It’s one of those things that I will definitely pass on to my kids when they have a soar throat”.

Different cultures from across the world tend to have their own remedies for situations where someone isn’t feeling well.  From a personal standpoint, the Jewish version of this remedy is a bowl of chicken noodle soup.  It seems that a simple Chinese remedy, in this case, has more meaning than just trying to cure a soar throat.  There is clear sentimental value for Chris since it reminds him of his childhood and his grandmother.  It is also a case where someone who has parents from two different cultures, in this case American and Chinese, will pass on a specific cultural remedy to another generation.  As this process continues, it will become harder to trace which culture the remedy originated from, as cultures begin to homogenize.

Superstition – Chinese

Nationality: Chinese-American
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Diego, CA
Performance Date: April 08, 2008
Primary Language: English

“When you buy a new car, you’re supposed to take a bottle and smash it against one of the tires of the car.”

“This is an Asian superstition, particularly Chinese but I have heard other Asian cultures do the same.  If you don’t crack the bottle on the tire than you inherit bad luck with the car.  Obviously the opposite goes if you do crack the bottle.  When I first got my license at 16, my dad handing me a bottle to smash on one of the tires and it was a thrilling moment because I remember seeing my parents do the same every time they got a new car.  My Japanese friend did the same thing when he got his first car, too.  I will pass down this tradition in my family, even if I don’t marry a girl with an Asian cultural background.”

This is one of many car superstitions that I have heard, but I have never heard a car superstition linked to a culture.  One example of another car superstition is throwing change on the ground of a new car.  The common theme behind both superstitions is making the pure and new, somewhat marked or tainted as old.  The crack of the bottle does not destroy the tires, but makes the tires no longer “brand new”.  Throwing change on the floor takes away the cleanliness of a brand new car as well.  My hypothesis behind the cultural tie to Chris’ superstition is that the Asian culture values toughness, both physically and mentality.  Possibly the breaking of a bottle on a tire marks two things: the car’s physical strength and the owner of the car’s mental strength to slightly damage a brand new, expensive vehicle.